A Friday at the Sharjah book fair

Not everyone knew the book fair in Sharjah opens only at 4pm on Friday. People who had arrived early were cursing their stars. Some early birds went to Sahara Mall to kill time. Others hung in the shade of the palm trees outside. Some sat inside and grabbed something to eat at the café. Most busied themselves with phones and families.
One solitary visitor waiting outside the expo centre, Abdul Kareem, from Umm Al Quwain said: "I'm interested in anarchist literature from Kerala." Since he'd come all the way from Umm Al Quwain he would just wait it out to see. "I come every year", he said, not wanting to disclose if he was in the publishing business as he "might get into trouble." Kareem evidently thought it more dangerous to disclose a profession than declare an interest in anarchist literature.
At 3.30pm, a small crowd had gathered inside the main foyer of the expo centre to watch Ironman in his red suit of armor being assembled. A good advertisement for the Comic Cave in Hall 1, people, especially younger people were urging their families to click a photo of them with Ironman.
Shibu Thulasidharan, his wife Liji and their children Athul and Shreya were waiting for the guards to allow people into the halls. In his 20 years of running a business in the Emirates, and dividing time between Dubai and Sharjah, this is Thulasidharan's first visit. Hearteningly, his son is the reader. They're there to look up "Malayalee authors and books for children."
Once the fair started, the carnival atmosphere was quick to kick in. Clowns and other performance artists paraded around the halls to the score of loud cheery anthems.
An 11-year old girl of grade 6 of DPS Dubai, Jennifer Mariam Joby, came to the fair with her mother, Ponni Joby from Jebel Ali, after stopping first at Church. A enthusiast of science fiction novels, Jennifer was looking forward to the fair to discover authors she might like. Her advice to, say, 8-year-olds who enjoy browsing books but don't know where to start: "Read the small encyclopaedia, then move on to bigger encyclopaedia."
Jashanmal and DC Books seemed to be the most popular stalls among Indians, probably because of the subsidised prices.
nivriti@khaleejtimes.com