Feels So Misfit...

Have you ever felt that you are not meant to be at that place, yet you try because you want to be there. This is a short (not so short) my experience at a recent World Book Fair.

While standing in front of mirror, do you doubt your outfit, your looks, your appearance for any event? Even if you wore the most comfortable everyday piece from your wardrobe?

I know everyone is guilty of doing this each day, but I pondered more upon this while visiting Book Fair, talking to myself “Do I look enough like a booknerd? Or should I put up a baggy t-shirt and mom’s jean, a tote, a flip flop and recite poems? Or should I make myself more refined with 3''heels, an accent, a polished handbag with a book in it and learn about few novelist and their dictionary, so that people know that I know.” Not stereotyping anyone (but it is what it is).

After a while, I put all the thoughts aside and wore clothes of normal human being which felt comfortable and less pretentious, rather making people think is she or is she not fit for the bookfair? Yeah, FIT. Although, for Book Fairs there aren’t any criteria to qualify, it’s open for all, but there is a mental criteria. Think it this way, if you decide to watch a Versace fashion show in Paris, you won’t go in your regular jeans or pyjama and a top. Rather, you will dress-up in a way if a model is absent, the crew can spot you to walk the ramp for Versace. [Believe me, I do that. (I am Gigi Hadid in my own head). Did I write it out loud?] or else you will feel like a misfit (But today’s styling do look like not a right fit).

Back to the topic. While on my way (alone) to the Fair in metro, I saw many passengers boarding the same train towards Pragati Maidan station (where Fair was held). Most of them were only talking about books, kind of books, discussing books, kind of events at the Fair, Do’s and Don’t etc. and I thought how am I going to do that alone for few hours? How am I going to hunt down or locate the stalls? Should I have invited someone with me? Regardless, I continued and deboarded at the station.

At the station, all I saw was people of all age carrying different packets, paper bags in their hands and laughing and smiling and feeling a sense of achievement. Most of those bags belonged to Penguin and Bloomsbury publications and I put both of them in my Fair’s To Do List. I got inquisitive about them. What did they had? Why majority of them were purchasing from them? Do they have something special, an offer, buy 1 get 2 free? I braced myself and exited the station.

Interestingly, on the way towards the venue, there were street vendors who were selling books (pirated or original or both) for shillings and people were purchasing from them. I was amused. I wondered why did people travel Kilometres to Book Fair, only to buy books from footpath street vendors, just next to the venue? People I say. I put horse-blinders and started walking towards the venue, the aim of the day, the goal of next 5 hours.

Pavilion on Saudi Arabia at World Book Fair

Before coming, had two things in mind to must visit- attend an event for basic Spanish and visit Saudi Arabia’s pavilion (guest of honour). The sooner I entered I saw this magnificent pavilion, draped in colour black with a touch of gold and Arabic. It was the pavilion of Saudi Arabia, it had scent of oudh, displaying pieces of ancient sculptures and relics, clothes, textiles and featuring immersive experience of Saudi through video. It was a wonderful experience. But the most unique happening at this pavilion were visitors. Since it was Saudi’s pavilion, hence, Saudis were present in and around in their thawb and abaya. But visitors be visitors, they were only excited in taking selfies with Arabians, irrespective of the fact that that man in thawb was none other than his neighbour who is a devout Indian and was volunteering at the Fair and had his duty at this pavilion. Yet selfie with foreigners is a must (anywhere in India), because for many of us it is the only way to connect with someone who is not of our colour and creed and might not get an opportunity to ever meet a person from that country.

My next stop was to find Bloomsbury and Penguin, meanwhile I entered few pavilions of different publishing houses. There were books in English, all ranging from fiction to non fiction, health and science to sociology and culture, history and politics to geography and economics, just books. In the World section, there were three salt and pepper bearded handsome gentlemen behind me, of which one with a suitcase picked a book related to Israel- Palestine issue and by another minute they were discussing the issues, the propagandas, countries view, their opinions. And while overhearing them, I also picked up that book and went through preface, foreword, to feel to be part of same gang who also knows in and out about the issue, but while reading between the lines, I got lost. The sooner they kept that the book, I also and understood that book was not my cup of tea for today and neither their and I moved on. I explored a few more racks, and got hold of few books to purchase from science and fiction section. After purchasing them, I headed to Penguin.

Penguin Penguin Penguin, it was huge pavilion, so huge that it felt like a flea market. Long queues at billing, at different racks, at different corner. I thought that rather than a book fair, they could have hosted Penguin fair. Whoever was entering, was too excited. I heard a teen telling her father that now she was here, at her happy place, her father and sister can take rest and sit and relax because she was going to take a lot of time exploring the books. I saw another man sitting on a chair with his 2 year old on his lap and reading a book. A group of girls sat down in front of their favourite fiction writer’s rack, just to read and explore new books. As a 5 year old kid, I wasn’t as excited for books as this boy for his math books. All I cared was about Scooby-Doo’s next episode. Well! anyhow I managed to make a way for myself, went aisle to aisle, shelf to shelf thinking what should I grab. Person next to me had a list of books to purchase and I had none. I was standing in front of fantasy fiction section going through Percy Jackson, The Mortal Instruments series, only to know that Harry Potter is a stalemate among new readers ( Is it? or that boy who said out loud was wrong). After an hour of struggle and juggle, I managed to pick a few, but not the ones which I saw at another pavilion. By the time I reached to the billing counter, I wondered who are these people purchasing tons of books and blabbering fluently in a ‘valley girl’ accent. I, once again, asked myself, am I still fit for this pavilion, this whole Fair? I mean few seconds ago I realised that storybooks are no more traditional storybooks rather a wooden cubical box with touch of fur for dog and cotton for clouds and removing the layers one by one, the story is being told. But I quit the queue, exited from the pavilion without the books because the time it took me to select those books was shorter than the billing queue.

An hour was still left for the premises to close and I decided to hop on on other stalls. The premises had pavilions from various Indian states and countries. Each pavilion was unique in its own shape and size, so were people. Visitors in Hindi section were is saree and covered in boho jewellery. In Iranian and Turkish pavilion, books and people were mainly of their land and in their own languages. But while going through these pavilions I felt like a lost soul. I wished to purchase books written by their authors such as Orhan Pamuk, but none of them were in the languages I know. An interested purchaser seemed little disappointed and hence again a misfit.

The show went on, but I was on my way to metro station. Interestingly, while walking towards the station, I came across same street vendors surrounded by my readers. I also dropped my swords, hesitatingly and purchased the books which I didn’t find in the Fair. This time I felt a good fit and smart buyer and thought whether it was a right decision to spend Sunday with Book Fair.