Report: International Kolkata Book Fair 2023
Organized by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair began on the 31st of January and concluded on the 12th of February. The slogan for the 13-day event was Boi Porun, Boi Kinun, Boi Upohaar Din (Read Books, Buy Books, Gift Books), a message that seems to have been taken quite seriously by Kolkatans, who thronged the event in large numbers. All previous records were broken as more than 26 lakh people visited the venue and books worth more than ₹25 crore were sold. At a time when all literary events have one compulsory discussion around not having enough readers, these numbers provide much hope about the future of literature itself.
Labelled Asia’s largest book fair with over 900 stalls and the participation of 20 countries, the event also included numerous counters offering food, handcrafted jewellery, paintings, posters and decorative pieces. To commemorate the UNESCO’s inclusion of “Durga Pujo in Kolkata” in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, event organizers installed a beautiful Durga idol, which was a great hit among the visitors who jostled to take pictures. All the lanes within the fair were named after famous literary personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das, Kavi Nazrul Islam, Nabanita Deb Sen and Antonio Machado, among others.
This year’s focal theme country was Spain with its section displaying Spanish books. A Spanish translation of Deepti Naval’s book, A Country Called Childhood, particularly caught my eye. An area was dedicated solely to guiding students who planned to study in Spain.
Many countries showcased books in their own languages and some like US regularly organized events with their delegates holding sessions on climate change and ways to combat it. The British Council organized a registration drive for enrolments at their library. The Bangladesh hall was designed like a fortress with booksellers and publishers doing brisk business selling books from different genres including translations, poetry, science-fiction, romance and non-fiction that focussed on their freedom struggle and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. There were meet-and-greet sessions with some famous Bangladeshi authors and poets too. I caught a glimpse of Sadat Hossain, a well-loved Bangladeshi author who writes in Bangla. Apart from literary personalities, artists like Anirban Bhattacharya, Monali Thakur, Abir Chatterjee, Ranjit Mallick, Anjan Dutt, Sudiptaa Chakraborty, Saurav Das, Anupam Roy and many more also visited the fair.
Students from the event’s digital partner Sister Nivedita University recorded and created content which was then posted online. They also handled the on-ground situation inside the SBI Auditorium where the Kolkata Literature Festival was held from 9th to 11th February. The ninth edition of KLF being held at the venue, it was inaugurated by CV Ananda Bose, the governor of West Bengal, and state education minister Bratya Basu. The three-day festival that featured many panel discussions on the country’s literary scene, politics and other contemporary issues saw fully packed halls. Seasoned authors like Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Amar Mitra and Pabitra Sarkar talked about 75 years of a free India and also about the insurmountable pain of Partition and the memories of the forced migrations that still haunt the subcontinent.
Publisher and Editor David Davidar had a riveting discussion with Sujata Sen, Director of KLF, about 100 years of Indian Literature and its progression. They also briefly discussed the future of Indian translated literature. The Hindenburg Report found its way into KLF in a discussion between author and policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, Sumantra Bose, translator of Krishna Bose’s Netaji, and journalist Monideepa Banerjie. Author Sanjib Chattopadhyay had a hearty discussion about the absence of satire and comedy in contemporary literature with actor Biswanath Basu, author Ullas Mallick and Saikat Mukhopadhyay.
Translations were the hot topic at KLF, with three panels on different aspects of it being presented on the last day. The most memorable panel for me had the famous Dalit author and now TMC MLA from Balagarh, Manoranjan Byapari, who vociferously engaged with the crowd and shared his life story and how his work tries to showcase that struggle. Chuden Kabimo, an author from Kalimpong who writes in Nepali, spoke about the sad state of publishing in his native language. Translations has helped to spread his work to a wider audience. Other panelists included people associated with the publishing industry like Minakshi Thakur from Westland, Esha Chatterjee from Bee Books and Raman Shresta of Rachna Books. Each day at KLF ended with a live musical performance with the one by Sahil Vasudev, presented by the Embassy of Spain in India, being a particularly innovative convergence of Indian and Western melodies.
Thankfully, with nine gates to enter and exit, the Boi Mela Prangon (book fair premises) did not get dangerously crowded despite all these event. The presence of police, fire and medical services prepared for emergency situations further reassured festival goers.
Given the many different things happening at the venue and the enthusiastic participation of the public, it makes perfect sense to call the International Kolkata Book Fair a true celebration of what makes us human.
