“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”
— W. Somerset Maugham
Having attended Delhi and Kolkata book fairs in the past, I had been waiting for Madurai's annual date with books with equal enthusiasm. The experience of buying books in the open air, of being surrounded by book lovers, of drowning yourself in the world of new releases despite the cacophony around, the excitement of stocking up your personal library is unmatched! The memories of puddles of water on the fair grounds, public address systems blaring out names and numbers of stalls for easy identification, bamboo poles lying about, smell of dust and freshly-printed books.
Book fairs used to be the place where one loved to leaf through the lavish coffee table books, compilations of pictures from Life magazine or National Geographic's anniversary collection, various encyclopaedias or some rare editions that were beyond our budget. It was also the place you were sure of grabbing a copy of your favourite fiction and non-fiction, sought-after titles or limited edition books, classics and autobiographies and the ever-popular books on revolutions and leaders.
Hitting the jackpot
Some of this was visible at the Sixth Annual Book Fair which is on now at the Tamukkam Grounds. Organised by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India, there are over one lakh titles displayed across 150-odd stalls waiting to be explored. For any booklover, finding a wide range of books under one roof is like hitting the jackpot.
The footfall of over 10,000 in the last one week does indicate that people are aware of the benefits of reading and are keeping the interest alive. People seem to be realising that book fairs are not only fun but also a place to discover new authors and new titles, grab some old classics and learn about the contemporary. It is also about connecting with like-minded people, rubbing shoulders with publishers, distributors, suppliers, booksellers, librarians and decision-makers. Madurai is, albeit slowly, catching up.
Though the annual book fair does get quality books within the reach of the common man, what I distinctly miss here is the literary dose – the special poetry reading sessions or interaction with authors, which are otherwise specially conducted at such fairs and are a treat for those who relish the written word. Also stalls for English books constitute less than 10 per cent of the expo.
Nevertheless this fair is a unique platform bringing together regional publishers, local bookstore owners and readers, all trying to grab back the eyeballs from the digital to the print world and promote the reading culture.
People are mostly picking up books on computers, medicine and engineering. The hot picks, as usual, are books on cookery, astrology, health and lifestyle, career and self-help.
As you stall-hop, you find tables and racks filled up with reference and text books, dictionaries and thesaurus, books on philosophy and religion, arts and architecture, sports, media, spirituality, travel, fantasy, second hand thrillers and more. It is the children's stalls that always manage to generate more interest as there is always a new age collection of sound, pop-up, 3-D books, comics and various educational aids like learning through DVD for the bigger children. The exclusive multimedia section is definitely drawing crowds.
With no entry fee and open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. till September 12, the book fair is worth a visit. Fortunate are those who read to live and thereby pay the ultimate tribute to our true, faithful, all-weather life-long companions.
