KARACHI, June 3: The second edition of Koocha-i-Saqafat after the May 12 Karachi killings remained a lacklustre show on Sunday, with the organisers blaming the growing commercialism and uncertain conditions in the city for the depleting public interest in this weekly extravaganza of art and culture that had won huge response after it was launched two years ago.

Its `Book bazaar’ had been the most sought-after section of the Koocha but the number of its stalls is shrinking with each passing week. At its peak period, the books section had over two dozen stalls and the organisers had applications from many booksellers seeking space in the crowded segment, but not more than half-a-dozen bookstalls were seen this Sunday with a lukewarm response from the visitors whose number too has dwindled.

For the organisers, the growing commercialism in the book market is a major reason affecting this popular element of the weekly cultural feature.

“The booksellers have found many venues in the city on Sunday where they can sell their stuff at higher prices, which is why their interest here is diminishing,” said Saifur Rehman Grami, chairman of the Koocha-i-Saqafat Committee of the Arts Council.

He said the increasing number of book markets and weekly festivals elsewhere was a positive development, but it was affecting the Koocha for its policy based on non-commercialism.

Booksellers at the event said that unlike the past the number of visitors with interest in books had decreased. He pointed to several Russian and French classics and said such books sold like hotcakes at that time.

“Now, it is hard to see someone looking for them,” he said.

Similar was the case of the art section where several artists and painters had their stalls getting no encouraging business. However, the interest of people was alive in the pottery, handicrafts and food sections.

Mr Grami said the Koocha’s next edition would be a high-profile event on its second anniversary.