By Sandeep Dwivedy
Post News Network
Cuttack, Dec 22: The Cuttack Book Fair, organised by National Book Trust, is not just about books. Even as one enters the fair, being held at Bali Yatra Ground here, a large crowd can be seen gathered at the cafeteria where people can be seen jostling for snacks even as some book stalls wear a deserted look.
According to Sambit Behera, a resident of Mangalabag, the book fair is a great opportunity for Cuttack residents to browse through books along with snacks. “I came here to buy some books but ended up having snacks at the cafeteria. The selection of books on offer is good but there is little choice for those looking for new non-fiction releases by prominent Indian and foreign authors,” Behera said, adding the range of Oriya books at the fair however is great.
With online e-books becoming a rage, booksellers at the fair feel that the sheer reading pleasure that comes out of sitting down with a real book is unparalleled. Mihir Kumar Sarangi, a bookseller from Bhubaneswar, who has set up his stall at the fair, feels the book fair is a great opportunity for literature lovers in a city known for its history, culture and heritage.
Sarangi’s views are shared by engineering student Prakash Kumar, a resident of Patna, who said his search for discounted books ended at the fair. “I got a discount of 15 per cent on a book I was looking for a long time,” Kumar said. On the other hand, his classmate Sudhir Mishra said nowadays almost every book has an e-version available for download on the internet.
“Torrent is a great tool for downloading classics. Only recently I downloaded The Emperor of All Maladies, a recent classic, which had won the Pulitzer Prize in the non-fiction category,” Mishra said, adding the printed version is on sale for `350. When Kumar challenged Mishra’s claim, Mishra immediately whipped out his phone and downloaded the book from Torrent. “Who needs books when you have a smartphone?” said Sudhir.
The tug of war between traditionalists and techno-geeks will go on, but the owner of the cafeteria is over the moon as he says he has hit a gold mine by setting up his shop at the book fair. A book stall set up by National Book Trust is registering profits but the same cannot be said about the others.
