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Where the city becomes a community |
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By: Madhusudan Maney |
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Date:
2008-11-17 |
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Place: Bangalore |
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 The Bangalore Book Festival 2008, which is on till November 24, is attracting everyone who loves a good book.
The 300-odd stalls, from all across India, have treasures big and small. Readers can choose from science fiction to cookery to grandmother's tales. Over the weekend, techies turned up in droves and left with satisfied smiles and heavy bags. Books on architecture, astronomy, anthorpology, name it and the book fair has it at a hefty discount.
Bookworms can feast on leather-bound classics stocked in a stall at a quiet corner of Palace Grounds, the venue of the book fair. There were deals galore on maps, dictionaries and reference material for students.
Familiar names like Sapna Book House drew loyal customers, while Lahiri's stall drew curious enquiries that quickly turned to delighted gasps when people found movie DVDs and MP3 at shockingly low prices.
Stalls that stocked spiritual books proved to be super hits. Books by Aurobindo, J Krishnamurti, Ravi Shankar and Nityananda swamiji were on display and sale at these stalls.
Sanskrit, Tamil and Kannada books some of which were priced at Rs 10 drew a large number of browsers and buyers. So did the four stalls that sold books on Islam by scholars.
All that browsing can make you hungry. The food stalls, which have sprouted outside the fair, sell amazing bajjis, pickles, kebabs and full meals!
Pen Drive Tip: Put your credit card back into your wallet. Nobody accepts credit/ debit cards at the fair. Cash and carry that's the theme.
What we liked: Clear cataloguing and well-defined layout of the stalls, which means you don't waste time wandering around looking for your favourite writer's work.
What puzzled us: The Page 3 stall with its books on bathrooms as glamour rooms!
Best Buys: Nat Geo magazines at Rs 30-Rs 50, and comics at Rs 15 each. |
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