Walking into the Chennai Book Fair this year felt more like stepping into a cultural carnival of sorts!"

Inside the 49th Chennai Book Fair 2026

A Report

This year’s Chennai Book Fair saw seasoned bookworms of all hues unite at the YMCA Grounds, Nandanam, to celebrate the power of ink, ideas, and inclusivity!

With Dr. Benet, former Vice Principal of NC, and Dr. Lilian, Principal, WCC

Well, the CBF 2026 was inaugurated on 8th January 2026, and is expected to go on until 21st January 2026.

When Dr. Benet, (my best company for the past many years when it comes to visiting the Book Fair) called me up to check if I’m free this evening (Saturday evening) to visit the book fair, I impulsively gave a thumping ‘Yes’ for an answer! 😊

In fact, the very same morning, we had our MCC Institutions’ Annual Get-together at MCC School (my alma mater), where, the organisers had specifically asked the Deans from MCC to spearhead the fest!

MCC School Auditorium

The inspirational programme began at 9 am and ended at 1.30 pm. Felt so proud of the various schools and community colleges associated with MCC. It was also nice to see them all come together in brotherly love at the grand MCC School Auditorium, for our Annual Get-together.

The Very Same Place We Used to Study When We Were students Here 

The acoustics of the Auditorium was stunning!

Our Principal’s talk was the icing on the cake. He spoke on institutional resilience and institution-building.

“The first responsibility of any leader is to align people before thinking of streamlining processes. The next one is to streamline the processes, and the third one is to execute projects. If the order is changed, there will be a chaos. There will be a dissipation of heat, rather than converting them into energy, 

he noted.

This was followed by a very inspiring talk by Dr. Alfred Devaprasad, Member, Board of Directors, MCC. Dr. PCR Suresh, Advisor, MCC Board also spoke about the importance of Academic Excellence. The MCC Group Choir was super-awesome! During the tea-break, I felt so happy when Prof. Sridhar, our Vice-Principal said that he was also planning to visit the Book Fair today, along with his colleagues.

After the programme got over, by 1.30 pm I had to be part of the Comprehensive VIVA of Ms. Esther from SRM University. She did a very good presentation. Hats off to her Research Supervisor Dr. Shalini, for encouraging her ward to venture full-throttle into her field of research – to configure forms of experience that are epistemically inaccessible to phenomenological disclosure.

Then, by 6 pm, Dr. Benet arrived - on time as he had promised, - and we both went in his car to the YMCA Grounds for the Book Fair. After parking the car in the scheduled parking lot, we were walking our way into the sprawling grounds, discussing all things literature. 😊

Well, walking into the Chennai Book Fair this year felt more like stepping into a cultural carnival of sorts!

Even as we enter through the arches, (this year it’s been named the the Bharathiyar Gate), the distinct, aroma of paper - that only book lovers can understand - whiffs past you so gently, tugging at your heartstrings.

Dr. Benet in the company of books...

Interestingly, this year’s fair has introduced quite a few significant changes that really set it apart from previous editions of the Fair.

Firstly, the Free Entry, wherein, visitors just have to register via a QR code at the entrance, but the ticket itself is free. I guess this has visibly increased footfall to the Fair, going by any indications.

Secondly, a special Children’s Enclave has been created dedicated entirely to children. It’s quite colourful, interactive, and packed with storytelling sessions, making it easier for parents to keep kids engaged while they are busy browsing books nearby.

This year there’s a whopping 980 stalls, with a range of Tamil books, English & International Books, Used Books, etc donning the show in toto!

Yet another delightful surprise was meeting with Dr. Lilian Jasper, Principal of Women’s Christian College, Chennai, who is an incorrigible bookworm of the highest order, much akin to Dr. Benet! 😊

A View from MCC School Playground 

On the whole, a very rewarding day today, in every way!

'This slim novel stews in the passionate juice of wronged love...'

