Student Assignment:

BOOK FAIR 2011

After College working hours, in the afternoon, we took a train to Chetput and reached there by 02.30 pm. We were four guys who went to the book fair together. We got down at Chetput and didn't know where to go. But somehow we reached there.

We went into the book fair and i asked everyone to go separately and collect their own reports. I went into the fair. I was bewildered on seeing the posters, banners and the cut outs of the stalls which were kept in the fair. There were about 500 stalls. There were about thousands of people and there was a great rush. But somehow i got the ticket and went into the stalls. I started from stall no.1. There were stalls from all parts of India. I went to the gate and visited stall number 1 - thirukundanthai pathipagam. It comprises of all the Tamil books of age-old authors and new-age authors. The books were up to date in that stall. And then, I saw the famous publishers, like Macmillan, which was located in stall no.6. It took me a lot of time to complete one row of the book fair. But time seems to be moving fast for me as i'm fond of books and reading. 

Then, i saw another great publication that is Arihant Publication, which is on stall no.38. As my ambition is to become an IPS Officer, i saw many books related to UPSC exams of both preliminary exams and mains exams. The books are divided based on each subject of mains exams on the shelves of the stall. I saw a famous publication which is Cambridge University Press, which is famous for its dictionaries. I saw all types of dictionaries which are divided and kept in the shelves. This stall was located in 457 and 458.

There were also leading newspaper stalls such as The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, The Times of India, and also leading magazines and international magazines in the book fair. there were also softwares, games and also interactive cd shops for children. There were a lot of books from the children of age 3 to old age. I saw many children who came for the book fair. That was very inspiring for me.

Atlast, I came to the last stall. The name of the publication is thozhamai veliyeedu. It was located on stall no.415 which was the last stall. The time was about 7 pm., and so i decided to get back to my Hall in College. There was a novel which caught my attention throughout the fair. The name of the novel was The English Teacher, written by R.K.Narayan.

In the novel, the plot is about Krishna, an English lecturer at Albert Mission College. For several years, he has enjoyed a bachelor's life, but this changes when his wife, Susila, and their child, Leela, move in with him. Krishna's life expands to include the happy domesticity of living with his wife and child: nearly half the novel focusses on the mundane joys of his day-to-day experiences with his family. However, one day, Susila contracts typhoid after visiting a dirty lavatory and dies from the illness. Krishna is destroyed by her loss but receives a letter from a stranger indicating that Susila has been in contact with him and wishes to communicate with Krishna.

As an English teacher at Albert Mission College, Krishna has led a mundane and monotonous lifestyle comparable to that of a cow, but this took a turn when his wife, Susila, and their child, Leela, come to live with him. With their welfare on his hands, Krishna learns to be a proper husband and learns how to accept the responsibility of taking care of his family. He felt that his life had comparatively improved, as he understood that there’s more meaning to life than to just teaching in the college. However, on the day when they went in search of a new house, Susila contracts typhoid after visiting a dirty lavatory, keeping her in bed for weeks. Throughout the entire course of her illness, Krishna constantly tries to keep an optimistic view about Susila’s illness, keeping his hopes up by thinking that her illness would soon be cured. However, Susila eventually succumbs and passes away. Krishna, destroyed by his loss, had suicidal thoughts but gave them up for the sake of his daughter, Leela. He led his life as a lost and miserable person after her death, but after he received a letter from a stranger who indicated that Susila has been in contact with him and that she wanted to communicate with Krishna, he became more collected and cheerful. This leads to Krishna’s journey in search of enlightenment, with the stranger acting as a medium to Susila in the spiritual world. Leela, on the other hand, goes to a preschool where Krishna gets to meet the Headmaster, a profound man who cared for the students in his school and teaches them moral values through his own methods. The Headmaster puts his students as his top priority but he doesn’t care for his own family and children, eventually leaving them on the day predicted by an astrologer as to be when he was going to die, which did not come true. Krishna gets to learn through the Headmaster on the journey to enlightenment; eventually learning to communicate to Susila on his own, thus concluding the entire story itself, with the quote that he felt ‘a moment of rare immutable joy’.

However, the trip to the fair ended well, and i returned to the hall with full satisfaction.

[Attached: Layout of stalls and List of stalls, with Stall numbers.]

Submitted by:

Gautham, C, I BSc Zoo (Reg)