What is a bookstall doing at this wedding venue?
Hoshiarpur (Punjab): Bharta Ganeshpur village in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. Engineer Sandeep Singh Sahota is getting married to Kaur Pal, an assistant professor in Punjabi.
But a surprise awaits the visitors once they enter the wedding venue. There is no DJ and music is not being played. Instead, there is a dais from which shayars and poets are regaling the guests with their lyrical works. There is a bookstall selling Punjabi, English and Hindi books. While having their fill, the guests are also buying books. At the end of the day, books worth Rs 9,000 had been sold.
Preetni Puri, a Punjabi story writer and mother of the bride said, “All members of our family are book-lovers. Unfortunately, reading habits are on a decline these days due to the Internet. That is why, I decided that besides sumptuous food, I will also treat the guests to literary and classic books.” The groom too flipped through some books but decided against buying any. He did say that he too loves reading.