The Hindu Business Line : Footloose in Frankfurt

Publishing houses generally bring only a small selection of their imprints to the Fair — as a result, the stalls are but a small window to what publishers do.

For five straight days, I travel to the Frankfurt Book Fair every morning as any exhibitor might. My hotel is situated more than 50 km away in a lovely little town called Mainz. Steeped in history, crammed with cathedrals and charming old buildings, it is a place where you awaken every morning to the polite but unyielding pealing of church bells.

A short walk to the train station, a 40-minute ride, a change of railway line for Messe, where an escalator spirits you up purposefully and then disgorges you almost miraculously right into the entrance hall of the Fair. On days when there are only one or two scheduled appointments, the Fair poses a challenge. What is the best way of spending the rest of the time?

The question may seem to have an obvious answer. "Just browse," someone advised me. "After all, this is like having the world's bookshops under one roof."

Is it? Not quite, I realise during my perambulations of the gigantic Festhalle, with its multiple floors, voluminous halls and far-flung wings.

Publishing houses generally bring only a small selection of their imprints to the Fair — as a result, the stalls are but a small window to what publishers do. Moreover, browsing is an activity that is normally done subject or genre wise. A large publisher's representative sample may have a little bit of everything. The problem is that there is invariably too much or too little of the kind of books you like.

As a result, I find myself gravitating — somewhat unconsciously at first — to the smaller, specialist exhibitors. There are enough books in a genre in these stalls for productive browsing. Curiously enough, the stalls displaying calendars, diaries, posters, keychains, bookends and other bric-a-brac are extremely interesting. The sheer ingenuity that has gone into the making of some of the items are striking.

Readings and discussions pose multiple-choice problems. At any time during the day, there are at least a couple that seem interesting; it is impossible to attend everything you might want to.

Then, there is the India question. Should you focus on the India-related events since the country is the Guest of Honour atthis year's Fair? Or should you just go with your interests? Should you be listening to writers? Or should you rather be present at the discussions related to the publishing industry — for example, digitisation, which poses all kinds of challenges for those in the business of books? Should your attention be devoted to books? Or, given that cinema is showcased at the Fair, is it all right to take in a film or two? Being footloose and fancy free at the Frankfurter Buch Messe comes with its share of dilemmas.

Although Frankfurt is packaged sometimes as a literary or intellectual event, the truth is that the readings and discussions are the icing on the commercial cake. For the vast majority, the Fair is mainly about selling and procuring licences and book rights. Others use it to network, to make their presence felt (or known) and keep abreast of what the competition is doing in what. At the end of the day this is an extremely competitive business.

You can have fun in Frankfurt too. There are at least half a dozen (more?) parties every evening, most of them thrown by publishers. I read a report in a newspaper about a party organised especially for those on nobody's invite list — an entry for three euros and the opportunity to drink and dance the night away. I turn down a few invitations but allow myself to be persuaded, by The Hindu's food columnist Rashmi Uday Singh, to attend one cocktail event. It is thrown by a high-powered organisation of gourmets and the food — as one might expect — is simply fabulous. She introduces me to a world-famous French chef who gives me a couple of easy pasta recipes — which, to my delight, work extremely well when I try them back at home. "Aaaaah," he says with characteristic Gallic zest. "Szo simple. But szo good."

If you hang around long enough, you will discover that the Fair is not merely an event but a way of life. I learn which halls to visit and which deserve to be given a wide berth. I am able to locate the single sushi bar in the Fair complex without asking for directions. I get to know where the best discussions are held, where the best (free!) coffee is served, and where I can find familiar faces when I feel like resting my feet and having a natter.

When the young girl at the coffee bar doesn't wait for me to order, but simply declares, "Of course, cappuccino for you sir," I believe I have arrived. Become a true book fair groupie.

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