Visitors at the book fair at Jaipal Singh Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Jan. 16: Move over, J.K. Rowling and Jeffrey Archer, desi is the way to go when it comes to Jharkhand.

On the second day of the National Book Fair, which is being held at the Jaipal Singh Stadium in the state capital, crowds could be seen thronging kiosks selling Hindi novels by their favourite writers.

The fair, which was inaugurated by state chief secretary A.K. Singh yesterday, has around 70 kiosks displaying the works of 65 publishers.

The event will end on January 23.

“People this year are more interested in the vernacular, especially Hindi writings. Novels like Sanjha Chulha by Anamika and Sunhare Kal Ki Or by Joginder Singh are selling like hot cakes,” said Dinesh Kumar, owner of National Book Trust stall.

He added that the Hindi thesaurus — Samantar Kosh Volume I and II — and compilation of sayings and idioms — Hindustani Kahawat Kosh — were also in demand.

Classics, which are usually not available in book stores round the year, also proved to be a draw.

“I purchased five novels including those by Devaki Nandan Khatri and Munshi Premchand which I could not find in my local book store,” said Prem Kumar, a visitor.

If classics were in demand, giving them competition were the popular translations of self-help books in Hindi such as Gandhi Aur Management by Praveen Shukla and Kya Aap Amir Banna Chahte Hain by Tarun Engineer.

This apart, books on spiritualism, including Shivsadhna, Prem Ka Arth and Satya Ki Pehli Kiran by late spiritual guru Osho, were also a hit with visitors. Osho had more than 150 publications on display at the fair.

Non-fiction books on the state also found many takers. Books such as Kahani Jharkhand Andolan Ki by Balbir Dutt and Jharkhand Paridrishya by Sunil Kumar Singh, both by Crown Publishers, have drawn eyeballs.

“We have put up on display Hindi books by local writers so that they get a platform and book lovers get to know their works,” said Ramesh Mishra, an official manning the Crown Publishers kiosk.