The Annual Chennai Book Fair is tradition. it’s where book lovers and food lovers gather every year. we gathered at St George Fort for years before the venue was shifted to YMCA.
some come for the books, some come for the speeches, many come for the food.
whatever be the reason, the book fair is always an event to look forward to every january.
Humans We See at the Book Fair
Vasanth & Co
antha kaalam – no Amazon prime delivery so book fair was the annual stock up the library event.
intha kaalam – special editions, books on discount are available only at the book fair.
entha kaalam – must visit book fair no matter what. where else do you get to meet your favourite authors and orators? also way of life, kutcheri in december na, book fair in january no?
The Kids
- that want everything
- that are brought to the book fair with strict instructions to not touch anything
- that genuinely love being out
- that genuinely love the books
- that complain about having to walk so much
The Goosebumps & Babysitters Clubs
kids and adults alike that come only to buy goosebumps and the baby sitter club books.
😐 (look it up, not worth the explanation)
The Worms
if reading is a way of life, then the book fair is routine. books are bought at most stalls. the cotton and jute bags carry enough to rival power lifters.
The Donators
did you know you can donate to the Puzhal Central Library at the Book Fair? there are humans who do so religiously every year. why dont you do too?
The Eaters
the book fair always hosts arusuvai arasu. there are always the kiosks that sell cotton candy, chaat, masala ground nuts, suda suda bonda and filter kaapi. that’s why they are here.
Baby’s Day Out
here for instagram reels, to eat the ginormous cotton candies that arent otherwise easily available, to buy the keychain with the name on a grain of rice and to post pictures on social media with their fingers sticking out in a V.
The Millennials
grew up going to the book fair with parents so now it’s a way of remembering the times and also buying the odd book. a millennial is identified by the constant anxiety that comes with having a TBR that’s a mile long and yet stacking on more books to said TBR
The Smarties
a niche cross pollination of the worms and eaters who are (mostly) millennials. given the advent of technology, they come to the book fair to buy the odd (rare) book, eat to their heart’s content and most importantly note down titles to download for their kindle.
The OG
the ones who know that the REAL bookfair happens outside the actual bookfair. on the platform where the second-sales and the rarest of books are available.
