The long weekend turned out to be a boon both for book sellers and book
lovers.

Book stalls remained crowded at the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair as visitors turned out in large numbers to browse and buy.

Families, friends, and many who chose to come on their own spent hours at Salt Lake’s Central Park on Sunday.

Kundanika Ghatak had entered Central Park at noon, and by 5.30pm, the dental surgeon was carrying bags of books.

“I have so far bought books worth ₹7,000, most of which are Bengali books. There are a few more stalls left. I keep a Sunday reserved for the Book Fair every year,” said Ghatak.

The Book Fair in Calcutta is like a “festival,” where one can smell and feel books.

“We get as excited to see a writer as any other celebrity, and that’s distinctive about the city, and it’s love for books,” she said.

For the Chatterjees from Howrah, Sunday was a “family outing” to buy books.
From Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay; Ashapurna Devi to Ruskin Bond — their hands were full.

“In our home, reading books has been a habit passed through generations. Book Fair allows us to see different kinds of books in one place,” said schoolteacher Debalina Chaterjee.

She was accompanied by her sister Arunima, father Debshankar, 70, and mother Seema, 60.

Reading books is a habit and needs to be cultivated among the young, said mathematics teacher Tanusree Das Laha, who brought her teenage girl, Adrija, to the Book Fair.

“I have been bringing her every year since her childhood. She loves to read. I tell her that reading will improve her writing skills,” said the Sinthee resident.

Crowded Book Fair

The Publishers & Booksellers Guild stated that young people are acquiring books, despite the significant influence of screens in their lives.

“They are coming to the fair and buying books, which is a good sign. Many of them are urban English medium students who are not just buying English books, but Bengali books too,” said Tridib Chatterjee, honorary general secretary, Publishers & Booksellers Guild.

On Sunday, the crowd count crossed 4 lakh, said Chatterjee.

“This year, in the first three days, the number of people visiting the Book Fair has crossed 10 lakh, which is because of the long weekend,” said Chatterjee.

It was about 2.5 lakh people on Friday and 3.5 lakh on Saturday, he said.

Last year, in the five days we had about 6 lakh people, he said. “There is one more day left of the extended weekend,” said Chatterjee.

The fair was not just frequented by those from Calcutta alone.

Swarnakamalika Chakraborty, 62, a writer of her own accord, came from Agartala.

“We have Book Fairs in Agartala, but definitely not of this magnitude. The Kolkata Book Fair is a writer’s paradise,” she said.

She, however, said that screens have driven people away from books.

“The young will read only when they see the adults doing so. The onus is on parents,” she said.