CHENNAI: Amid growing public interest in fitness and preventive healthcare, stalls focusing on healthy living, diet practices and traditional medicine have emerged as quiet crowd-pullers at the Chennai Book Fair this year.

Visitors, many of them browsing with a clear sense of purpose, are spending time at counters that promise knowledge rooted in nature rather than quick cures.

At stall number 387, Mooligaimani Publications has displayed posters detailing medicinal plants believed to cure a range of ailments naturally. Staff members at the counter engage visitors in conversations about the importance of balanced living and awareness of natural remedies.

The books focus on traditional medicine, detailing the use of leaves, fruits and flowers to treat specific ailments. Dr KV Abirami, a Siddha doctor and owner of Mooligaimani Publications, said, “the stall has been part of the Chennai Book Fair for the past 25 years, while the publishing house itself has been active for over 60 year. The goal is to create awareness about natural medicine and encourage people to cultivate medicinal plants at home. Around 900 books have been sold at the stall so far this year, while annual sales typically range between 2,000 and 2,500 copies.”

A similar response is seen at stall number F-22, aptly named The Diet Food Publications, which focuses on nutrition, herbal products and Siddha medicine.

According to R S Shanmugam, president of Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI), “Siddha, naattu vaidyam, Ayurveda and Unani have consistently found favour among readers.”