47th International Kolkata Book Fair To Be Inaugurated Today
The 47th International Kolkata Book Fair will be inaugurated today at 4 pm by Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with Mr. Alex Ellis CMG, Hon’ble British High Commissioner in India, Ms. Alison Barrett MBE, Country Director British Council, India, Bani Basu and Ministers of Government of West Bengal and other eminent guests.
Some of the highlights of this year’s book fair are as follows:
Bani Basu will be conferred lifetime felicitation by Dr. Rama Prasad Goenka CESC Sristi Samman 2024 worth Rs 2,00,000/- in the inaugural ceremony.
Around 1000 book publishers and little magazines will participate this year, making it the highest number.
The number of multinational publishers is also high this year. Publishers from all over India will be seen at the book fair.
Around 20 countries will be seen at the book fair. USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Thailand are some of the nations. The Bangladesh pavilion will have 50 publishers.
There are nine major gates. Some are London Tower Bridge Gate, Bethune School Gate, Tarashankar 125 Gate, Lorca 125 Gate, and Father Diettenne.
The connectivity to the book fair is amazing this year. Metro East West, Direct Sealdah to Karunamayee & Central Park Station, more Metro on all days including Sundays, book fair special bus service, fixed auto fare, and many more.
Security measures by Police & Fire Service, CCTV connections, police deployment and fire tenders, bikes, and fire service persons along with firefighters will also be present at the fair.
On 21st January, Pandab Goendar Prothom Obhijaan’s book will be distributed among the children for free. This is a tribute to Sastipada Chattopadhyay, who passed away in 2023.
On 24th January at 4:30 pm, author Abul Basar, Publisher Debajyoti Datta, and Reader Saswati Adhikari will be felicitated.
Theme Country UK Day celebration on 19th January 2024 from 5:30 pm.
Bangladesh Day will be celebrated on 20th January evening from 5.30 pm.
To give back to nature, a tree plantation ceremony will be held during the Book Fair days.
With so many activities planned, the book fair surely looks very interesting.
Priyanka Dutta