shamiana

Let us begin you and I As we write upon what has gone by And wonder if what is in store Would continue to be a bore? Let us muse you and I On theories which we stand by with thoughtless agitation vain to realize it was all in fact a game Let us then play you and I games with rules which we should abide by only to see that rules virtual or real are meant to be broken. Let us go back you and I To where we begin to say goodbye And promise to meet again So that the ordeal might start again Let us live you and I In a world where everyone would lie and yet continue to be honest and take life in earnest.

Have we bid adieu to the age of reading printed books ? Have we outgrown the excitement of buying books? Do good bargains continue to please us? Is our purchase of books based on their online reviews ? Are book fairs on their way down? Perhaps, unnervingly, I might answer these questions in the affirmative. My trip to Strand Book fair this year epitomizes the shift in the general trend from print culture to the digital culture, the shift in buying books at sales to online shopping for books and of course e-books that can be downloaded for free ! I have seen the sale of withdrawn books at the BCL attract more enthusiastic book lovers than the turnout at Strand this year. Strand Book Fair had always been a rejuvenating experience. The feverish run from station to the venue (mostly, Sunderbai Hall), the first step into the bewitching book world the cheer of a strandian serendipity (one was sure to find a long craved for book ! and long lost friends ), long queues, (Saturday afternoons w...