Book Review | GAYATHRI K

The Poison of Love by K.R. Meera

Gayathri K, gave us all a very intense book review in class today, on the novella titled, The Poison of Love by eminent Malayalam writer K. R. Meera.

Over to Gayathri –

Ministhy is not a translator by profession. But she involves herself in translating stories/articles just for the joy of it.

Well, we all must have heard about the sweetness in love, but have any of us heard about the poison of love?

I shall read an important excerpt from the book –

"Love is like milk. With the passage of time, it sours, splits, and becomes poison."

This story has a lot of autobiographical elements to its weave as well.

Tulsi is a product of IIT Chennai, and being a topper in class, she lands herself a very posh job as well.

Now, a journalist by name Madhav comes into her life, and his honeyed words and looks had a great influence on her. He was irresistible to her!

Such was the charm of Madhav on her, that she even left her dream job and came along with him. She then gives birth to two children with him.

However, she soon comes to know that he woos almost every girl in the same way with his honeyed words.

You can read about the emotions of the girl in the book. The book is available at Amazon.

Towards the end of the story, she kills both her sons, simply because she does not want these boys (of a womaniser and a traitor) to call her mother.

Madhav while he keeps wooing other women, he also keeps flattering her at the same time! However, the moment she comes to know that he made another woman pregnant, she had to take a call!

Every chapter begins with a picture depicting a few ants following a corpse. As the chapters increase, the ants also increase in the picture. The novella also has a nostalgic feel to it.

Now, because of the ignominy the family had to face because of this girl, they don’t allow her younger daughter for her higher studies.

In short, the whole family perished because of Madhav’s philandering ways towards all women he laid his eyes on!

Outlook says, ‘This slim novel stews in the passionate juice of wronged love... Intensity breathes through [Meera’s] style and every sentence is almost anguish... The plot seethes and twists... Ministhy is new to translating K.R. Meera but manages to wring out each drop of obsession’.

Teacher’s Remarks: Gayathri - you did a passionate and spirited book review, which was responded with an equally spirited ovation from your classmates. The book was quite new to most of us and hence, prompted some of us to get ourselves a copy of it too!

Kudos to you Gayathri on such an excellent book review! You had us all glued to your review right from start to finish. Congratulations! 

PS: Thanks a bunch to Preethi and Manimaran of II MA English, for the lovely snaps. 

"As Students of Literature, we are much more powerful than Psychiatrists as well...!"

Book Review | Fanny

II MA English Class Today

Fanny Praiselin began her review by showing us all her copy of Sidney Sheldon’s Tell Me Your Dreams, and then she foregrounded her concerns on issues relating to Multiple Personality Disorder - a mental health condition wherein a person exhibits traits of two or more separate personalities.

Over to Fanny –

Well, Dissociative Identity Disorder or Multiple Personality Disorder is a kind of disease or a mental health condition that is not spoken about very often in the public domain.

A person suffering from such a disorder is affected by a split personality!

There are three main characters in the novel -

Ashley - an introverted workaholic,

her coworker - Toni Prescott, an extroverted singer and dancer,  

and their third coworker - Alette Peters, an introverted artist!

All three fall in love!

When they go out, five mysterious murders take place – and all of them have an identical pattern to them.

Evidence also strongly points towards the same woman having been involved in all the murders.

Surprisingly, Ashley is identified as the serial killer and she is subsequently arrested.

It is then revealed that, the three women are in fact, three selves of the same woman who has been suffering from multiple personality disorder!

I chose to review this book because I wish to emphasise on the fact that we all have demons from the past; however, only when we open up, we can try and exorcise those demons of the past from off our lives!

At the same time, we should also be empathetic listeners to such people who have this MPD on them.

When I was in my third year UG here at MCC, I had a friend who called me up to talk to me about her problem. But it was highly unfortunate that I couldn’t attend her call then.

Three days later, I heard the news that she passed away – she had committed suicide.

That news haunted me much. It led me into a kinda depression as well. It took me sometime to come out of it.

