Bibliophiles of the world, unite! Do not lie when you say that your relationship with books has never been bumpy. Remember the look your mother gave you when she caught you reading that forbidden book? Or, wondering if you were weird for having a diary entry on “The history of aromas associated with tattered pages”? What about battling sleep in classroom after a night of Nancy Drew taking on the evil guy? Book lovers, the struggle never ends. For those in Delhi-NCR, it took the shape of an empty promise one summer day.
Indeed it was reason to celebrate when HarperCollins India announced that it would have a mega sale at its warehouse in Faridabad from June 24-25. Backpacks were out, shoelaces were tied, and there was much excitement. The Mewala Maharajpur metro station on the Violent Line was bustling with people for a change. Reason: it was the gateway to wonderland, the place where over 100,000 books spanning different genres were to be up for grabs for prices as low Rs. 25, Rs. 50 and Rs. 100. Sounds fascinating? It isn’t.
“Around 7,000 people turned up to buy books. I stood for more than three hours under the scorching sun, and the gates did not open. People fainted and the medics were called,” said Aditi Verma, a resident of Faridabad.
For those who did not budge, was the wait worth it?
“There was a stampede, in which several of us were hurt. We got lucky because we arrived at 11 a.m. and managed to get in at 12 p.m. But I am unhappy with my purchases,” said Arunima Raavi, a buyer.
The despair made it to social media, too.
“If you plan on doing the schlep to Faridabad for the #harpercollins sale, don’t. They’ve run out & didn’t have anything good to begin with,” read one tweet.
In the midst of all this, came another shock.
“At #HarperCollins book sale. Standing here since 8AM. Organiser now asking ppl to leave,” wrote a user on Twitter.
“Is this a joke? Were you expecting to be underwhelmed? Why weren’t you better prepared? Delhi is ANGRY. #HarperCollins,” read another tweet. Reacting to this, the publishing house said, “It’s been overwhelming but time to close already. Running out of stock, would you believe it. Thank you, Delhi, you are the best!”
Happy faces
There were, however, people who returned home to begin yet another adventure with Hercule Poirot or know what a mockingbird really is.
“I followed the crowd from the metro station. After fighting for almost three hours inside the warehouse, I felt like I had waged a war. I bought 29 books for Rs. 725!” said Akanksha Aditi, barely able to contain her excitement.
If you still want to make it to the warehouse on Saturday, think again. If your answer is no, there’s lots to cheer you up- the good old Sunday Bazaar at Daryaganj, book fair at Pragati Maidan, and of course, e-commerce sites. If your answer is yes, we take a bow. You are a man of steel!
(With inputs from Simran Khanna, an intern with The Hindu )
‘I stood for more than three hours under the scorching sun, and the gates did not open’
