The Hyderabad Book Fair at NTR Stadium in the city will run until 29 December, open daily from noon to 9 pm.
Published Dec 20, 2024 | 1:01 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 20, 2024 | 3:10 PM
The Hyderabad Book Fair is in town until 29 December at the NTR Stadium
Over 300 stalls, each offering a lifetime’s worth of books, are nestled in Hyderabad’s NTR Stadium. Shelved, stacked, and laid out, they beckon avid readers and first-timers alike to pick up a book and catch a whiff of that unique book fragrance.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy along with Culture Minister Jupally Krishna Rao inaugurated the Hyderabad Book Fair’s 2024 edition on 19 December. Started in 1985, this marks the 37th edition of the Book Fair, boasting local, national, and international publishers and an exquisite collection.
Right from ancient manuscripts to the latest romcoms, there is something for everyone.
The Hyderabad Book Fair
With a large number of stalls, the book fair attracted people from all walks of life, including scientists, doctors, students, and aspiring filmmakers.
Each one of them looking for their perfect book to take home. Girish is an aspiring filmmaker who’s at the fair for the third consecutive year.
“I just like coming here and looking at all these books,” he told South First. “This year, I found my perfect read apart from the two others that I’ve already bought. It’s the novel from which the Netflix series You was adapted. I binged the show in a week and I know I’ll complete the book in just a day or two,” he said.
Girish searching for the right book
Dr Ramakrishna, the Chief Scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, bought some classics translated into Telugu.
However, he couldn’t find the one book he was looking for, the Telugu translation of Fyodor Dostevesky’s The Idiot.
“I’ve been looking for the book all over Hyderabad since its release. I thought I’d definitely get it here. I found everything else I wanted except that,” he said.
“I did my MBBS but I’m very passionate about art,” Dr Mrinalini said. Accompanied by her mother, she bought three bags full of art supplies and references, still looking for more.
These were just some of the stories people shared with South First regarding what they liked about the fair. For some, it was discounted prices, while for others, it was the collection spanning cultures and time.
Everyday Book Centre set up the shop in Secunderabad’s Thirumalgiri five years ago. Run by a mother-son duo, it is loved by the crowd at the Book Fair each year.
“We have a wide collection of books from coffee table books to classics,” Shoaib, the owner, said. For them, it’s an opportunity to get their name out there.
“Sometimes, people from the fair, come to our shop and strike up conversations with us,” he recalled. He further posited that not just his shop but the entirety of the book fair was a must-visit for book lovers in Hyderabad.
The Hyderabad Book Fair at NTR Stadium will run until December 29, open daily from noon to 9 pm.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
