Kanpur: By the seventh day of the Kanpur Book Fair 2025, the fairground at Rajkiya Inter College, Chunni Ganj, had already seen its share of literary bustle. But on Wednesday afternoon, something changed in the air. As the winter sun eased into a soft glow, the faint hum of conversations slowly gave way to the shimmering resonance of sitar strings. And suddenly, the book fair didn’t feel like just a fair anymore—it felt like a cultural retreat.
A Noon That Bloomed with Melody
At exactly half past noon, the music arena became a sanctuary of classical calm. Students from Dayanand Girls P.G. College’s Music Department stepped onto the stage with an effortless grace that belied their youth. Under the gentle guidance of Professor Ruchimita Pandey, they began weaving a soundscape that felt at once familiar and fresh.
Their opening strains of Vande Mataram carried across the aisles of book stalls, turning heads and slowing footsteps. By the time the soft incantations of the Gayatri Mantra unfurled into the breeze, visitors had begun gathering around like moths to a quiet, meditative flame. And then emerged the gentle ascent of Raag Bhupali—a raga that filled the courtyard with a peaceful radiance, merging seamlessly with the rustle of turning pages and the click of browsing readers.
One by one, the young sitarists—Deepa Khilwani, Sita Sharma, Prachi Sharma, Saloni Tripathi, Sanjana Yadav, Janhvi Shukla, Chaitanya Mishra, Sheetal Verma, Sandhya Kumari, Abhivyanjana Singh, Anushka Pal and Priya Goswami—took their place in the limelight, not with spectacle but with sincerity. Their synchronized plucking, their soft smiles, their ease with an instrument so demanding—it was a reminder that classical music, when in the right hands, can make even a crowded fairground feel intimate.
The performance began with a warm invocation by Aadhya Gupta, who offered a graceful Ganesh Vandana that set the tone for the hour. It ended with a lyrical flourish as Aadhya Srivastava and Rutuja Shastri brought in their vocal rendition, tying the musical journey together like the final loop in an intricate weave.
Behind the scenes, the meticulous coordination by Sangeeta Chauhan of Sangeeta Sangeet and Vikas Sharma of Shri Baiju Sangeet Mahavidyalaya ensured that every note found its rightful space in the afternoon breeze.
Crowds Grow Thicker, Footsteps Grow Softer
As the sitar performance progressed, something subtle unfolded across the fairground: readers who had been briskly moving from stall to stall slowed down. Families paused. Children stopped tugging at sleeves. Even vendors stood still for a while. Music has always had a way of softening noise, and for that one hour, the book fair felt less like an event and more like a shared breath.
The performance didn’t overpower the fair—it embraced it. The literary and the musical folded into each other so smoothly that the afternoon became a memory even before it had ended.
The Promise of a Poetic Tomorrow
If Day 7 was about melody, Day 8 promises to echo with words. On November 20, the fair is set to host two of its biggest literary gatherings—an afternoon Kavya-Goshthi by Samras Sahitya Sansthan and a grand evening Kavi Sammelan led by Ujaas Sanstha’s Abha Dwivedi. Poetry lovers are expected to turn out in large numbers, eager for an evening of metaphors, rhythm and resonance.
A Fair Woven by Many Hands
The Kanpur Book Fair this year continues to thrive through the support of Origins, Vijay Studio, Kanpur Metro, Kiran Foundation, City Essence and Trade Mitra. Under the banner of Forceone Books, the festival has evolved into much more than a marketplace for books—it has become a melting pot of arts, culture and community.
As the sun dipped behind Chunni Ganj and the sitarists packed their instruments, the lingering notes stayed with the visitors a little longer. Day 7 didn’t just add music to the fair; it added mood—an atmosphere that made everyone feel like they were part of something beautiful, something shared, something timeless.
