Kolkata Book Fair: Leafing Through The Pages In The Era Of E-readers

Retaining some old-world fantasies is a huge challenge when technology is out to provide modern-day comforts at your fingertips. Conservatives would swear by books and would hate to replace them with any convenient gadget as they become ecstatic… feeling the books, leafing through the pages, breathing in the typical smell of the printed pages – be they old or new. Innovations can’t make its way through some innate things and these things only intensify with time. But the pain point is either you are born with some kind of antenna to experience such bounties of life or you are just plain unlucky. Like the intellectualism of the Bengalis and also their love for books! How else would you explain the sheer addiction to books, books and more books and yet the event draws more than 2.5 million book lovers every year?

Kolkata Book Fair is now well into its late 30s (KBF celebrated its 38th birthday this year) and witnessed huge crowds milling around the stalls, set up by about 109 publishing houses operating in India. The book fair was a 13-day affair this time – from the inauguration on January 28 to the closing ceremony on February 9. Interestingly, KBF is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, which means it essentially caters to the general public, instead of wholesalers. So it’s no wonder that the who’s who of the Indian and global literati are mostly here at the plenary sessions. Peru was the theme country of 2014 but Peruvian poet Rodolfo Hinostroza and Peru’s cultural minister Patricia Balbuena Palacios, who were to inaugurate the event, could not attend the opening ceremony following the political situation at home.

In actual terms, West Bengal is one of those states in India which has a high concentration of scholars, academicians and intellectuals. As social movements are often fuelled by the litterateurs and Leftist overtones exist there among the so-called intellectuals, it could have been the prime reason why Kolkata Book Fair has remained a non-trade affair throughout these years.

Organised by Kolkata Publishers and Booksellers Guild and largely supported by book lovers, the annual event had some tough times when environmental issues compelled it to leave the Maidan greens (near Park Street-Rabindra Sadan) at the centre of the city. The fair was shifted from the Maidan area in 2007 and finally found a home at the Milan Mela ground opposite Science City.

By now, readers must be feeling curious about the hottest selling books at the event. The 38th edition of the book fair was inaugurated this year by none other than Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and (believe it or not) her books turned out to be best-sellers even this year. A regular writer and a poet, Mamata started writing in 1995 and has penned 45 books so far. Last year, her books worth Rs 10 lakh were sold, earning her a royalty of Rs 1 lakh. This year, the sales are supposed to shoot up even further as new books penned by her had been released on the inauguration day.

Yet, all might not be well at this global gathering of great minds. Just as it happened at the Jaipur Literary Festival two years ago, Salman Rushdie was stopped from participating at the Kolkata Book Fair last year. And do you know the irony of it all? It’s the author-CM who might have played a key role and stopped the internationally acclaimed but equally controversial Rushdie from coming to the event.

It was said at that time that Rushdie himself had decided to stay away from the event. The author, however, had reportedly told he was informed by the government that the protests against him could be ‘dangerous.’ Photos, too, had swarmed the Internet, featuring hundreds of men brandishing placards that said ‘Rushdie Go Back.’

It’s understood that Mamata, who was touring North Bengal at that time, had told the police commissioner she didn’t want Rushdie to land in the city. And the reason was obvious – she didn’t want to antagonise the minority community if she could help it.

The whole drama of not hosting Rushdie was played out in many shades and across many episodes. When finally it was learnt that Mamata was completely against Rushdie’s participation at the book fair, the grave concerns around his security and the gravity of the situation (with the number of protestors increasing every day) were conveniently played up to persons in charge of Rushdie’s itinerary. Then the easy way rolled out by itself. The statement issued to the media read: The ‘author decided to stay out of the event’ for reasons known to him. And Mamata had won her game.

This way, the world’s largest book fair held a mirror to India’s so-called democratic values and assured fundamental rights. But never mind. CM Mamata’s books have turned her into a literary sensation over the years. And it’s quite an indicator how the scale is tipping in the world of literature.

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