Nothing captures the passing of the day and the enveloping darkness quite like the melancholic Marwa. Rendered on the most soulful of Indian instruments, the sarangi, the Hindustani classical raag expresses the myriad moods that traverse the range of emotions between sadness and numbness. Pragati Maidan brings back strains of Pandit Ram Narayan’s sarangi heard over the years, along with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s sarod, Pandit Ravi Shankar’s sitar and Ustad Bismillah Khan’s shehnai, among others. The music playing softly on the loudspeakers has been an integral element of the ambience that makes Delhi’s largest exhibition complex such a special getaway within the city. When you take the long walk out and back into the rush of the city at the end of the day, the evening melodies stay with you long after you have passed through the exit.

On Tuesday evening, at the ongoing Delhi Book Fair, it was not classical music on the loudspeakers but one of Lata Mangeshkar’s enduring classics, “Aayega aane waala....”, from Kamal Amrohi’s Mahal. It was not just the music that was different. Unlike at the annual international trade fair, the complex seemed deserted but for the few halls occupied by the book fair. Except during the fortnight from November 14, this is what the place looks like. True, the Shakuntalam theatre continues to function, as do the restaurants, and the complex does host a series of annual fairs, but all these account for just a fraction of the sprawling exhibition area. For the past several years, the pavilions have thankfully become permanent structures which are only spruced up for the trade fair. But most of them are scarcely used during the rest of the 50 weeks. This is such a shame and a callous waste of prime real estate. Pragati means progress but, contrary to its name, the complex displays the worst impulses of a command economy and a mindset suspended in time.    

The complex can be used so much more efficiently. It can host a permanent exhibition, quite like Dilli Haat but much bigger. It can house all the state emporia and tourist information centres in a single visitor-friendly complex – foreign tourists will find this especially useful. It can even find space for a proper public library that Delhi continues to miss. There can be many other such, or even better, ideas. What we hear instead is a recurring discussion on shifting the trade fair from Pragati Maidan, with chief minister Sheila Dikshit championing the proposal, because the authorities find it difficult to cope with the rush. The politicians have got it wrong as usual. Pragati Maidan cannot be replaced. But it sorely needs better use for what it has to offer. So that the music does not stop playing.