If mention of Sharjah normally evokes a viscous beverage, Mallus in sweatshops or, at best, a certain Sachin taking a certain Shoaib to the cleaners, think again

People standing in long queues to get books autographed, nerdy types waiting till late night to participate in a literary debate -not really something we can imagine in Kerala. But the Malayali diaspora, especially in Gulf countries, still has that passion which makes an event like the recently-concluded Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) something big for our language, feel writers and publishers who participated in the mega event.

“Definitely its popularity has grown in such a way over the years that thousands are coming to the fair and this time India had the biggest representation with 112 publishers, of which 22 were from Kerala,“ says Ravi Deecee, CEO of DC Books. “It not just attracts booklovers, but gives celebrity status to writers too, as was the case of Shemi, the UAEbased author whose debut novel, Nadavazhiyile Nerukal, was a major hit in the fair.“

Inspired by the huge success of Nadavazhiyile Nerukal, which is into the fifth edition, Shemi is now thinking of becoming a fulltime writer. “Even after the stalls were closed there was a queue to get my book autographed and DC Books even opened a special counter for my book,“ she reveals. “Since the first stock they brought along was sold out in a day, the next consignment was brought in a couple of days.“

Apart from opening up a big market, the fair also provides new avenues to upcoming writers in the Gulf, says O Ashok Kumar, who runs Kairali Books in Kannur, citing the examples of writers like Shemi and Shabu Kilithattil, whose debut novel Nila Choru, was also an instant hit there. “A parallel market is evolving in the Gulf because the expatriates are highly interested in reading,“ he says.

Since there is a mix of readers ­ those interested in serious literature and those in light reading stuff -it helps publishers sell a variety of books there, and the revenue is also high in terms of foreign exchange, points out K Noushad, manager of Mathrubhumi Books.

A large number of publishers and writers give a lot of importance to SIBF because of this strong market, feels Krishnadas, managing director of Green Books, which published titles like Adujeevitham. “But if we focus on translating our literature to foreign languages it will give a new identity to Malayalam publishing industry in such fairs,“ he says.

We have a lot to learn from this book fair, says writer P K Parakkadavu, who was a state guest at the fair. “We can never expect a government to promote books and reading this way in Kerala, because our rulers don’t have the culture of reading,“ he says. The book fair was launched in 1982 under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the ruler of Sharjah, for ‘Love of The Written Word’, as the fair’s tagline says.

But what we have at SIBF is more of an emotional feeling than an intellectual one, argues writer P Surendran. “People prefer to buy the works of authors familiar to them and get it autographed if the author is present there,“ he says. “But what I felt was that a majority of buyers were after shallow writings though there were some serious buyers too. Our books have good acceptance there because of personal relations but that should change and books should be sold on the basis of quality.“

The debate continues but one thing is for sure. The Gulf is fast emerging as the ‘cultural capital of Kerala’ thanks to such efforts and the sweat of the ‘unknown Malayali’ in the deserts.