The Book Fair at Central Park may have been pushed back to July but residents of New Town are getting their fill of browsing thanks to the New Town Book Fair that is underway at the fair ground near Biswa Bangla Gate.

There are 73 book stalls including Deb Sahitya Kutir, Dey’s Publishing and Penguin. Other kinds of stalls, selling garments to decorative items to food, total 77 in number.

1. Comics

Stalls 40-42: Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle signages over the entrance of Book Readers catch the eye. The ACK spread is rich, though the titles, each at Rs 50, are only in English. “Our mythological and leaders collections are doing well,” said Kartik Chandra Manna, pointing to omnibus boxes containing multiple titles on the subjects, costing Rs 6,600 (plus 20 per cent discount) and Rs 850 (plus 15 per cent discount).

2. Wooden nameplates

On the floor beside Gate no. 1: Names with or without design, in a variety of fonts and sizes are eliciting enquiries in a township where most residents are new settlers. “I have got close to 3,000 orders,” said Sankar Karmakar on Day 3, He is a Hastashilpa Mela regular but is attending a private fair for the first time. While the ones requiring ready-made letters to be affixed are being readied on the spot, those requiring carving are being offered the next day. Costs vary from Rs 250 to 6,000 depending on design and size.

3. Burnt clay water bottle

On the floor, third to the right from gate 1: One litre bottles made of clay promise to keep drinking water naturally cold, just as pitchers do. Zarina Chitrakar has sold off most of her stock at Rs 250 a piece but has promised to get more from her Midnapore home before the weekend. “Earlier the bottle cap used to be of clay as well but we have replaced that with plastic cap for the sake of convenience,” she said.

4. Chocolate

Table to the left of gate 1 in food court: Chocolates, made in her Sukhobrishti home, are being sold by Monideepa Roy. Single-piece big ones are variously shaped like crayons, colour palette, tictactoe and chess boards, costing Rs 160 to Rs 185. “We can make them in both white and dark chocolate and can add names on them too,” she said. Smaller pieces come in eye-popping flavours like rasmalai, rabri, amsattwa and rajbhog. “We even have ones with gur filling,” she said. These come in packets of four, priced Rs 80.

5. Painted jeans

Stall 2: Denim trousers hang outside the stall with bright hand-painted motifs near the waist catching the eye from a distance. The charge is Rs 600-700 for the painting and another Rs 600 for the trousers. If one requires branded trousers, that can be painted upon too. “We started work with jeans just a year ago. We can write slogans or customise a painting on request,” said the stall-keeper at Atreyee Handicraft.

6. Jute necklace

Stall 21: Jute ropes have been made into necklaces with eye-catching chunky lockets of a variety of material. The ones spotted were with tribal masks on bamboo mat, or wooden elephant or coloured jute ball. “We launched one with clay pradip during Deepavali,” said Sanchita Biswas of Sristi Designer Studio.

7. Painted film posters

Stall 11: Satyajit Ray and Hollywood classics are the staple of the stall that sells framed film posters. “These are not prints but are hand-painted,” confirms Abhishek Sarkar of Craftique. They sell for Rs 450 each.

8. Birds on mug and magnets

Stall 44: Pictures of birds, many of them clicked at New Town’s own Eco Park, have been used on coffee mugs, magnets and coasters. If Black Cape Oriole and Flamingos are on the Rs 180 mugs, Buffy Fish Owl and Short-Eared Owl are included in the owl-themed coaster set of four, costing Rs 80. The magnets cost Rs 100. Nature Environment and Wildlife Society offers to make these items with other pictures in their albums too.

9. Sculpture and painting

Stall 46: Small sculptures are coming to shape on a table in front of the stall of Montmartre at the hands of veteran artistes. “We plan to hold a free painting workshop for children on Saturday,” said Debashis Mullick Chowdhury, the founder.

Pictures: Sudeshna Banerjee