Kolkata International Book Fair 2022
kolkata International Book Fair 2022 just ended on 13th March. Welcoming a huge number of book readers and book lovers to its massive ground showcasing bookstalls, writers, publishers, discussions, book releases, and many more. The event had been a huge success and being an ardent book reader, I was definitely a part of it. In this article, I want to share some of the glimpses and interesting facts on Kolkata International Book Fair 2022. In the picture below, visited the fair with Dipannita (our blog author).
Interesting Facts about the Book Fair
Kolkata International Book Fair is held every year in the city, the capital of the state of west bengal in India. But due to the pandemic, 2020 and 2021 only hosted virtual events. This year 2022, permission had been granted to host the book fair on the grounds.
It's the 45th Kolkata International Book Fair 2022, which was held at Central Park in Salt Lake, Kolkata. The dates were from 28th February till 13th March. In normal circumstances, the ground has a capacity and hosts about 800 bookstalls. But this time due to the pandemic, the stalls have been reduced to 600, which is still a massive one.
The theme country for Kolkata International Book Fair 2022 had been Bangladesh, dedicated to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The fair was organized by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild and is one of the biggest in the world with regards to the turnout.
Different Bookstalls at the Fair grounds
About 580 Book publishers and 200 little magazines participated in the Kolkata International Book Fair 2022. Books from various genres, non-fiction, and fiction related to thrillers, romance, classics, sci-fi, and many more entertained the book readers and book lovers for the entire duration of the fair. The collection is huge, tough to quantify in numbers. You can just scan through the racks and select your favorite book to buy. And if the writers are present then you are lucky to get a signature from them.
The fair hosted two auditoriums – Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Hall 1) and Sri Aurobindo Ghosh (Hall 2). Both auditoriums hosted books from English publications. There is a separate international complex where bookstalls from different countries like the USA, Italy, Japan, Mexico, France, Iran, etc. were hosted. In 2022, the focus was mostly on Bangladesh. About 50 publishers from Bangladesh had their books displayed at the special pavilion dedicated to them.
Other attractions at the Fair
A Bengal Literature festival was organized on 11th and 12th March with a special focus on book releases and discussions by the eminent fraternity of the literary world. Several cultural events,like music and dance shows had been showcased at the auditorium. You will love to hear the folk songs by the Bauls of Bengal, entertaining the audience with their rhythmic tunes.
The venue for the cultural activities had been named as “Mukta Mancha” (open stage), dedicated to the legendary actor of Indian cinema, Late Soumitra Chatterjee.
Besides, there were food stalls, ice cream stalls, street foods, and snacks where people had been flocking on for some refreshments. Several artists and craftsmen have put up their small shops for selling hand-made paintings, handicrafts and jewelleries.
Concluding Notes
Overall, the event had been a huge success. There were a plethora of events, and books displayed at the fair which allured many from the city as well as the outskirts. One more year again to wait for the next fair.
Author
Kuntala
A travel enthusiast craving to explore the exotic destinations in the world, deciphering the mysteries and the thrill concealed in them.
I love heading to book fairs and the Kolkata International Book Fair looks really good especially with its selection of books and availability of food
Oh wow, even 600 instead of 800 stalls is massive!!! That’s great there must be so much of a selection. You must have found some wonderful books there. It sounds like such a great event!!!
I miss going to book fairs, they’re so so cool. In addition to the books, you get to meet amazing people.
I’ve never been to a book fair but it looks like a lot of fun and a great way to support the printed word!
This looks like so much fun! I wish I had a big book fair with live music where i’m from.
This is such a lovely book tour. I love all the cool and festive events.
I’m glad so many book lovers got to get together. It’s been awhile since we were able to do something like this. 💕
This book fair looks like so much more than a book fair – with really great cultural aspects! Thank you so much for sharing.
I always love your travel blogs! I remember going to smaller school book fairs, but this is definitely so much more better!!
I love visiting Book Fairs. I haven’t been to a big one like this before but I took my son to a small one last week at his school and he loved it.
This looks great, I bet it was so nice being able to go in person again
This sounds like a great event to be able to attend. I love the idea of a book fair along with some great food as well.