Afternoon adda at the 33d International Book Fair at the Milan Mela premises. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

What: The 33rd International Book Fair.

Where: The EM Bypass at the Milan Mela fairground.

Why: Must we spell it out? It’s heat. And dust. And books on discount. And lots of them together. It is about hunting for a copy of your favourite author’s latest under the pretext of hunting for reference books. And as t2 was told by a group of third-year students from Heritage Institute of Technology, it is the place to escape to if classes finish early and you have time to kill before you head for tuitions.

So what elevates the Book Fair to hangout status? The fact that it is so tiring that you just have to sit for a while on the inviting grass. “We were looking for reference books on engineering and visited some of the smaller stalls. But then we got tired of walking so now we are sitting and chilling,” smiled Sanchari Bhadra of Heritage. Once they got rid of their inertia however, Sanchari and her group of five planned on getting their hands on some Feludas titles and books on art and sketching.

The mood: Is alive. “The lights, the crowds. You come here and you immediately feel good,” added Sanchari. For her gang, the fair was also an ideal place for people-watching. “I’ve been watching people try 10,000 poses with Obama’s cut-out outside the American Centre pavilion. Some pose like him. Some posed with him. It’s great fun,” said Ranita Paul. And of course, the watching game involves checking out the other sex.

Food: The young people t2 talked to at the Book Fair all insisted that they weren’t there to eat. Should we believe them?

Downside: While many prefer the old location, our engineers from Heritage found the new one very convenient. But the lack of places to sit around in was a common grouse. “All there is are stand-alone benches. We sit in a row of five and we can’t hear each other speak!” laughed Sanchari.

Did you hangout at the Book Fair? Tell t2@abpmail.com