The 45th International Kolkata Book Fair, which was postponed due to the pandemic, will be held in July. Bangladesh has been chosen as the theme country.
Publishers and Booksellers Guild, which organises the annual book fair, on Thursday said that the fair will be held at Central Park in Salt Lake.
“This year’s focal theme country will be Bangladesh as 2021 marks the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The neighbouring country will also be celebrating 50 years of Independence in March,” Guild president Tridib Chatterjee said.
“As the overall situation has improved, we have decided to organise the 12-day book fair in July. We hope that by then Assembly polls and the school board exams would be over. The exact date of the fair is yet to be finalised,” Chatterjee added.
The book fair was scheduled to be held in last week of but was postponed due to the pandemic.
This year the organisers will also pay homage to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as part of the year-long celebration of his 125th birth anniversary. Filmmaker Satyajit Ray and his works will also be celebrated at the fair on the occasion of his birth centenary.
A special section to honour the contributions of veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee, former president Pranab Mukherjee and noted Bangladeshi writer Anisujjaman — all of who died last year — will be set up at the carnival.
Chatterjee said that the guild will organise multiple events across the city on the occasion of International Language Day on February 21 and Bengali New Year in mid-April to inculcate reading habits among people.
Source: Indian Express
