The first Bengali literary festival in India, Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob (ABSU), will no longer be limited to the city of Kolkata. By popular demand, ABSU will start taking place in numerous Indian cities, including Kolkata, the following year.

The declaration was made at the conclusion of the eighth ABSU, which was held at the century-old Oxford Bookstore on Park Street. “Since its founding, ABSU has contributed to history in numerous ways. I am happy to inform you that the ninth version of the ABSU will take place in Kolkata and other cities. We have requests to bring the festival to several sites from Bengali associations in metropolises and some tier 2 cities. In response to this demand from the public, ABSU will tour several cities in India starting in the near future” said Swagat Sengupta, ABSU Director & CEO of Oxford Bookstores.

The eighth edition of this three-day festival, which was organized by the legendary Oxford Bookstore, included some of the most well-known figures in Bengali literature and culture sharing their thoughts on various facets of Bengali culture and literature.

For ABSU, this year was notable in a variety of ways. After two editions went online because of COVID, the eighth edition of this three-day literary festival resumed its on-site format at the historic Oxford Bookstore at Park Street. Additionally, it was broadcast online for Bengali literature and culture enthusiasts worldwide.

During the opening of the eighth edition of ABSU to honor the Oxford Bookstore’s centennial jubilee, the opening of Bengali Little Magazine Corner at the venerable Oxford Bookstore on Park Street was announced.

Through engaging sessions and discussions on a variety of topics, including poetry, small magazines, illustrations, the use of dialects, politics, young adult literature, thriller, book publishing and editing, journalism, and cinema in Bangla literature, the eighth edition of ABSU was able to reach a wider audience. With 27 specifically crafted sessions, the festival included 72 of Bengal’s best writers and artists.

Priyanka Dutta