This incident made me go deep and probe into the issues connected with depression.

We can make a great difference by the love we show to others.

I want to do this in my life!

As students of literature, we are much more powerful than a psychiatrist, because we have lived through the lives of so many characters in the vast stream of literature, signed off Fanny.

Teacher’s Remarks: Fanny, you are a real revelation! Hats off to you on choosing a book that resonates with a real-life personal incident. Your review was intense and had us all spell-bound from start to finish!

In short, you literally tugged at our heartstrings - of all of us - your ardent listeners in class today!

The awesome ovation from your classmates that impulsively followed in such quick succession, the moment you were done with your delightful review, is an added vibrant indicator to that!

You simply rocked the floor today Fanny.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks a bunch to Jean Elizabeth Mathew & Preethi for the wonderful snaps. 

"It is as strange as if a fish were repeatedly surprised at the wetness of water..."

An Evening with Booksters

Today I had the pleasant privilege of visiting a cousin of ours, in Tambaram.

After she gave me my customary ‘default’ magic potion – my cuppa coffee – she and her hubby then proceeded to open up their delightful stack of books arrayed neatly in an equally enthralling book cabinet that’s been designed exclusively for the purpose!

I was really in awe of such a huge collection of books, that Sampath and Anisea were giving me a delightful peek into!

The last past time I had such a lovely darshan of delightful books stacked up so beautifully was at Lakshmi & Abdul’s house in Trichy – and that must have been two years ago, I guess!

Anisea then showed us her favourite Cinderella book that she had won as a prize way back in the year 1992 as a kid in school! Sampath has also preserved his school books – especially the ones he’d won in competitions!

Even while I was dazing and gazing away at these cartload of books, Sampath pulled up one particular book, and asked me, if I had read the book!

When I said, ‘No’, then - with all excitement on him - Sampath proceeded to open up the book, and flipping through the pages his eyes rested on a particular page, and then, pointing to a quote, he said, ‘Rufus, just read this na!’

I took the book in my hands, as gently as he had held it, and reclining regally on the settee, I then proceeded to read the lines!

After reading the lines, I looked up towards Anisea and Sampath, and said,

‘Sampath and Anisea, my eyes are real moist. Words really fail me. Such awesome lines these are. Shall I take a snapshot of it for my status update?’ I asked him.

He said, ‘You may gladly take the book with you, Rufus!’

Felt so happy dear reader!

But wait-o-wait!

Let me give you a glimpse into that particular awe-inspiring quote, dear reader –

Take some time to reflect on it please!

Here goes the snapshot –

Then we had a discussion on how the reading habit has quite dwindled over the years in today’s Gen Z kids!

Sampath said, ‘My grandpa was an avid reader. He used to have a five-foot pile of Reader’s Digest stacked up in his room, which was a real feast for all of us!’

When asked how he got into the habit of reading books, he said, ‘As kids, none of our families – including our cousins’ families – had Television sets in our homes. So eventually we used to retreat into the world of books for hours and hours together. There were days when I had read even 300 pages a day, and felt like I wanted to read even more!’

‘But today’s kids do not have the patience to read books. Even while watching something on YouTube, they pace through the video as quickly as possible, for want of some added patience on them’, he remarked.

He seems to be a great fan of C. S. Lewis, and added that, reading C. S. Lewis requires a lot of patience. It was added delight to see him sport the huge Chronicles of Narnia in his book stack!

By the way, Anisea and Sampath ain’t any way into literature, dear reader!

They are into medicine, and products of Christian Medical College, Vellore!

May your tribe increase, Anisea & Sampath!

‘Arcadian’ Delights - A Report ❤️

Booksters on a Roll! | ‘Arcadian’ Delights 

The Arcadia Book Club was started as an extension of the Department Club, Arcadia, Lady Doak College, Madurai.

Every month the members of the Club choose a book and review it.

