Stealing book lovers' hearts in Hyderabad

Book lovers from all of Hyderabad had a reason to celebrate last weekend, as they gathered at Vasavi Kalyana Vedika, Khairatabad where BookChor held their book fair - Lock-The-Box-Sale - for the second time in three years from April 5-7. One could see the same shared enthusiasm in the crowd that ranged from all ages as they hoarded books of different genres into their boxes, priced at three different rates. Of the books that sold out, most were children's books and best-sellers. There were individuals that bought the largest box available only to come back to loot some more the next day.

"Being software professionals, we don't have the time to experiment and curate for ourselves. There are a lot of award winners that we didn't want to miss out on," said Nilotpal and Biswoprotim when asked why they were targeting famous choices. As the afternoon progressed, The Hans India had a chance to strike an interesting conversation with the co-founder of BookChor, Alok Sharma. Here are a few questions he answered:

With the nature of your work, you are constantly surrounded by books. Are you a reader as well?

I love reading. Don't get as much time these days but I read as much as I can. I am open to most genres and am currently reading Brian Sanderson. Every book lover should read at least one of his books. He is great.

We noticed a higher number of books from Indian authors as compared to last year. What is your take on these authors writing in

English and why do you think they are not as popular as foreign ones?

It is a work in progress. As non-native speakers of English, we face certain challenges that the natives do not. Writers need to find a way to work around these barriers while staying authentic. Nonetheless, we definitely see an increase in new and young talent. More and more people are publishing their work these days and most of them show promise and we are doing our share of promoting them.

We noticed the lack of books in Indian languages in your massive collection on display. Do you have plans of promoting literature in regional languages as well?

Yes! As a matter of fact, we are working on collecting books in languages like Bengali, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu as of now, so you can look forward to having access to those next year. Although, it is a challenge to collect second-hand versions of these books. Which is why we are setting up offices soon, in 10 major cities where people can sell used books to us in exchange for cash.

Have you ever heard of Fanfiction? What are your thoughts on it?

Yes. I have read a lot of it as well. I enjoy reading transformative works. Great talent can come from anywhere. Creativity should be encouraged in all forms. In fact, we intend to open a portal on our website and create a platform for writers, young and old alike.

In the world that is digitising everything, how long do you think this book hauling trend will last?

For a long time to come. There is something unparallelled about holding a physical copy of a book, feeling the texture of paper under your fingers and a comfort in smelling the ink as you read on.

Lastly, in your opinion, what is different about Hyderabad's readership?

The readership of Hyderabad is still growing, just like other states and is much better than that of north Indian states. I believe reading is one of the things that brings people together. We sold more classics in Kolkata while in Hyderabad and Chennai we sell more children's books. So, southern states seem to have similar reading tastes.