Kolkata Book Fair to start from January 31

on Nov 09, 2021

The 45th edition of International Kolkata Book Fair will start on January 31, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, greenlighting an annual event that was not held in 2021 because of Covid-19. Bangladesh will be the theme country of the fair.

The neighbouring country has decided to celebrate the centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman, the father of the nation, and the golden jubilee of its independence. Russia was the theme country of the 2020 edition of the fair, which was visited by close to 2 million people.

Usually, the fair is a 10-11 day affair. The organisers of the fair, Publishers and Booksellers Guild, said the duration of the 2022 fair would be decided within a day or two. Like in previous years, Book Fair 2022 will be held at Central Park in Salt Lake.

“We have called a meeting on Tuesday. All our members have been asked to attend the meeting so we can decide how long the fair will continue,” said Tridib Chatterjee, general secretary of the guild.

“If required, the fair may continue for a longer duration to accommodate two Sundays,” he said.

Guild members said they were bracing for the challenge to organise the fair by strictly adhering to the Covid protocol. Till 2020, the fair had around 600 stalls for publishers and booksellers and close to 200 for little magazine publishers.

“If we are to follow the Covid norms, the space between the stalls may have to be increased. The size of the stalls will also have to be altered,” said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, president of the guild. Senior officials in the transport and home departments said they would soon meet guild officials to discuss the final blueprint of the fair and finalise plans for police deployment and transportation of book lovers.

Guild members said they would possibly visit the fair venue within a day or two to identify the exact space.