"People were flocking the venue with a smile on their faces and with great excitement, zeal and curiosity"

A Visit to the Chennai Book Fair

It was 15-01-2011 and the time was 2.30 pm. 

I started to move out from my Hall and headed towards the railway station to book the ticket as i was destinated to go to Nungambakkam for the 24th Chennai Book Fair which was being held in St.George's Anglo-Indian Hr. Sec School which was opposite to Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai - 30.

2.40 pm: I reached the station and i was made to wait for a long time for nearly half an hour as the queues were long and crowded. When my turn came, it was 3.15 pm. 

I booked the ticket and I then paid Rs.14 to the counter as I had booked for a return journey. And, as I got my ticket, I then headed towards the train. I went through the platform no.1&2, and got into the II Class coach, booked my seat at ease in my desired spot as almost all the seats were vacant. I had to wait for another 10 minutes, and i looked at the time and it was 3.37 pm. And, lastly the train journey started.

4.20 pm: Alas, finally, my destination arrived, and i got down from the crowded train, and headed towards the road, searching for the right autorickshaw. 

Finally got one, after only having a tough conversation for bargaining and lastly the driver and I came to the conclusion with the deal of Rs.40 to go to the book fair which was a 10-minute journey, with the feeling of break-even, as neither the driver nor i had any gain or loss. 

Since i don't know the local language and moreover as i was alone, i lost the communication bridge between the driver and me, who also didn't know the universal language very well. 

Thus far, i came to know how important it is and a privilege given to me to know the local language better.

4.38 pm: Finally when I reached the destination it was 4.3 pm, and I paid the sum of Rs.40 to the driver, and i headed towards the event. Oh! Oh! Oh! what a crowded event! 

Firstly, i was a bit confused on where exactly to go when i stepped into the entrance. 

People were flocking the venue with a smile on their faces and with great excitement, zeal and curiosity. 

Those who are going away after seeing the book fair looked fully contended, which could be gauged from the smile of satisfaction on their faces, as they must have already bought their favourite books and loaded on both their hands, irrespective of age, old people and youngsters, students and working people alike.

4.45 pm:  It was 4.45 pm and i was near the entrance waiting for the ticket and on my hand I got a ticket for Rs.5/- and on entering the main entrance the ticket collector who was near the entrance tore a bit of the ticket as a sign of letting me in.

4.48 pm: It was the moment of real fair. Wow! So many books and book-lovers were seen reading, interrogating and buying books with the dealers and shop keepers of the stall. 

As for me, I don't know from where to start, since there were so many stalls which were divided into many sections. I was a bit confused and nervousness was building up within me not knowing what to do. 

Then, i thought of trying my luck in the lucky draw, and started filling up the counterfoil of the ticket. Many people were seen dropping the same, with hopes of winning the draw. 

After that, I headed to each and every stall, looked up the name of each of them, and roamed the whole area for nearly an hour, searching for the right stall that suited me the best. 

And there, lastly, i saw the stall and it's name was 'BOOK WORLD'. I chose this stall because it was very good, and, while all stalls and eye-attracting offers on various prices, with different kinds of books being showcased,  this one was simply the best one with various books on a variety of genres, and had almost all kinds of books for all kinds of readers. 

They also gave good offers. One offer, which attracted me the most was, 'Get 5 books for Rs.500/- only', on one of the shelves which was fully stuffed and loaded with different kinds of books. And in that particular stall, there was a huge rush also.

5.48 pm: After a long search for my required type of book in that shelf, i finally got it. 

The book name is "The Fruits of War" written by Michael White who was longlisted for the 2006 Aventis Prize. 

I chose this book because I like to read novels, comics, magazines, that are influenced by science and technology. 

In this book, the author says that war brings confusion, conflicts, havoc, loss of lives, loss of property, loss of peace, hunger, and pain etc. 

The book deals with how Military conflict accelerates technology and improvised the issue till date. I should say that war is the 'father of technology' on one side of the issue.

6.00 pm: got my required book, paid the cash for the books, and i too was contended with a smile beaming on my face like the others!

After I walked out from the main entrance, i saw that there were parallel events that were going on outside of the book exhibition also.  

There were lots of vendors busy selling their things to the people who were coming to the fair. There were also various stalls besides them, like fruit stalls, fast food kiosks, and drinks, etc. 

There was an event going on which was attended by a good number of ardent onlookers. 

Moreover, the traffic police and other police personnel were heavily deployed in and out of the event venue, and they were seen doing the tough job of escorting, guiding and ensuring the security of the public visitors and the VIPS as well, and also making sure that traffic was not paralysed by a traffic jam.

6.20 pm: After coming out of the main venue, i boarded a train back home.

About the Author and His Book:

Michael White was a member of the internationally famous band the Thompson Twins. He then became a lecturer at d'Overbroek's College, Oxfort, before becoming Director of Studies. 

Turning to fall time writing in 1991, he is now the author of 25 books including the international bestsellers Stephen Hawkings: A Life in Science, Leonardo, the First Scientist, Tolkein: A Biography, and the Science of the X-files. There are some 140 editions of Michael White's books published globally.

He was awarded the Bookman Prize in the US for best popular science book of 1998 for his biography of Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer, and in 2002 was shortlisted for the prestigious Aventis Award for his book Rivals: Conflict as the fuel of Science.

Michael White has been a newspaper columnist, science editor for GQ Magazine, and a series consultant for the Discovery Channel's 'The Science of the Impossible'. 

In 2001 he was awarded a Distinguished Talent visa by the Australian government, and now lives in Perth, Western Australia, with his wife and four children, where he is an Honorary Research Fellow at Curtin University. For more information visit http://michaelwhite.com.au/

"I will ignore all ideas for new works on engines of war, the invention of which has reached its limits and for whose improvements I see no further hope." Julius Frontinus, Chief Military Engineer to the Emperor, AD 70.

Submitted by:
Kekhrie Nekha, I BSc Pb&Pbt