The book fair

A book fair is a fair of books. We have heard of a village fair, an industrial fair, an agricultural fair etc. but a new name has now been added to those is a fair. The book fair is of recent origin. Still it is limited to big towns and cities only. In a book fair thousands of books are displayed in different stalls. It is an exhibition of books where we can see lots of them. We can also buy lots of books at a reduced price.
The first book fair was held in Europe in the 13th century, but it was not a full fledged book fair. It was only a part of some other fair. The full fledged book fair was held in Frankfurt in Germany. After this the other countries started holding book fairs. In India the first book fair was held in Calcutta. Book fair of national level was first held in Bombay in 1969. It was organised by National Book Trust of India. From 1972 the World Book Fair is being held in Delhi after every two years.
A book fair is generally held in an open field with fencing all around it. Publishers and traders of books of the different parts of the country and also from abroad take part in the fair and make brisk business. They build their stalls in rows. The stalls are very well-decorated and varieties of books are displayed in an orderly manner so that the visitors may have a look at them. There are also tea stalls inside the premises where the visitors can have cold drinks, tea, coffee and snacks. In some fairs gardens and parks are also seen. In a book fair we can see people of all ages-old and young and school going boys and girls. They visit the stalls looking at the books and buying the wanted ones. In some big fairs symposiums and seminars are also held in which topics relating to books are discussed. Cultural shows are also arranged.
A book fair is of great use for the book-lovers and students. In a book fair one can find the books which are so important but not available in the market. People of different tastes find books of their own choice. Moreover, books may be brought there at reduced price because of the rebate given. It gives some relief to the readers. Some rare books which cannot be borrowed by any other source may be found in a book fair. It is also very useful to the publishers and the traders of books.