I had the opportunity to visit the ongoing “New Delhi World Book Fair” at Pragati Maidan (14th -22nd Feb, 2015) on the second day i.e 15th February. Here is what is all there to see and experience. I hope this helps those who plan to visit the fair.
Timings– 10.30 am to 8.00 am everyday.
Parking– Parking for the visitors is on Bairav Road, near Bairav temple, Purana Qila. Parking fees is Rs. 100/- for the whole day. The nearest entry point is Gate no.2. One has take the two underpass from the parking to reach the gate no.2.
Tickets– Tickets are available near all the entry gates (1,2, 3,5,7). Tickets are priced at rs. 20/- for adults and Rs. 10/- for children below 12. Information center- The fair Information center is in Hall no. 7D and you can pick up the detail map and other information regarding the Fair from there.
Events- A number of literary events are organised daily like book launch etc and schedule of the events is available in the information desk.
The exhibits- The fair is spread over into Halls 1A/1R, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12/12A, 14.
Hall 6 (General, Trade, social-science)– This is nearest to the Gate no. 2. Exhibited stalls were General books, many on Social science. Also if you are looking for pulp fiction at low cost, there are many small stalls ( mostly in the corners) selling bestsellers at throw away prices. Good place to look Coffee table books, antique book you having longing to buy. Also has good no. Children book stalls.
Hall 7(A-E) Foreign Pavilion– as the name suggests, this Hall has stalls for Different countries, France, U.A.E, china, Indonesia, Korea(Focus country) and stalls of organisation like UNESCO etc. Good place to search books if you are learning a foreign language or looking for Books on religion and cultures. Expats can look for books from there countries which they usually don’t get otherwise. This hall also has the children pavilion which has some daily literary activities going on for them. The information center is also in this hall.
Hall 1A/1R Children’s & educational Book– The most crowded for obvious reasons as the name suggest. You can get all those Reference books, Work books and Question booklets for your teenager along with variety of story books at a discounted prices. Lot of stalls for children activity, quite a few stalls were selling educational games n toys too. Good place to look for books n visual aids for phonetics, language kits, educational CDs at discounted price. Tons of exhibits on Learning aids n tools for pre primary and primary learning for teachers also.
Hall 12/12A Hindi & Regional Language – Not a very large exhibit of regional books, but worth a visit. Quite an interesting collection of contemporary books in Hindi Sahitya. I personally found a few Bangla Books I had been looking for long!
Hall 8 – Sahitya Manch, Hall 9/10/11 General books, Hall 14 Science & Technology , E Books, Miscellaneous, Govt. Organisations – Personally didn’t visit the hall, hence will refrain from commenting.
Other Facilities- Wheel Chairs are available at Gate no. 7. Medical facility is available in Hall 7. Hall no.19 has a few bank branches along with a post office. IDBI mobile ATM van is also there. There are food kiosk, cafeterias just beside Hall 6 and Hall 12. There are Toilets near the entry gates n besides the Halls.
Tips – Go easy on Cash if you are planning a bulk buy, even though most of the bigger stalls except CCard but few smaller stall have cash payments only. Also do carry a Trolley bag/suitcases as books bought can be heavy to be carried around. Wear Comfortable shoes for all the walking around and carry bottled water and you are ready to go !
Lastly Friends who have visited the fair please do add your comments and correct me if i’m wrong anywhere.
[Image Source: www.hindu.com]
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