The nine-day national book fair in Shimla, which concluded on Saturday, has drawn the attention of youth this year.

Over 23 publications across India have displayed over 2.5 lakh books here in Shimla. The youth believe that social media and the COVID-19 lockdown have developed reading habits among them. The organisers are also happy to get a good response from the youth visiting the book fair.

The organisers say that the objective is to develop reading habits among the people.
“We got a good response from the book fair. The Ojas Centre for Art and Readership Development (OCARD) has been organising it. It is our sixth annual book fair in Shimla. It started on June 24 and ended on July 1, 2023. The response of the people was outstanding,” said the organiser.

“The main attraction was that 23 publishers participated in it, and over 2.5 lakh books have been displayed here under a single roof. It includes books for youth in competition. The youth are coming in large numbers in the present-day world of digital and social media platforms. The youth coming here have made it clear that books are still important. After COVID-19, not only in Shimla but also across India, people have started coming in large numbers to book fairs as they have developed reading habits,” said Sachin Choudhary, organiser of the National Shimla Book Fair.

The tourists visiting here were also stepping into the book fair organised here in the historic Gaiety Theatre and the outer stalls in the heart of the city, the Ridge.
“I have come here as a tourist. The weather is very good, and by coming here to this book fair, I am buying books for my brother. The youth are more into mobile and the internet, but reading books is always good. Books are our good friends. I am here to spend the holidays; it is good to be here at this book fair,” said Chahat, a young student and tourist from Punjab.

Local young girls were rushing to the book fair and finding it more comfortable to read books instead of the internet. Buying books is affordable for these youth at the book fair.

“I like reading books more than surfing the Internet, as the Internet gives you basic knowledge, but books develop your imagination and creativity; the books have confirmed information, and the Internet is modified, so I like reading books. If we search online, the costs are heavy, and here at the book fair, you can buy books at affordable prices,” said Saod Salvia, a local young buyer and reader.

Some of the local youth were disappointed as they did not find some of the books they wanted to buy, but they were also happy that after COVID-19 they were able to develop a reading habit.

“I think it was pretty nice to look around here at so many books. It could have been better, as I saw so many repeated books here. There are lots of books I wanted to find here, but I did not find them here. In terms of classic literature, they have a good collection. I think we are seeing a wave of literature come into social media. There is something called Booktagram, where people post their books. That is something that encourages youth to come to book fairs and appreciate art and literature. During COVID, people like me were reading books, and I think COVID did lots of things to bring literature back into my life, said Arundheti Thakur, a local girl.