In a unique initiative, a special book fair was held over the last ten days at Guwahati’s Silpukhuri, where books were sold by the kg, which saw an impressive footfall of book lovers across all age groups.
Bookish Santa organized it, and it was Guwahati’s first-ever “books by weight” sale. It had over 100,000 books available at unbeatable prices across all genres. The venue was Silpukhuri Rajahuwa Namghar (prayer hall) and was open from 10:00 am to 09:00 pm from 12th to 21st May 2023.
Speaking to NE India Broadcast, tutor-turned-entrepreneur Tarun Yadav, who ventured out of the national capital Delhi, said, “We have seen an impressive footfall of book lovers across all age groups. On average, 500 people visited us during the weekdays. We saw approximately 600-700 people visiting us here on weekends.”
He added, “Sale of books over Rs. 15 lakhs is encouraging for us. We are visiting Meghalaya’s Shillong next with the same initiative.” Underlining the steps to ensure public awareness about the otherwise book fair, he said the team distributed around 25,000 pamphlets across the state capital.
Ajruddin, fondly called Lucky, who works as a manager and oversees operations, said he was happy at the public response. He expressed his gratitude to every book lover who made the initiative a success.
Meanwhile, the team is visiting Meghalaya’s Shillong next month. In line with the same, you may contact the team at marketing@bookishsanta.com or tarun@bookishsanta.com for any queries or suggestions.
According to their official website, the story of Bookish Santa reads, “Bookish Santa began in 2017, with just over 100 pre-owned books sitting for Sale in the room of a CA dropout. The dream was to build something worthwhile for all the readers out there. And that dream finally blossomed into where we are now, creating and curating a space for all literary enthusiasts.”
It adds, “We have grown to house lakhs of preloved and new titles for Sale since we started, enabling us to help thousands of readers celebrate literature in India. As an extension to that, we began our book blog in the summer of 2020 to appreciate books in all measures, which is now a go-to guide for readers to seek reviews, recommendations, and more. “
It further adds, “Fortunately, we have been able to consolidate a community of more than 50,000 readers across the country, and are now working towards becoming a one-stop destination for all bibliophiles–– so we can be the Santa to all your literary needs.”