Their last past ‘Friday Book Review’ featured this blogger reviewing The Pregnant King by Devdutt Pattanaik.  Since Prof. Sharon, the organiser of the event, had apprised me earlier on that, their students are quite well acquainted with the book, I shifted my focus to the concept of focalisation and to the various rewarding readerly-perspectives to the book.

this blogger @ the Arcadian Conclave for Booksters!

Fifty-plus students (and quite a few faculty members) had conclaved on the G-Meet platform for this virtual Book Meet, and there were quite a few intriguing questions from the faculty and students alike.

Prof. Sharon for her part said that, although she hadn’t that great a regard for Shilavati because of her sly manoeuvres, ‘your perspectives on Shilavati have made her quite redeeming to us’, she opined.

Well, on a personal note, almost every other character in the novel has these shades of grey in them! And that’s something that revs up and thereby redeems this novel for the reader!

Coming back to Arcadia Book Club,

There are three meets, one virtual, and two in-person meets.

The Club also has an Instagram page and they are also in the process of developing a blog exclusively for their Club as well!

For the coming month, the Arcadians are planning on reading Ponniyin Selvan since the movie is also coming out soon. They also plan to compare the book with the movie version.

Up Up LDC! Great going, Prof. Sharon & Team!

On an extended note,

Plans are afoot to have a series of collaborative Book Reading Events, where institutions like MCC, American, LDC, Fatima, MTN, Thiagarajar, Stella Maris, WCC, QMC, et al – to name a few – could come together and be a part of this great grand exercise of promoting reading amongst our youngsters!

This could then become a regular feature -like a biannual or an annual book fest!

The Avid Booksters’ Collective (ABC...) we’ve tentatively christened this initiative! 😍

We also hope to have quite a few book releases on such occasions... written by some of the booksters (faculty and students alike).

With inputs from Prof. Sharon, LDC

"A book... lets you travel to far-away places without ever leaving your chair..."

The Gala Reading Challenge 📖🥳

 [July 2021]

Some little guidelines for us!

Inauguration of the challenge –

Thursday, 01 July 2021

Reading continues till –

Thursday, 15 July 2021

Guidelines for Reading

Divide your book into 15 parts.

For example,

If your book has 150 pages, your daily reading quota would work out to just ten pages a day!

Then, on a daily basis, for the next fifteen days, as and when you read your book, you may -

share a lovely line,

or

a lovely quote,

or

a thought-provoking line,

or

a funny line,

or

a line that so motivated you,

or

a word that provoked your curiosity,

or

a sentence that transformed your perspective

or

simply anything that you loved reading from those ten pages for the day!

As simple as that!

On the 15th day, i.e., 15 July 2021, you will be given ten questions based on the book that you’ve read!

[Entirely your own lovely, personal takes!].

Sometime later, probably on some mutually agreed upon day, (if, and when time permits) we shall plan on a relaxed and cool Clubhouse discussion.

So yep!

The countdown begins! 🥳

We’ve got exactly 24 hours more to go!

Best wishes dear participants. 🥳

Poster Design: Prof. Premjith Mathew

Resources @ The American Center, Chennai

Access the Rich Resources @ eLibraryUSA 

The American Center [formerly known as the American Library] is providing temporary access to eLibraryUSA to its individual members.

Established in 1947, the Center has played a special role in fostering relationships between the people of the United States and South India.  People across the region have shared with us their memories of the American Center - how it inspired, informed, and changed them. 

Dr. Lilian Jasper, Principal, WCC, Chennai, at the American Center, Chennai

With an event space, DVD viewing kiosks, online databases, and much more, the American Center incorporates some of the latest trends and technologies.  They have more than 15,000 books and printed materials and one of the largest collections of American Studies materials in South Asia.

The American Center organizes a wide range of interactive programs both virtually and in-person. 

There’s something for everyone, whether English language workshops, entrepreneurial mentoring, sessions on U.S. higher education, or discussions on a full range of U.S. policy, society and culture, film screenings, and story-telling sessions. 

