Your Visit to a Book Fair: How to Find the Best Deals Without the Stress
[Notes: Time and place-decoration of gateways. Arrangement of stalls- sale of all kinds of books-all stalls crowded. Books sold well: Sukumar Rachanavali, Thakurmer Jhull etc. Hubbub Cafes.]
One January last a book fair was held in the extensive Milan Sangha Maidan of our town. It lasted for five days. I visited it with my brothers and sisters. The gate-ways were gorgeously decorated and recalled the architectural beauty of Indian temples. Many book-sellers and publishers of India joined this fair.
The book stalls were set up on each of the four sides of the ground and there were open spaces in front of them. The stalls were housed in temporary sheds. They offered for sale all kinds of books. They were all crowded. The most crowded, however, were the stalls which were mainly stocked with children's books. Both the children and their parents thronged in front of them to see the books. The books like Thakurmer Jhuli (ঠাকুরমার ঝুলি), Sukumar Rachanavali (the collected edition of Sukumar's works), the detective fictions of Satyajit Ray and the collected works of Sibram sold like hot cakes. They were each sold at a much reduced price.
The striking feature of the fair was its hubbub. There were loud chaffers between the book-sellers and customers about the percentage of discount for books. Besides the visitors were all talking about thousand nothing of daily life. There were cafes where the visitors could have light refreshment. Cultural functions were held everyday, which added to the attraction of the fair. On the whole the fair was a profitable one for all.
