Book fair does roaring business

Hyderabad: Contrary to popular belief that the reading habit is dying, the Hyderabad Book Fair is proving everyone wrong as the stall owners are laughing all the way to the bank. On Sunday, the Vishalandhra stall alone did a business of Rs 7.2 lakh. Topudu Bandi, a stall that is as unique as its name did Rs 1 lakh business as well as more than 1.2 lakh visited the fair on Sunday.

Almost all stall owners (barring a few) say that the sales are good and interestingly, children are coming in droves. Jyothi Valaboju of J V Publishers is delighted with the response she says, “J V has brought out 108 titles in the last four years and that is ample evidence that the reading habit is only growing. Every year our sales are going up.”

Publishers from 10 states have put up stalls at the fair. A publisher from Varanasi has Sanskrit books and there are many takers. Koya Chandramohan, general secretary, Hyderabad book Fair (HBF) says, “With each passing year, the book fair is only growing.

Last year 10 lakh people visited the fair and more than 3 lakh have already visited this year. We have two Sundays and Saturdays with the January 26 also and we expect a sizable number.” About 60 per cent of the books that are sold are Telugu books.