The American Center is a platform for South Indians and Americans from all walks of life to come together to engage on issues of common and global interest.

The dedicated staff provide a wide range of resources and services, offering accurate and current information about American government and civil society institutions, policies, the economy, global issues, culture, literature, history, and contemporary life.

For more information on the American Center & its resources, you may kindly click on the HERE.

You may also want to access Dr. Lilian Jasper’s take on Books & Reading, in her talk titled, Wading through Literature, on our past post HERE.

PS: We are extremely grateful to Ms. Usha Alagappan, American Center, Chennai, for sharing this valuable information with us.

image courtesy: indotusembassydotgov/education-culture/american-spaces/american-space-chennai/

Chennai Book Fair 2017

The much awaited Annual Chennai Book Fair starts on Friday, 06 January 2017 and will go on until 19 January 2017 at St. George School on Poonamallee High Road.

The stalls will be put up in alphabetical order, and book lovers have an additional option of registering for e-tickets through a unique mobile application too!

In addition, point of sale machines have also been made available for customers to swipe their credit/debit cards. A common pool of 50 such machines would also be available to help small publishers conduct their business.

The organizers, in a bid to help customers who may not have small change for purchase, have arranged for rupee tokens in exchange for higher denomination currency notes at the venue.

The fair will be open between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. during weekends.

Theme for this year's World Storytelling Day

The theme for this year’s World Storytelling Day (20 March) is

Strong Women

Chennai Storytellers are conducting three sessions in the city.

18 March 2016 – 6 pm: Russian Cultural Centre, Kasturi Ranga Road

20 March 2016 – 11 am to 1 pm: Anna Centenary Library, Kotturpuram

20 March 2016 – 5 pm: Odyssey Bookstore, Adyar.

The session is for children above ten years and adults.

To register, contact 9551762399 / 9940036390

Homage to Tamil Women: An Exhibition

Homage To Tamil Women

@

DakshinaChitra, East Coast Road, 

Near MGM Dizee World, Muttukadu, South, Chennai

13th February 2016 - 20th March 2016

Daily from 10:00 am to 06:00 pm

The French photographer, lecturer and Kathakali dancer Chantal Jumel will pay a homage to Tamil Women through her photo exhibition called 'Inward journey through graphical India'. She came to South India to learn the traditional dance-drama Kathakali and the classical dance Mohini-Attam. During that stint, she learnt from the Tamil women the repertory and symbolism of kolam and from Sri Parameswara Kurup, a ritual painter attached to the prestigious temple of Ambalapuzha in Kerala, the technique and spirit of kalam ground painting. 

Check out the unique Kolam designs by Tamil women captured beautifully through her lens.

PS: I'm there on 26 February 2016 :-)

Chennai Photo Biennale

in cooperation with Travelling Lens

invites you for a one-of-its-kind

EXHIBITION | SYMPOSIUM | WORKSHOP

26 February 2016 to 13 March 2016

@

Goethe-Institut Auditorium

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Chennai Photo Biennale - an exciting and significant community public-art project, bringing together world-renowned photographers from India and abroad.

A collaboration between the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavanand Travelling Lens, Chennai Photo Biennale is focused on public engagement, this 2-week long festival from February 26th to March 13th 2016,  will attract more than a hundred thousand visitors across the city’s streets, train stations, galleries and parks in the city of Chennai, India.

The Chennai Book Fair is On...!

The Chennai Book Fair 2016 is back in a new avatar! Christened as the Chennai Pongal Book Fair – it will be held from Wednesday, 13 January to Sunday, 24 January 2016, at the YMCA Grounds, Nandanam, Chennai.

The organizers have also planned on conducting debates, poetry and discussions with various authors.

Writers, scholars, scientists and many famous personalities are expected to participate in the fair.

The entry fee for the event is Rs 5/-.

Admission is free for college and school students. There is a discount of 10 per cent being given on the books.