Readers engrossed in books at the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair, 2026. Picture by Biswajit Kundu
When stories are just a click away and entire libraries fit inside tablets and phones, the International Kolkata Book Fair continues to attract children — page by page, aisle by aisle.
Children move from stall to stall, books clutched tightly, discussing plots and characters, trading recommendations and carefully counting their pocket money. They are not choosing one medium over the other; they are just learning to balance both. While digital books are often preferred for academic research, physical books remain the first choice for leisure reading.
Adamas World School Class XII student Sahana Niyogi uses a tablet to access academic material and borrow books that may be too expensive to purchase. Yet she eagerly waits to go to the book fair with her father — her reading partner. “I look forward to picking up new books that I would not have known about otherwise. I also buy some known books that I want to collect,” she said.
Aritra Kumar Bhuinya of Class XI, Birla High School, prefers physical books over digital copies. For him, waiting in queues and then searching for the perfect paperback offers a rare pause from notifications and scrolling. Having visited the book fair thrice this year, Aritra met many of his favourite authors, including Abhik Sarkar, Anirban Bhattacharya, Chandan Nath and Kunal Bose. “Here I also get hold of the special edition books and comics.”
The book fair also serves as a social space to exchange recommendations and debate genres. Amrolly Datta of Class IX, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, experienced one such moment. “While I was purchasing a book, an older woman remarked that it was her favourite too. We began talking about the characters and other genres,” she said.
Ashmita Goswami, a Class IX student of Our Lady Queen Of The Missions School, loves coming here with her parents. “They encourage me to read and help me pick books on astronomy, which I enjoy.”
Even first-time visitor Pubali Guin, a Class IX student of Gokhale Memorial Girls’ School, was accompanied by both her parents, who encouraged her to pick up some detective series.
For Soumili Mondal of Class X, K.E. Carmel School, Amtala, who has already begun writing her own stories, the book fair is a paradise. “It’s not just about buying books, but about being surrounded by stories. Here reading five books a day feels normal,” she said. For Gen Z, book fairs connect them to stories, imagination and to each other.