Kolkata: International Kolkata Book Fair which is considered to be a festival across West Bengal was being deferred due to the ongoing pandemic.
Addressing a press conference, President of Publishers and Booksellers guild, Tridib Chatterjee said that owing to the pandemic situation the book fair will be held in July with ‘Bangladesh’ as the focal theme country.
“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 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee year of independence of Bangladesh," mentioned Chatterjee.
Chatterjee also added that 125 birth year of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray will also be celebrated in the International Kolkata Book Fair 2021.
Publishers and Booksellers Guild has also decided to pay homage to recently demised personalities 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 board exams and Madhyamik and Higher Secondary exams, the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair 2021 will be held in the month of July 2021 at Central Park Mela Ground, Salt Lake. Necessary health protection and Covid protocol will be taken to organize the Fair in this changed schedule. We expect that the international flights will be in operation by that time and the Fair will have international participants like the earlier years,” said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, general secretary of Publishers and Booksellers Guild.
“We are happy to announce that, for the first time, Publishers and Booksellers Guild will organize a Book Festival ‘Ekushe Bhasha Utsab’ to celebrate International Mother language Day. The Festival will celebrate Bengali literature, language, and culture,” mentioned Dey.
