Kolkata Book Fair is perhaps the most eagerly awaited non-religious festival that receives the highest footfall among all book fairs in Asia. However, in spite of the Book Fair being the “pride of Bengal,” as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee puts it, one of Bengal's most revered poets Shankha Ghosh has decided not to visit it this year.
“The Kolkata Book Fair is no longer a celebration of literature. The focus of the Fair is shifting. The space is being taken up by political parties and the State government’s prominence is increasing. Thus, I’m not a part of the fair this year,” Mr. Ghosh told The Hindu
Last year, fearing political controversies, organisers of the fair — Publishers and Booksellers Guild — cancelled the release of feminist academic and a CPI-M sympathiser late Jasodhara Bagchi’s book on migrating women and human rights. This year, the youth wing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested in front of a stall of Bangladesh, for allegedly "distorting" India's map. "The public space - the fair ground - has been converted to a ground for the political rivals to display strength," regretted Sunandan Roy Chowdhury, of a publishing house, Sampark. Many of the publishers said in the fair ground that the action was unjustified as Bangladesh is a "guest."
"Bengal has invited Bangladesh to come to the fair and they are our guest and no one has the right to insult them. Publishers Guild should have a process to address grievances, if any party has one, and should be done in a civilized way, rather creating a chaos each year in the fair ground," said Garga Chatterjee, a brain scientist and columnist.
Sound pollution in fair ground
The 39 th International Kolkata Book Fair sees a proliferation of stalls bearing little connection with literature. While a popular jewellery brand has set up a stall near one of the entrances, Jago Bangla — the Trinamool Congress’s mouthpiece — grabs huge space in the middle of the Book Fair ground with books exclusively authored by the Chief Minister. "The pavilion, close to my stall, is making blaring noise using microphone, which is definitely affecting reader's right to read," said Mr Roy Choudhury, adding: "perhaps there are more food than book stalls this year."
Subarnarekha, a well known publisher, is bearing the brunt of sound pollution. From 100-year-old unpublished writings of Rabindranath Tagore to old district gazettes of various Indian states, Subarnarekha has an outstanding collection of rare books. However, the store’s business is taking a beating as one of Subarnarekha’s two stalls is placed behind the stall of Jana Barta — the mouthpiece of the state BJP — which is playing out speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the highest volume.
“Can a reader concentrate or flip through the brittle pages of an old book in this commotion? The erstwhile public space of the Fair is being used for political rivalry,” a person at the counter of Subarnarekha's other stall said. The decibel level at the Fair perhaps exceeds any busy traffic signal in the city.
More "non-book" stalls
A Bengali entertainment television channel hosts match making contests at their stall on Wednesday evening, ahead of Valentine’s Day. Private educational institutes lure visitors to try their hand at lotteries at their stalls as insurance companies invite confused visitors into their stalls; amidst loudspeakers blaring Hindi film music.
Despite repeated attempts, representatives of the Publishers Guild were unavailable for comment on Wednesday.
