Bhubaneswar, Nov. 3: Bookfairs have been the mainstay of the winter calendar for people in the capital for quite a few years now. The fair grounds have become one of the favourite destinations for book lovers.

This year is no different. Thousands of people are thronging the Exhibition Ground to lay their hands on a bestseller or a rare read amid the piles of books at the 14th Kalinga Book Fair.

The fair started last week and is on till November 6. Over the next few days, thousands of books will change hands.

Old-time booksellers and curious bibliophiles from across the city converge upon the fair grounds every year. This year around 50 publishers and 30 distributors have set up over 150 book kiosks.

Some of the prominent publications include Sumi Publications and Multimedia Publications. Books in Oriya, English, Hindi and Bengali are also available at the ground.

However, members of the organising committee are not as excited as they should be.

“Unlike previous years, this year, we could not get a bigger ground. Earlier, we had housed around 200 kiosks. But, this year, we had to turn down many publishers because of a space crunch,” said secretary of the organising committee, Renuka Mishra.

To make the event livelier, the organisers have arranged for various entertainment activities.

This weekend saw the Exhibition Ground buzzing with young painters - busy in unleashing their creative imagination on canvas. Other programmes such as Odissi dance show, Hasya Kabi Sammelan, fashion show, debate, quiz, and stand up comedy regaled the book lovers visiting the fair. Most of the participants were students from various schools and colleges.

Like every year, this year, too, the organisers honoured 10 of the most prominent Oriya littérateurs of the year. The award for Sishu Sahitya was given to Manorama Mishra for her book Suman Aman Kheluchanti, Kalpalata Patra for her novel Chitra Banhi and Santosh Kumar Sahoo for his poem Matibarsa. Other categories include awards for best translation, social activism and much more.

The fair attracted a decent footfall of book lovers. However, the children dominated the crowd.

“I am an avid reader and I attend the book fair every year. Though the fair has not been organised on a grand scale this year, the collection of books available is quite good,” said 16-year-old Anubhav from Cuttack.

The fair is on till November 6. While major book festivals and exhibitions such as Bhubaneswar Book fair and Rajdhani Book Fair will be held in the coming days, the Ekamra Book Fair is all set to begin on November 5 at Janata Maidan.