ver a month ago, I had the chance to attend a book fair that had been organised by the Government of the Punjab. It was held next to the Quaid-i-Azam Library, Lahore. The sight that greeted me was simply tragic. Four stalls in all; and exactly two buyers.

It was surprising that people were not there to avail this wonderful opportunity. A government organised fair would be nothing short of a treasure trove, where one would acquire gold at phenomenal discounts. I blamed the citizens of Lahore: not passionate enough about books and literature to be there?

I was accompanied by two friends. We set out to explore the stalls. At the first two, we weren’t inclined to buying any books; but at the third, we made the ‘mistake’ of asking about the prices. A small book, with a simple cover, barely over a centimetre thick, was for Rs 2,000, the shopkeeper announced.

“And this one?” I pointed at another book, all three of us pretending nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Again, a ridiculous price. We simply nodded.

As we moved to the next stall, we stared at each other in astonishment at the absurdity we had just witnessed.

It was far from over. At the next stalls, we were simply blown away. When we asked for the price of a book, the seller said, “20 dollars.”

A government organised fair would be nothing short of a treasure trove, where one would acquire gold at phenomenal discounts. I blamed the citizens of Lahore: not a soul was passionate enough about books and literature to be there?

Dollars? We were shocked.

A huge book, titled The History of the World, in particular interested us. Of course, the price was in dollars again. After the conversion, it came out to be a staggering Rs 70,000.

We left the place immediately afterwards, laughing for a good few minutes, trying to process what had just happened. The mystery had now been solved. There was a reason why the place was virtually deserted.

The fact that an event organised by governmental bodies had such insane prices is something to be concerned about. The government ought to aim at promoting a book reading culture and propagating scientific and philosophical thought to nurture a community that can push Pakistan towards socio-economic development. It shouldn’t be concerned about commercial gains. I wouldn’t doubt the intentions behind organising this particular book fair, but the fact was that it had been done incredibly half-heartedly amazed me and my friends.

What’s more, the organisers hadn’t bothered to offer a subsidy on books to students. The fair was simply a formality.

The writer is a student based in Lahore who aspires to be a physicist. He can be reached at  huzaifaaltamash123@gmail.com