Book lovers from Kolkata came out to make the Kitab Lovers Event a resounding success

It is said that books are the best escape from reality. Load the Box Book Fair by Kitab Lovers at Singhi Palace, Gariahat, from 25 May to 28 May 2023 brought to mind just that. Neither the scorching sun in the afternoons nor the occasional thundershower could keep the city’s bibliophiles from attending the event, which had The Telegraph Online Edugraph as their digital media partner.

Visitors were enthralled with two halls filled with over a million books, both new as well as pre-owned, piled on tables and stacked on shelves. The bookworms dove in with great enthusiasm, cradling their precious finds in both hands before trying to best fit them in boxes of three fixed sizes. The smaller ‘money saver’ box was for 1200 INR, the medium ‘wealth’ box cost 2200 INR, while the largest ‘treasure’ box was a pocket pinch of 3000 INR. The concept was to pay for a box and fill it with as many books as possible and still close it flat in the end. Individual books were also up for sale at discounted prices. People could also bring in their pre-owned books to sell to the organisers at the event.

But buying and selling was not all that went on at this melting pot of bibliophiles in the middle of the city. As they basked in the books, imaginations were fired up and horizons were broadened. For young Sagnik Chanda, who stays in a boarding school in Gwalior and is in the city for his summer vacation, fairs such as these kindle the literary fire within, and encourage the aspiring writer.

Kitab Lovers Book Fair provided Sagnik the opportunity to meet Sheba Ghosh, Ex-IAF, writer, filmmaker and actor, who was at the event to promote her book, Butterfly in a Bind. The debutant thriller author advised, "Be comfortable in your own role. Do what makes you happy but don't crib about it."

The love of reading physical books seemed to be unfaded and unabashed even in the digital age, as footfall surpassed a thousand on the weekdays, and swelled even more during the weekends. "Sometimes I do read digital formats, but I make sure to get the book as well," said Mainak Paul, final year medico at R G Kar Medical College, who brought along his friend Rohan Bhattacharya, also final year medico from Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College, Kolkata.

The book community expressed their joy at the book fair, but also voiced their wants while speaking to Edugraph. "There are very few Indian novels on the LGBTQ+ community, and I would love that to change," said Arghyadip Mondal, who is finishing his Masters in Sanskrit Linguistics and Historical Studies from Jadavpur University.

Rahul Pandey and R K Shankar, the CEO and COO of Kitab Lovers respectively, sat down for a conversation with Edugraph during the event. "This is our fourth year and we have organised over 50 book fairs in more than 20 cities across India. Kolkata has always been our tier-one city in this regard," stated Mr Pandey. "The response from the city has been great. Fiction books are what people are most interested in," added Mr Shankar.

"Our main agenda is to increase the reading habit of the younger generation of India," added Mr Pandey, "It is seen that the youth is moving towards non-fiction, while teens and adults are more into fiction at present."

The next stop for Kitab Lovers Load the Box Book Fair is Nagpur, from 2 June to 4 June 2023.