Delhi Book & Stationery Fair opened to the familiar sight of book stacks and colourful pens Recently at Bharat Mandapam, the 29th Delhi Book Fair and 25th Stationery Fair opened to familiar stacks of books and colourful pens, but the magic felt muted, confined to just two halls. More facilities, lesser crowdVisitors moved quickly through the two halls, facing fewer options and smaller crowds. Vendors reported a drop in footfall, with AK Lochan, owner of a fine art stationery brand, noting, “The response this year was slower than pre-COVID times.” Regular visitor Dharamveer Singh, attending since 1995, offered a positive view, “Over time, the number of book publishers (at the fair) has grown, and facilities at the fair have improved.”
Anime and Bollywood collections found many takers at the fair
Rise in demand for multilingual books and Labubu stationeryNandkishor from Sahitya Akademi, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture that distributes books in 24 languages, said, “Pehle ke apeksha achha laga ki bachhe kitaabein khareed rahe hain. Chhote bachhe aaye, demand leke ki yeh kitaab chahiye iss language mein.” But, while many missed the scale of the international book fair, the Stationery Fair proved to be a hit. Saurabh Jain from a stationery store said, “Anime and Bollywood collections sell well, Harry Potter remains a constant favourite, and Labubu stationery was in high demand.”
With luxury weddings on the rise, we’ve seen a growing demand for calligraphy tools and stationery
AK Lochan, owner of a fine art stationery brand
The crowd was steady rather than surging but far from the shoulder-to-shoulder chaos of past years
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