As a writer & reader, I have been scared for a few years now. Because everyone is talking Tech, about how to self-publish a book, read Kindle books on a machine and all that. We have lost the romance of creating characters we can talk to as we write.
Holding a book, reading it, and, as you doze off reading, it falling on your chest is like having an affair with your beloved. All that was lost until the just concluded Book Fair happened.
The Book Fair in Pragati Maidan was teeming with book lovers like old times. Well organized, you could float in seamlessly, browse and buy books, and come out for food. For writers, there were publishers who were willing to discuss your books with you – there at their stalls and later in their offices.
I came across groups of college students who were having fun sitting against the walls outside book stalls and in the corridors, discussing their rendezvous with books.
Class-II student, Vedansh Garg (PC12/ 1002), studying in Lotus Valley International, was trying to persuade his father to buy the national bestseller ‘The Hidden Hindu’ by Akshat Gupta. To his surprise, the author, standing nearby, approached them. A dream come true for Vedansh! He got a signed copy of the book. Now this could happen only in a physical world; not in the Kindle/ virtual world!
The best part of the Book Fair was the original Diary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh that he wrote in jail. People removed their shoes and stood in front of it with folded hands!
12 years’ old Akshat (PH4/ 910) was there with his mother, brimming with joy. He went browsing and buying books, and then polishing off his favourite pizza. It was difficult for his mother to drag him out of the Fair in the evening!
These children ensure there is hope for humanity. They will be good citizens of our nation.
Everyone, big or small, looked happy. Shivani Pde’s debut book ‘Broken Heart Verses’ on stalls made her day. People held lists of books which they have waited the entire year to buy. There is hope for the nation if book fairs continue to be like this. They help in introducing us to our culture.
by Dinesh Kapoor (PH-1/1203)
