Safdar Khan, senior general manager of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), said that while the average turn out on Sunday always crosses the one lakh mark, today, the visitors numbered around 80,000.

“The weather is proving to be a deterrent. It is unfavourable for venturing out,” Safdar Khan told Newsline. “The drizzle also played spoilsport,” he said.

Visitors braved the onslaught of wind and rain with thick woollens that covered them from head to toe. “It is warm inside the stalls but you start freezing the moment you step outside,” said Aishani Sarkar, a visitor.

Besides the visitors, the participants at the fair were also disappointed with the weather. Pointing to the empty corridors of her stall, Lipika Bhusan, marketing manager of HarperCollins said, “Since it is the weekend, we were expecting a larger crowd but it is a mere trickle.”

By afternoon, the number of book lovers arriving at the fair began to increase. Even though the main attractions were the stalls of foreign and Indian publishers on children’s books, many vistors also checked out CD ROMs and other materials on literature. This year the book fair is focussing on regional books. Many established publishers said that apart from selling books, the fair also helps promote them.