The 17th National Book Fair is on at Moti Mahal Vatika, in Lucknow. And there are more than 60 stalls to check out for book lovers that cover everything from Hindi and Urdu Literature, to children’s books and study aids, religious and motivational books and second hand books. You will also find lots of stalls selling knick knacks like toys and health aids. In the midst of all the stalls and shopping, don’t miss these 5 stalls that we absolutely recommend:
STUDENT BOOK CENTRE
The largest stall at the Book Fair, this place has books of all kinds – fiction, poetry anthologies, young adult fiction, children’s, self help, cookery, DIYs, apart from stationery items like notebooks and diaries. The USP though is that these books are second-hand books that start at Rs.20 – for a Mills & Boon, and go up to Rs. 30 for kids’ books, and Rs.50/Rs.100 for other books! The stall is located outside, on the left of the main pandal, near Meenu’s Kitchen.
NAVRANG PRINTERS
This is the stall that’s attracting eyeballs for a life-size book shaped like a Narendra Modi statue. ‘Narendra Modi – Ek Sakaratmak Soch’ by Apurva Shah, the book on the Indian Prime Minister that the stall is selling, is also cut like a Modi figurine. Priced at Rs.250, it’s no surprise that the book is selling like hot cakes. A collector’s items for a lot of bibliophiles!
EKTARA PUBLICATION
There are a lot of stalls with books for children, but the one that caught our eye is Ektara Publication. It has beautifully illustrated books, short stories and poems and magazines for children in Hindi! Creative and imaginative, we highly recommend you visit this stall if you would like to introduce your child to good Hindi literature.
PUBLICATION DIVISION, MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING, GOI
Since the theme for this year’s Book Fair is the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, this stall is a must-visit. For, without doubt, it has the largest collection of books on the Father of the Nation. They also have coffee table books and biographies of other Indian leaders.
H JUTE BAG
Our last recommendation is not really a book stall, but we would still say it’s worth checking out. H Jute Bag from Kolkata was selling jute bags of all shapes and sizes. And some really fancy ones! Considering that plastic is phasing out slowly but surely, they were a lot of takers for these bags at the Book Fair. Priced between Rs.50 and Rs.350, they are affordable as well.
Location: Moti Mahal Vatika, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow
