Dear ComiRades,
Welcome back to TCU. Yours truly is back in Chennai well in time for the inauguration of the 34th edition of the Chennai Book Fair (in short, CBF) which was on 04th Jan 2011 (Tuesday). For those who came in late, here is the Wikipedia entry about the CBF. Though yours truly was in touch with the BAPASI Secretary even before the lots of the stalls, the formal invitation was finalised and received just before Christmas. Traffic and security were also eased a bit Once it was made sure that the CM of TN is not going to attend the inaugural function, a decision which he made later.
The visit to the CBF has become such an annual event for most of the people that they plan their visits to Chennai in concurrence with the dates of the event. Even for the die hard Comirades, a visit to the CBF becomes inevitable as most of the Graphic novels which he may not get in the usual shops will be made available over here. Bearing all this in mind, TCU is presenting the MUST BUY’s (or at least MUST VISIT’s) in this latest edition of CBF. Kindly take notice of the fact that TCU visited the CBF on the day of inauguration and most of the shops were not yet fully functional on day one (Which is the usual case) and hence if there is any miss, let me know on that through the comments section and they will be added in the video post of CBF next week.
CBF 34: Book Stall List in Alphabetical order – Four Stall
CBF 34: Book Stall List in Alphabetical Order – Media Stalls
CBF 34: BAPASI Official Site
All these photographs were taken in Hi-Resolution and hence for a bigger and better view, kindly click on the image. This is how the entrance of CBF looks like and the inaugural function was almost over by the time TCU made it’s presence felt.
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Prema Publications (பிரேமா பிரசுரம்) is a well known name in the world of Pulp fiction in the early 60’s till the 80’s and Pulp fiction being the latest interest of TCU, Here is a look into their stall.
TCU Info: Stall No 463.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Not much.
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Vanathi Publications (வானதி பதிப்பகம்) has been THE publication for the ComiRades for the simple reason that they are the people who are publishing VanduMama’s Books. Had the opportunity to meet the publisher as well. Being the simple man that he is, He refused to come in limelight, again. So, here are some of the snaps of the stall.
TCU Info: Stall No 13 & 14.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Anything and everything by Vandumama. Here is the complete list of Books (Books Available). Specifically (Comics stories)
Non-Comic stories include the following: They are also amongst the must-have’s for the ComiRades.
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Mathi Nilayam (மதி நிலையம்): Old timers may fondly recall the fact that Mathi nilayam played a vital part in the development of the Tamil Comics and how Mr Valar Mathi Ramu actively encouraged Mullai Thangarasan to write more and more stories for the Amazing “Siruvar Rathina Kuviyal - சிறுவர் இரத்தின குவியல்” series. Though they are not into the Comics-Graphic novel genre any longer, here is a snap which is for the records. The man in the 1st picture is THE Publisher for Tamil Comics and Children’s literature in particular. A Detailed interview of him will appear in TCU’s book some time in the next year.
TCU Info: Stall No 19.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Not much, sadly.
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Book world – Bangalore: They have most of the English books like Asterix, Tin Tin, Lucky Luke etc and also the old stocks of Gotham comics specials. Some of the tinkle specials were also available here.
TCU Info: Stall No 20.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Lots of English comics. Not much, as for as Tamil comics are concerned.
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Info Maps (இன்போ மேப்ஸ்): They were the most sought after shop last year as they were selling Tamil comics such as Lion Comics, Muthu Comics and Comics classics. While looking into the shop, TCU ran into one of the old friend from Euro Books. Mr Om prakash (Man with the latest issue of Commando in the 3rd picture) has already helped TCU in THIS post. Expect some interesting news on Euro books in the future in TCU.
TCU Info: Stall No 05.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: All Euro Books publications such as Iznogoud (1st edition sold out, 2nd edition available now), Lucky Luke, Commando (all new versions, Laminated cover, compact size, affordable price), Herge’ books etc.
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Scholastic India (ஸ்கோலாஸ்டிக் இந்தியா): They were the ones who published Bone and BenQ series. Here is their complete catalogue: Official Website
TCU Info: Stall No 26.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Lots of English comics such as Bone, BenQ, Fabulous adventures of Rocket Kumar and other Indian super heroes etc.