Chittajit Mitra (he/him) is a queer writer, translator and editor from Allahabad. He is co-founder of RAQS, an organization working on gender, sexuality and mental health
The views expressed are personal
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Organized by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair began on the 31st of January and concluded on the 12th of February. The slogan for the 13-day event was Boi Porun, Boi Kinun, Boi Upohaar Din (Read Books, Buy Books, Gift Books), a message that seems to have been taken quite seriously by Kolkatans, who thronged the event in large numbers. All previous records were broken as more than 26 lakh people visited the venue and books worth more than ₹25 crore were sold. At a time when all literary events have one compulsory discussion around not having enough readers, these numbers provide much hope about the future of literature itself.
Labelled Asia’s largest book fair with over 900 stalls and the participation of 20 countries, the event also included numerous counters offering food, handcrafted jewellery, paintings, posters and decorative pieces. To commemorate the UNESCO’s inclusion of “Durga Pujo in Kolkata” in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, event organizers installed a beautiful Durga idol, which was a great hit among the visitors who jostled to take pictures. All the lanes within the fair were named after famous literary personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das, Kavi Nazrul Islam, Nabanita Deb Sen and Antonio Machado, among others.
This year’s focal theme country was Spain with its section displaying Spanish books. A Spanish translation of Deepti Naval’s book, A Country Called Childhood, particularly caught my eye. An area was dedicated solely to guiding students who planned to study in Spain.
Many countries showcased books in their own languages and some like US regularly organized events with their delegates holding sessions on climate change and ways to combat it. The British Council organized a registration drive for enrolments at their library. The Bangladesh hall was designed like a fortress with booksellers and publishers doing brisk business selling books from different genres including translations, poetry, science-fiction, romance and non-fiction that focussed on their freedom struggle and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. There were meet-and-greet sessions with some famous Bangladeshi authors and poets too. I caught a glimpse of Sadat Hossain, a well-loved Bangladeshi author who writes in Bangla. Apart from literary personalities, artists like Anirban Bhattacharya, Monali Thakur, Abir Chatterjee, Ranjit Mallick, Anjan Dutt, Sudiptaa Chakraborty, Saurav Das, Anupam Roy and many more also visited the fair.
Students from the event’s digital partner Sister Nivedita University recorded and created content which was then posted online. They also handled the on-ground situation inside the SBI Auditorium where the Kolkata Literature Festival was held from 9th to 11th February. The ninth edition of KLF being held at the venue, it was inaugurated by CV Ananda Bose, the governor of West Bengal, and state education minister Bratya Basu. The three-day festival that featured many panel discussions on the country’s literary scene, politics and other contemporary issues saw fully packed halls. Seasoned authors like Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Amar Mitra and Pabitra Sarkar talked about 75 years of a free India and also about the insurmountable pain of Partition and the memories of the forced migrations that still haunt the subcontinent.
Publisher and Editor David Davidar had a riveting discussion with Sujata Sen, Director of KLF, about 100 years of Indian Literature and its progression. They also briefly discussed the future of Indian translated literature. The Hindenburg Report found its way into KLF in a discussion between author and policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, Sumantra Bose, translator of Krishna Bose’s Netaji, and journalist Monideepa Banerjie. Author Sanjib Chattopadhyay had a hearty discussion about the absence of satire and comedy in contemporary literature with actor Biswanath Basu, author Ullas Mallick and Saikat Mukhopadhyay.
Translations were the hot topic at KLF, with three panels on different aspects of it being presented on the last day. The most memorable panel for me had the famous Dalit author and now TMC MLA from Balagarh, Manoranjan Byapari, who vociferously engaged with the crowd and shared his life story and how his work tries to showcase that struggle. Chuden Kabimo, an author from Kalimpong who writes in Nepali, spoke about the sad state of publishing in his native language. Translations has helped to spread his work to a wider audience. Other panelists included people associated with the publishing industry like Minakshi Thakur from Westland, Esha Chatterjee from Bee Books and Raman Shresta of Rachna Books. Each day at KLF ended with a live musical performance with the one by Sahil Vasudev, presented by the Embassy of Spain in India, being a particularly innovative convergence of Indian and Western melodies.
Thankfully, with nine gates to enter and exit, the Boi Mela Prangon (book fair premises) did not get dangerously crowded despite all these event. The presence of police, fire and medical services prepared for emergency situations further reassured festival goers.
Given the many different things happening at the venue and the enthusiastic participation of the public, it makes perfect sense to call the International Kolkata Book Fair a true celebration of what makes us human.
Chittajit Mitra (he/him) is a queer writer, translator and editor from Allahabad. He is co-founder of RAQS, an organization working on gender, sexuality and mental health
The views expressed are personal
Unlock HT Premium with upto 67% Discount
Subscribe Now to continue reading
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