It’s fair to catch ’em young

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One would have felt that after having been pushed into the last week of the year due to the Commonwealth Games, the annual Delhi Book Fair would have a tough time finding patrons in the cold, wintry capital. And the apathy shown by several publishers from both India and abroad raised further concerns. But interestingly, neither has

the footfall suffered nor has business, because children have come to the fair’s rescue. Parents accompanied kids to the fair at Pragati Maidan over the weekend and publishers having gauged the trend for the past few seasons were also ready to “catch ‘em young”.
Commenting on the volume of books for children here, Mudit Mohini, director of Vishv Books, says, “Although the number of participating publishers has drastically reduced, the footfall has more or less remained the same as a number of new publications that have entered pertain to children’s literature domain.”
Even the holiday season hasn’t dampened sales because many had a day out with family and brought children along.
Talking about the sales, Rakesh Nath, owner of Delhi Press, concurs, “Almost 70 per cent of the business is kids-centric. It’s a combination of textbooks and children’s literature, reference books et al.” His stall displays a pictorial book for little ones called Inside Our Jungle that sits pretty on a little table with chairs and vibrant activity of kids all around.
Not just publishers, even distributors have encashed on the changing times at the Book Fair. Their stalls are the hubs for fans of Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew titles and for those looking to pick up books for a handsome bargain.
The discount section at stalls like Om Books had a section dedicated to children’s books on sale and it was abuzz. Sanjay Mago of Om Books International, averred, “The section for children’s books is a huge attraction. Competition in classrooms is very severe these days so only textbooks aren’t enough and reference books are a must. We were looking to bring in a good volume of books for children and as it turns out children are more in focus at the fair.”
Children like Shaswat, student of Tagore International School, had parents towing along and his mother informed, “Due to curtailed winter vacations we thought of coming down during the first weekend itself.”
And as Nath puts it, even shortened vacations are a boon for business, “When kids come with their parents they actually buy more than when they come in school groups. Parents mean more cash and children can pick this and that and choose much more.”

The Delhi Book Fair is on at Pragati Maidan till 2 January 2011