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Spider Books (Stall No 37), Punnagai Ulagam (Stall No 414) & New Century Book House (Stall No 07): Here is an assembly of photos (for the convenience of posting in 3x3 Matrix). Punnagai Ulagam (Official Website) is a wonderful children’s magazine (The Editor of that magazine is an old friend of Yours truly). Also some of the books available in NCBH.
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New Horizon Media (கிழக்கு பதிப்பகம்): Kizhakku is a well known name in Publishing and now that they have ventured into comics (Yes Sir, Kindly wait till Saturday's Year End review post from TCU for more information), they have become the favourite publishing house of Yours truly. With People like Badri and Pa.Ra, Sky is the only limit for them in the forthcoming years. Those who visit their corporate office in Chennai, Have a look into the sign board to know more about their intention.
TCU Info: Stall No 13, 14 & 15.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Comics
- 24 Titles of Amar Chitra Katha’s in Tamil (Excellent Translation, INR 35/- each)
- 03 Titles of Graphic novels on Tamil Literature (Excellent narration, INR 25/- each)
Other books of interest for the ComiRades:
- 09 Books on Feluda Series (Sathyajith Ray)
- 01 Book on Sherlock Holmes Series
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Publications Division – Govt of India: Govt of India’s own publications division also has some nice books meant for children between the ages 06-14. The other books are also of interesting topic. Worth a visit to the stall to have a look at the old books (Yes, very old).
TCU Info: Stall No 401.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Many children's books at very nominal price.
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Abirami Recording Company: This is for the DVD and VCD of the Children’s collection. Nice collection they have got Have a look and try something, especially the Ramayanam DVD.
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Palaniappa Brothers (பழனியப்பா பிரதர்ஸ்): Once the celebrated publication for children’s literature, even now they boast a very sound batting order with stalwarts like Thumilan, Azha. Valliyappa, Revathy etc in their ranks.
TCU Info: Stall No 301.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Many children's books at very nominal price. C.I.D Siruvargal is a must buy.
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Manimegalai Publications (மணிமேகலை பிரசுரம்): Again, another legendary publication. They still sell those wonderful books by Tamil Vanan on the sankarlal series, and they are their best sellers. There are lots of books over here and officially, they should have included in the Guinness world of records for publishing the maximum number of titles. However, knowing the working style of the people behind Guinness records first hand, Yours truly has reservations on that thought.
TCU Info: Stall No F 30.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Comics
- Thirumbi Varavillai by Tamil Vanan தமிழ் வாணனின் திரும்பி வரவில்லை (Siv’s Post)
- Dharavum Kugai Manidhargalum தாராவும் குகை மனிதர்களும் (Siv’s Post)
- Appusamiyum, Colour Teeviyum அப்புசாமியும் கலர் டிவியும் (Siv’s Post)
Other books of interest for the ComiRades:
- Many books on the Sankar Lal Series
- Many Books on Tamil Vanan Detective stories (Where Tamil Vanan over took as the hero).
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Sri RamaKrishna Math (ராமகிருஷ்ண மடம்): The Kadhai Malar series is well know amongst ComiRades (Thanks to Siv’s posts on them: Post 1 & Post 2). This time also they have have launched about 4 new titles prior to the CBF. Though these books were made available some 4 months ago, they are not that easy to get in the shops and you have buy from the Math themselves. Here are they. They are a must to have for the collectors.
TCU Info: Stall No 223.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Comics
- Kadhai Malar Set 1 – Volume 1 to 15 (INR 300/- Per set of 15 Books)
- Kadhai Malar Set 2 – Volume 16 to 21 (INR 190/- Per set of 6 Books)
- Kadhai Malar Set 3 (Latest) – Volume 22 to 25 (INR 140/- Per set of 4 Books)
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Children’s Book Trust: Children’s book trust has a wide array of books for the younger readers. For the kids in the range of 6-14 years, here are some wonderful books to read.
TCU Info: Stall No 106.
Books of Interest for ComiRades: Many children's books.
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Well, that's all for the time being. As usual, post your comments in the comments section. For those who want to Pen their thoughts in Tamil, Kindly Use the Option Provided in the Widget in the Blog.
Thanks & Regards,
King Viswa.
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