4 lakh book lovers troop into Boimela on its first Sunday
Times of India | 3 February 2025
12 Kolkata: The first weekend of the 48th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) saw a huge crowd. Guild officials said there were around 4 lakh visitors to the book fair on Saraswati Puja. With the puja coinciding with the book fair after a long time, the atmosphere at the venue was vibrant with school children, college-goers and book lovers thronging the fairground on Sunday.
However, book lovers rued the absence of Bangladesh at the book fair this time, saying they have missed out on the opportunity to know the latest additions in the Bangladesh literary field. But even though Bangladesh could not participate — for the first time in the last 28 years — books by prominent Bangladeshi writers and authors sold briskly from different Indian publishing house stalls at the fair on Sunday.
Publishers and Booksellers Guild president Tridib Chatterjee said books by Bangladeshi authors have always been in high demand at the book fair, and this year is no different. "Unfortunately, Bangladesh could not participate in the book fair this time due to geopolitical situations but there is always a huge demand for books by Bangladeshi poets, authors, and novelists, like Humayun Ahmed, Jasimuddin, Anisuz Zaman, Sadat Hossain, and Hasan Azizul Haque," Chatterjee said.
Guild officials said two books written by Ahmed, ‘Jochona o Jananir Galpo' and ‘Aguner Parasmani' that are set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh Liberation War, were in high demand and were proving to be bestsellers this time. Guild officials said another book in high demand is ‘Mourjyo' , a historical novel by Abul Kashem. "There is also ‘Andarmahal' by Sadat Hossein, which is very popular," a guild official said.
The Bangladesh pavilion used to be one of the biggest draws at the fair, with close to 50 publishers and booksellers, along with writers and others coming from Bangladesh each year.
"I am an avid reader of books by Bangladeshi writers. The absence of the Bangladesh pavilion could be felt as we flipped through books by Bangladeshi poets and writers at just one place," said Anusuya Banerjee from Baguiati. "We missed interacting with Bangladeshi authors at the book fair this time," said Barnali Saha, a college student.