We made it to the book fest this year just a day before its closure.
The usual book fest would happen during Pongal as people like to go out during the pongal holidays. Last few book fests are affected by covid restrictions and this year it has a new month - February.
In the YMCA grounds - the two wheelers can be parked to the left as soon as we enter the gates. On the right hand side is the exhibition on Indian freedom struggle. There pictures and texts about India's freedom fight. The final set of the exhibits are on current central's governments achievements and plans. The postal department has a stall here, one needs to fill in a form with adhaar details here and the department will give you stamps with your picture on it.
From here we need to walk almost a km crossing the car parking area to reach the book sellers stalls. As we went quiet early in the morning the visitors were and the temperature was bearable. The book sellers and publishers association BAPASI arranged this like any other year. Orations and functions happen mostly in the evenings. Apart from book stalls there was 'Illam Thedi Kalvi' science exhibition by the TN government.
Many students from schools had come in groups. Nice to kids interested in books. Many stalls had 'Ponniyin Selvan' on prime display. With Manirathnam's film on this coming in this, hope all Tamil households finish reading this. There were many historic novels in majority of the stalls. English book stalls were sparsely populated. A couple of reporter or rather student reporter were taking interview of the book seller and publishers.
It was heart warming to see so many book stalls and so many of Chennai-ties thronging to the book fest. Thanks to work from home, finding it difficult to walk through the book fest. Just hope things will be better next year.
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