Young bibliophiles on visiting the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair

The Kolkata International Book Fair is back with its 45th edition after a year’s gap.

The fair will go on at the Central Park grounds, Salt Lake, till March 13. Edugraph caught up with a few young book lovers.

Book Fair in Kolkata calls for multiple visits so that I don't miss any of the stalls, especially the little magazine stalls. I visited the Book Fair on March 1, 5 and 6. On my first visit this year, I bought quite a few books. Book Fair, after a two- year hiatus, feels no less than a Durga Puja. After receiving recognition from the International Publishers Association, countries like Geneva, US, Bangladesh and America have participated.

Visiting the Book Fair with my parents used to be annual winter ritual. It used to be exciting to buy books with money received from relatives as a token of love. My father would gift me a book every year — a practice that has continued to date. Baba bought me Leela Majumdar’s Podipisir Bormi Baksho. I read this book years back from a library but didn't own a copy in my collection. Revisiting childhood through the pages of books like these is one of my favourite pastimes. The best part was to witness readers, together again, poring over books. I bought A Feminist Manifest: Rape, Reproduction, Revolution by Rinita Mazumdar and Irrfan: Dialogues with the Wind by Anup Singh along with some abstract paintings.

— Poulami Pramanik, third year, BA, Bengali, St. Xavier's College, Kolkata

Finally, some good news for all bibliophiles. I visited the Book Fair with some of my college mates on March 5. The desire remains endless, but keeping in mind the limitations of my purse, I bought three books — The Grand Design and Black Holes: The BBC Reith Lectures by Stephen Hawking, and The Future of Humanity by Michio Kaku.

It was just like old times. From making memories with my friends, eating our hearts out in the food court, and watching the folk music concert, everything was top-notch this time.

— Sayak Chowdhury, first year, BSc, Mathematics, St. Xavier's College, Kolkata

I dropped by on March 1 and plan to go back. The little magazine section which displays publications of local authors has also set up stalls. My favourite spots are Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose hall and Aurobindo Ghosh hall. Their stalls are stuffed with a wide variety of books starting from classics, which are my personal favourite to contemporary fiction and non-fiction.

I grabbed a copy of The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, and a Kakababu book (Kakababu Obhijaan) by Sunil Gangopadhyay. The food stalls, too, were busy feeding the booklovers. I was excited to spot author Sanjib Chattopadhyay and Debarati Mukhopadhyay at the fair. I can’t wait to go back again.

— Barsha Chattaraj, second year, MA, Political Science, University of Calcutta

Visiting the Book Fair has been a must for me. Two years of rigorous online shopping and out-of-print books added fuel to the fire. I bought Subarnalata by Ashapurna Devi, Biswasghatok by Narayan Sanyal and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This year, apart from timeless classics, I've had some contemporary authors in my mind. So I also bought Aalor Gondho by Smaranjit Chakraborty and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.

The long queues in front of bookstalls, the theme country (Bangladesh), the Book Fair anthem, the little magazine stalls — all these are an integral part of the Kolkata Book Fair, which never gets old. Looking forward to visiting the Book Fair once again.

--- Twanni Das, first year, BSc, Microbiology, Lady Brabourne College

Visiting the Kolkata Book Fair has been like a ritual. Ruskin Bond is my favourite author ever since my parents gifted me the Cherry Tree, which taught me many things about life. I visited the Book Fair on March 6. I loved the fact that people had come back to buy books after two years. My parents and I spotted authors like Himadrikishore Dasgupta and Gourob Chakraborty.

My favourite stall is Rupa Publications. I also visited Hawakal Prokashona, Dev Sahitya Kutir and Patra Bharati. I bought A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 Years of Independence by Ruskin Bond, The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks, and I Wish I Was An Extrovert - Diary of an Indian Introvert by Fariyal Mujeeb Khan.

— Sumit Ghosh, Class XII, Commerce, The Assembly of God Church School

Since my childhood, the Book Fair has had a very special place in my heart. Going from stall to stall, surfing through the crowd, looking for that one book you want, bargaining for the best price, eating from food stalls after a day well spent is what sums up Kolkata's renowned book fair. This year I bought Jujutsu Kaisen, a manga series.

Other than bookstalls, we found stalls by colleges and universities. I also visited the international stalls set up by countries such as Spain, Italy, and the USA. These stalls attract a huge crowd. Bangladesh, having a history of famous personalities known for their work in literature, makes for an ideal link between the Kolkata Book Fair and the city's love for books.

— Ahona Chakraborty, Class XI, Science, Apeejay School, Salt Lake

I will be visiting the fair before March 13. This year’s theme country being Bangladesh, I’m sure it will be very interesting to soak myself in Bangladeshi culture, art, narratives, and history. I still remember listening to stories about Bangladesh from my grandparents. I attended singer Srikanta Acharya and journalist Ritabrata Bandhopadhyay’s online sessions via the Book Fair’s virtual stream. Every edition of the Book Fair allows me to explore new genres all under the same roof whether it is political, detective, horror, self-help, biographies, books of vernacular language such as Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu. There are small magazines of Byomkesh and Sukumar Ray that I am always excited about buying. Caricatures, cartoons, comic books always give me a sense of escape. I am particularly looking forward to the Asiatic Society stall where ancient documents have been transformed into books with detailed historic pictures.

— Shirsha Chakraborty, third year, BSc Mass Communication and Videography, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata

I plan to visit the Kolkata International Book Fair this week. The bibliophile in me can’t believe it’s finally happening after two years. The joy of smelling the whiff of old pages in the air, touching the rather rugged pages of rough books and being lost in the world of words is therapeutic. With this year’s theme, I’m very keen to pick up books by distinguished writers from Bangladesh, like Mahasweta Devi and Taslima Nasreen. I can't wait to meet voracious readers like myself and exchange knowledge with them.

— Parv Nahata, third year, Bachelor in Media Science (BMS), iLead, Kolkata