Book fair a huge hit with denizens

HYDERABAD: From ardent book lovers milling the stalls and looking for books to avid readers leafing through the printed papers and glossy covers on the shelves – the ongoing 31st Hyderabad Book fair is nothing less than a biblio-fantasy.The fair has not just turned out to be a hub for book sellers, authors and publishers, but also a book lovers’ paradise with endless collection of reading material.“Every year I visit the book fair. It is an annual family gathering for us. It is one event where the whole family looks forward to visit. You would find something for everyone,” said 25-year-old Spandana, an HR professional. While Spandana was looking for books on personality development, her parents were busy searching for devotional books.The 10-day annual event whihc winds up on Sunday has been a treat for readers who were seen carrying a heft of hardback edition and celebrating the old-fashioned printed words during the times of faceless interactions of the digital world.Apparently, Mehmooda Hasan and for her two daughters Mahrukh and Maleeha, the fair was a one-stop-shop. “It’s an awesome experience to pick and choose your favourite from the sea of books. You get fair rates, nice prints at one point,” said the candid Mehmooda.On the weekend, the fair drew the maximum crowd with the footfall crossing two lakhs. “Last Sunday alone, the attendance was over 70,000 at the fair. The fair has been attracting huge crowd and its overwhelming,” said Shrikant Bharti, one of the organisers of the fair.Not just youth and adults, the children too showed great interest in books with comic series remaining the preferred pick apart from best sellers and self-help books.As Pranavi, a class 2 student was seen flipping through the pages of her new book ‘The Diamond Castle’. “She has already crossed the budget of Rs 200 allotted to her for buying. She bought 8 books worth Rs 500 for herself,” smiled Pranavi’s mother Sirisha.Not just ardent bibliophiles, the civil service aspirants too flocked in great numbers to make the best use of opportunity. For instance, V Mohandas who has been imparting training for civil services from past 34 years, accompanied his civil service aspirants. “We have bought all types of books from fiction to novels to books on poetries and literature,” he said. Even as fiction ruled the roost, a growing inclination was seen for biographies, auto-biographies and devotional books. While the books in regional languages attracted the visitors, the stalls with discounts and offers like ‘books for Rs 100’ were packed with the crowd. Also, there has been a good inclination for Telugu books, but the stalls catering to Hindi language have not been getting sufficient visitors thus reflecting the lack of readership in the city.The fair that ends on January 28 has the participation of 213 booksellers and publishers from New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Nellore and Vijaywada across 331 stalls.