International Kolkata Book Fair To Be Held In July

Kolkata: International Kolkata Book Fair, which has been deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held with ‘Bangladesh’ as the focal theme country in July.

Addressing a press conference, the president of Publishers and Booksellers Guild, Tridib Chatterjee said, “2021 is the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and it is also the 50th year of the independence of Bangladesh. The International Kolkata Book Fair 2021 will be dedicated to Bangabandhu and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh independence.”

He further said the 125 birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray will also be celebrated in the book fair.

The Guild has also decided to pay homage to eminent personalities who expired recently like Soumitra Chatterjee, Pranab Mukherjee, Anisujjaman, Debesh Roy, Nimai Bhattacharya, Manabendra Bandyopadhyay, Alokeranjan Dasgupta, Swapan Mazumdar among others.

Considering the upcoming Assembly election, ICSE, CBSE and Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations, the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair 2021 will be held at Central Park Mela Ground, Salt Lake in July, said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, general secretary of the Guild.

“Necessary health protection and COVID-19 protocols will be followed at the fair. We expect that the international flights will be in operation by that time and the fair will have international participants like the earlier years,” he added.

Besides, for the first time, the Guild will organise a book festival ‘Ekushe Bhasha Utsab’ to celebrate International Mothertongue Day. The Festival will celebrate Bengali literature, language, and culture, mentioned Dey.