'Bookchor' grabs attention at World Book Fair in Delhi
New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) For some it is JRR Tolkien's fantasy classic 'The Lord of the Rings' while for others it is holy scripture 'Bhagavad Gita' – a wall of quirky notes bearing titles of a range of books is grabbing eyeballs and the occasional chuckle at the ongoing book fair here.
On a temporary wall of its stall at the 52nd New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF), a proprietor has put up a question for visitors – 'Which book has changed your life?' The handwritten answers, posted on bright yellow post-it notes included both fiction and autobiographies of important personalities as well as some amusing responses.
Some said their '10th NCERT Maths' school textbook had the maximum impact on their lives, while some just wrote ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the wall of notes. A woman chose the spot to make a self-motivating note to herself and wrote: “I am not giving up.” The idea of the wall was conceived by a Bengaluru-based bookseller, 'Bookchor'.
Just outside its stall at Hall No. 1 at the revamped Pragati Maidan complex, curious visitors gathered near the wall to get a dekko of the responses to the question – 'Which book has changed your life?' The yellow grid created by dozens of post-it notes put up since the opening of the fair on February 10, draws in visitors as soon as they enter through the hall gate nearest to the stall.
The responses included fantasy classics such as the 'Harry Potter' series by J K Rowling and JRR Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', Vikram Seth's magnum opus 'A Suitable Boy', Roald Dahl's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Matilda' and popular erotic romance novel 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.
Others names, scribbled mostly anonymously, included the 'Bhagavad Gita', 'Mein Kampf' – autobiography of Adolf Hitler, 'The Power of Your Subconscious Mind' by Joseph Murphy, Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist', Khaled Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner ', 'Capital' by Karl Marx, 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli, and 'I Will Win Without War' by Tanisha Tiwari.
For some visitors, the nostalgia for their old textbooks is evident – 'The Concept of Physics' by H C Verma found a mention in the wall. Many others just scribbled 'NCERT', reminding readers of their school textbooks.
Books by motivational speakers such as 'Life's Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life' by Gaur Gopal Das were also on the wall.
Other readers' favourites include, 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk and 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter.
The rows of yellow notes have most responses in the English language, peppered with some names and comments in Hindi and a few in Punjabi too, reflecting the theme of the fair – 'Bahubhashi Bharat -- Multilingual India'.
“Sab kuch English kyon Hindi bhi to hai sab kuch (why is everything in English, what about Hindi)”, said a visitor’s note in Hindi.
Other Hindi notes that stood out were: “Kitabon mey jhuke hue sirr, zindagi bhar uthe rahte hain -- isiliye shikha aur shikhshak dono anmol hain' (A person who bows before books walks with his head held high – both education and educators are priceless); “Kitabein jiwan ki suljhi hui dharohar hain (books are treasures of life)”; “Kitabon ke samne jhukenge to duniya tumhare samne jhukegi (If you bow before books, the world will bow before you).
The World Book Fair opened on February 10 with 'Multilingual India: A Living Tradition' as its theme. Over 1,000 publishers across nationalities and languages have participated in the book fair.
At the inauguration ceremony, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had called for a need to nurture a book-loving society, saying books alone will help us define our identity.
Bhim Singh Chauhan, an event manager at 'Bookchor', said the purpose of this wall is to engage the readers as well as know their thoughts to make better business decisions going forward.
"Readers have a memory, say, of which was the first book they read and what changes books have brought to their lives. They write the names of books and share their experiences. We also get an idea about which kind of books are in demand in which city," he told PTI.
Chauhan said the company has many rare books in its collection too and many are on display at the fair, and added that these can be purchased from its website also.
'These United States' and 'Best Loved Books' volumes by the Reader's Digest, the National Geographic Expedition Atlas, Helen's Babies with a special artistic cover are among the rare books that are on display at its stall.
Mayank Yadav, a class IX student from Haryana, who visited the book fair on Friday evening, said, "I have added Naruto on the wall of notes on books… It is a very creative idea to know people's thoughts.” The book fair ends on February 18. PTI
