The Kolkata book fair is not only a celebration it is the emotion of Kolkata which is celebrated for the people of Kolkata by the people of Kolkata. This year the celebration is a bit more special as the Kolkata book fair is on the road to celebrate its 50th anniversary in the upcoming years.
The 47th Kolkata International Book Fair has become the biggest festival in the city of joy after Durgapuja in which nearly 20 countries are participating this year. The 47th International Kolkata Book Fair gained a massive amount of crowd transforming Salt Lake, Kolkata Central Park into a hustling and bustling hub almost over 2 million visitors are expected to come every day with almost thousands present this year in the book fair.
One of the unique and attractive aspects of the book fair is every year a country is picked for the Melas theme and the embassy of the chosen country is assigned the stall where visitors can go and check the items on offer for The 47th International Book Fair the country is the United Kingdom. That is why a replica of the London Tower Bridge has been also installed.
This year you can explore almost over 1,000 stalls with the help of digital map access through QR codes. And if you are lucky enough, you can also get a chance to win a gift book hamper worth rupees 25,000 if you participate in the book bumper library lottery. This year the number of stores present in the 47 Kolkata International Book Festival is the highest in the history of kolkata with which 900 will be large stalls and 100 small ones. The small stalls will be dedicated to small publishers on their request for small spaces and indeed this is a nice initiative as we get more stores which indirectly means more books, more diversity with more experience for the people of Kolkata.
The History behind the Kolkata Book Festival
The 47th Kolkata International Book Festival is an inherited part of Kolkata and the world’s largest book fair in terms of people visiting it. If we go deep into the ’90s mainly in the 1980s and early ’90s, Kolkata used to host two annual book fairs that time one for Kolkata publishers and booksellers guide and the other one by the government of West Bengal the Grontho Mela used be held from late December until January which showcased book publishers of government running books, and publications. Actually, the Kolkata International Film Festival came up from here only in which the two melas merged in 1992.
This year the theme of the 47th Kolkata International Book Fair is the United Kingdom which takes center stage as the theme country for 2024 which brings several author talks, workshops, cultural events, and several other things which is intern celebrating the British culture and connecting it with India not only India but to Bengal also. This year in the 47th Kolkata International Film Festival, the fair organizers dedicated a special initiative to honoring the senior citizens recognition, recognizing their lifelong love for the books and their dedication towards the Kolkata book fair
This year at the Kolkata International Book Fair, you will find content from several parts of the world including the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Thailand, Bangladesh, Australia, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia these countries are actively participating in the 47th Kolkata international book festival. It is expected that this fear will generate a sale of around 25 crore. You will find some national and multinational publishers here in this mela like Oxford University Press, Rupa, Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette, Bloomsbury, and Pan Macmillan.
Indeed, you can tell that the Kolkata Book Fair 2024 is not only an event or a mela it is a celebration of literature, culture, and the power of stories in the form of writings in which you can see people’s emotions, their dedication and love towards art, culture, and the language.
Updates of the Kolkata International Book Fair 2024
- The international Kolkata Book Fair 2024 was inaugurated on Thursday by the chief minister of West Bengal Mamta Banerjee
- The fair will be held from 18th of January 10th, 31st of January
- The location of the Kolkata International Book Festival is Salt Lake Central Park, Boi Mela
- This year the book fair of Kolkata aims to turn itself green. It is trying to emphasize jute bags on a large scale
- A tree plantation event will be also held during the book fair This is a positive, initiative taken by a book publisher
