Kolkata: Amazing coincidence! On the same day the theme country for the International Kolkata Book Fair was announced, a unique book fair was held on College Street in Boipara, the metropolis. Overall, Monday, November 3, was an important day for book lovers in Kolkata and various parts of Bengal.
On the same day, the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, organizer of the Kolkata International Book Fair, announced the theme country for this year’s book fair. This year, the theme country was Argentina, the country of Messi and Maradona. On the same day, a book fair was held on Bankim Chatterjee Street near College Street. Books damaged by rain a month earlier were sold at discounted prices.
The International Kolkata Book Fair
The International Kolkata Book Fair is underway. This book fair will run from January 22nd to February 3rd. This year marks the 39th year of the book fair. The theme country is Argentina. As every year, various countries will participate, but Bangladesh is missing from the list. In the words of Tridib Chatterjee, General Secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, “We want Bangladesh to come to Delhi.” The Guild is indirectly indicating that it should participate in the book fair with the permission of the central government.
Argentina has been participating in the International Kolkata Book Fair for many years. This year, the country of Messi and Maradona is being featured as the theme country for the first time. Two representatives from the Argentine Embassy attended the press conference held on Monday. One of their representatives said, “The love that Kolkata’s football fans give to our national team is truly unparalleled. We hope to continue this love by becoming champions next time. Finally, we hope that Argentina will participate again in the Kolkata International Book Fair in 2026 – adding a new chapter to the history of this beautiful relationship.”
Last year, books worth ₹23 crore were sold at the book fair. Last year, the number of stalls was around 1,035. President Sudhanshu Shekhar Dey said, “Many new publishers have applied to participate in the upcoming book fair. The council for the book fair complex has not been formed. Last year, we were able to provide a few new stalls. Now, it’s not possible to increase the number of stalls at the upcoming book fair. Like previous years, this year too, the book fair complex is being held at Salt Lake Central Park. Since the metro service is more extensive this year, the Guild expects many book lovers to attend.”
Guild Secretary Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay said, “Anyone traveling to Howrah from anywhere can easily reach the book fair complex by metro. We hope that at least this time the time difference between the two metros will be reduced.”
Wet Book Fair
This is the first time in the 200-year history of Bengali publishing that a book fair has been set up on Bankim Chatterjee Street, opposite the College Square gate. The fair was overflowing with buyers. Organizers and publishers were overwhelmed. Crowds flocked to buy books long before the scheduled time. But neither readers nor publishers want such a book fair. They say, “A small book fair can be held in the streets of Kolkata at any time. But publishers should not hold a book fair where it rains.”
College Street, the center of Bengal’s thought and intellect, is one of Asia’s largest book markets. The heavy rains of September 23rd affected almost all publications and booksellers to some extent. A large number of books were soaked, resulting in losses of at least 10 crore rupees. The fair resumed on Monday after sorting out the rain-soaked books.
Thirty-six publications participated in the fair, held on the street under tables, chairs, and umbrellas. From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., thousands of readers flocked to these stalls. Senior reader Kiriti Roy brought several bags from Serampore in Hooghly. She said, “It’s a good initiative.” It would be great if more such book fairs were held. I came to buy books worth two thousand rupees. I’ve already bought seven or eight. I’ll have to find more and buy more.’ Another reader, Dhrubo Banerjee, said, ‘I don’t want to remember this as a book fair ruined by rain, but as a book fair. Because, there are tears involved. Therefore, it’s important to support those publishers and staff. We should buy at least two books from there.’
Tithi Haldhar came from Salt Lake to buy books. He said, ‘A lot of books got damaged. This isn’t good. It’s sad. Now you have to buy the books you want and dry them in the sun. There are a wide variety of books here, including plays, novels, poetry, etc. Because, basically, there are damaged books here. As a result, if you need a second copy of a book you like, it’s very difficult.’
