Residents check out texts at the national book fair at Gandhi Maidan on Sunday. The 10-day fair, organised by Indian Regional Journalists’ Association, New Delhi, concluded on Sunday. Around 40 publishers had taken part in the fair. The association chairman, Chandra Bhushan, said more than 1 lakh people had come to the fair. “Despite frequent rain, around a lakh people came to the fair,” he said. Bhushan’s claim was corroborated by Birendra Singh, an official from Nayi Sadi Prakashan, who said the sales were satisfactory. “The books of Munshi Premchand, like Godan, Nirmala, Dabangg and Man Sarovar, were in high demand. Cookery books also sold well,” he said. A number of books were released at the fair, including five texts on folk culture by Kumar Indradev. Litterateurs, like Shrikant Vyas, Harindra Vidyarthi, Chandraprakash Maya and Pawan Yaduwanshi, took part in the fair. Swati Singh performed a dance on the last day. Competitions for children and seminars were also organised during the fair. Text by Smita Kumar, picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey