Good news for book lovers in Kolkata, it has been decided that a miniature book fair will be organised at Hrishikesh Park on Amherst Street from January 28 to 31 under the banner of the West Bengal Publishers Co-ordination Committee. Earlier, Publishers and Booksellers Guild, decided to postpone the International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) indefinitely, publishers on College Street had started looking for other avenues to organize alternative fairs. 

The Kolkata Book Fair, as this new fair has been christened, is an effort of some publishers who have got together under the banner of the West Bengal Publishers Co-ordination Committee.

Publishers who have joined in the effort said that while other state-sponsored fairs are on, the Guild was dragging its feet over IKBF, which is the main income avenue for most. “We have not cancelled the fair but have just postponed it because it is not safe for people who will come in. We have over 600 stalls in the fair and lakhs visit on weekends,” reasoned Guild general secretary Sudhangshu Dey. “We understand that a small fair is happening and we welcome the effort. The IKBF will happen when things become better,” said Guild president Tridib Chatterjee.

The committee members of the new fair said their effort was miniscule but it was still enough to bring smiles on the faces of at least 35-40 publishers. KMC, police, and fire brigade permissions have already come for the fair.
“We were so crestfallen after the Guild decision. So some of us got together to discuss if anything could be done. We are happy that we got financial support from Ward 38 political leaders and have been able to offer stalls to publishers free of cost,” said Rupa Majumdar of Dev Sahitya Kutir, who is the convenor of the fair.

The logo of this fair will be released on Friday by state science and technology minister Bratya Basu. “Leading publishers like Mitra Ghosh and Dev Sahitya Kutir have joined us. We will have a space for little magazines too,” said Indrani Roy of Mitra Ghosh and an executive committee member of the new fair. Some publishers like Patra Bharati and Deys, who hold important portfolios in the Guild, will be absent though. They cited the fact that district book fairs were on and they were short-staffed.

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