Hyderabad: Book lovers annual pilgrimage

Hyderabad: The pessimists who regularly complain about the demise of books and reading culture should rethink and spend an eve at the NTR Stadium, located in the heart of Hyderabad.

People from all walks of life irrespective of age, caste, gender and status are flocking into the annual National Book Fair to delve into the world of knowledge and imagination. The books of multifarious genres have been stacked in the shelves of almost 330 stalls. Victor Hugo to Viswanatha Sathyanarayana and Franz Kafka to Firaq Gorakhpuri adorned the bookshelves and the package bags of the consumers.

The event is a polyglot which stages books from languages such as, Telugu, English, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada.

Chandra Mohan, secretary of the event, was enthralled by the success of the programme. "Reading habits are actually increasing among youth. Albeit, the format of reading has altered, and many people are resorting to e-formats rather than paper, but fundamentally, reading as a habit still reigns as the queen of all hobbies", he quipped.

Ahmed Ali, owner of Best books, a regular participant for the past 33 years, said, "Every year the count of people is increasing. Even while we are selling 18th century Benjamin Disraeli's book, it provides a new experience and insight for the readers, books might get old but there is always a new possibility and perspective in reading them."

"Literature always opens new doors towards the knowledge of the contemporary world. This fest is one of the best intellectual spaces in this city in my experience", said Sripriya, a student of Osmania University.

Rajesh Rao, a resident of Hyderabad, was totally excited about the event. "Providing a platform for 80 new writers is not a regular phenomenon in this country. We all complain about the plummet of quality works in vernacular languages but fails to exhibit the willingness to act. The coordinators of this event require a veneration for their effort to safeguard the vernacular writers and publishing industries".

Interestingly, various cultural events and popular programmes are being conducted as part of the Book Fair. Bala Kavi Sammelanam which conducted on Tuesday provided an opportunity for young Elliots and Plaths to write poems and recite it on stage. Followed by a relay magic show by 10 magicians, which was performed as part of the release of the book "Magic Masala" rendered goosebumps for the audience.

Notably, Chennaiah, a bookstall owner expressed concerns about the usurpation of the book market by the tech giants Flipkart and Amazon. "Such e-titans are sponging out employment from this sector. I was forced to implement layoff in my firm due to the significant reduction in profit. I am obliged to use such services due to existential crises", he complained.

According to most of the bookstalls, politics and motivational books rule the roost of the reading sector. People with different reading choices visit this carnival of books. Hence, books of fashion to fantasy, horror to humour move from the cobwebbed book racks to the billing counters during this 10-day bliss for book lovers.

By Mayukh Devadas/ Devanarayanan P