The deluge of September 23 may be a distant memory for most Calcuttans but many in College Street are still counting their losses from the havoc caused by the inundation.
Two book fairs are now being planned to sell books damaged in the rain at heavily discounted prices.
One will be held on Monday on Bankim Chatterjee Street, at the main gate of College Square, from 11am to 8pm, while another will be held on November 7 and 8 at the neighbouring Theosophical Society hall, from 2pm to 8pm.
“The College Street area is so prone to waterlogging that during job interviews, we ask candidates if they would be willing to swim to work on some days. But what happened on that day could be compared only to Cyclone Amphan five years ago in terms of damage. The locality was under water all night and the incessant shower meant our people could not rush to salvage stocks kept at the ground level,” recalled Utpal Ballav of Akshar Sanglap Prakashan and the treasurer of Kolkata Creative Publishers Welfare Association.
The three-year-old association, which is organising Monday’s fair, comprises College Street regulars, authors and four publishers, and is supported by the NGO Swanirbhar and Bengal Association, Delhi.
“The hardest hit were book sellers, who do not publish themselves. Also affected were printers who had just procured paper in anticipation of new titles to be printed at the start of the fair season in the districts. Despite the lessons of Amphan, we could do little in terms of taking precautions, as space is costly in the area and not all books can be stored in racks. Nor are insurance companies willing to provide us cover as our offices and godowns are mostly on lease or on rent and that too not directly from the owner,” Ballav added. Efforts, he said, will now be made to procure a group cover from lesser-known insurers.
Another forum, Bneche Uthuk Boipara, created in the wake of Amphan, has now been revived. “The members are researchers, writers, journalists and a handful of publishers. After the September deluge, booklovers’ social media groups reached out to us and funds were collected,” said Suddhabrata Deb of Pratikshan.
The platform has rented the venue and is accepting applications from distressed book traders. “We already have 27 registrations and can go up to 35. This effort is meant to provide an assurance to those in a profession with zero safety net that even if disaster strikes, hands of help will be extended. Book trade is not just a business; it is a bearer of Bengal’s cultural legacy.” Deb stated,
While Brishti Bheja Boi-er Haat, the name given to the two-day event, will be held indoors to protect from inclement weather, Monday’s fair will take a chance and be held outdoors in the hope of attracting a walk-in crowd.
The organisers had sought pictures or visited the shops of the applicants to assess the damage. “About 65 of them will be handed cheques drawn from the amount we have raised through crowdfunding. About 25 have been finalised to participate in the fair. We are providing them with a table, two chairs, an umbrella and refreshments. Let’s hope some books get sold. We are also planning to buy back some using the funds we have raised,” said Ballav.
