It’s not always money that youngsters are after. For many students, who are volunteering at the 20th Delhi World Book Fair, it’s the experience that matters more than the stipend. Unlike the annual trade fair, when college students grab the opportunity to earn extra bucks, the Book Fair is giving them a chance to enlighten themselves.
College students have been enrolled at `400 per day and their job includes — taking school students to book stalls catering to their reading interests, guiding the visitors about various stalls and for some the event has also brought an opportunity to put together a detailed account of visitors’ response.
Students inquisitive about literary works couldn’t have asked for more. Says Saurabh Mutreja, a second year student of Hindu College, “It gets tiring by the end of the day, but it’s so much fun. There’s so much to learn about books and writers here. I got to know of books that I didn’t know existed.” He says stipend hardly matters when one is getting an opportunity to learn so much.
For Shashwati Ghose, a post graduate student of Sociology, this has come as a “wonderful prospect”. At the book fair, she has to interact with visitors at the special pavillion that celebrates “Towards 100 years of Indian Cinema”.
“Being a student of Sociology, I have to study people, their opinion, reactions to certain topics, etc. The event has given me this space. It is not only helping me interact with people from various backgrounds but has also made my academic work easier as I can make my academic thesis on the same topic,” says Shashwati.
However, Vikas Yadav, a second year student is still waiting for an opportunity to come his way. “I’ve been selected to take school kids for a visit to the kids’ book stalls. While I’ve done my homework, I’m still waiting for the first bunch of kids,” he informs.