Week-long book fair begins at Kolkata's College Square

Kolkata, Apr 1 (PTI) A book fair, showcasing an extensive collection from different publication houses, began at College Square in Kolkata on Tuesday.
    Christened 'Boiparay Boi Utsab', the week-long event in the city's book hub features around 55 stalls housing 70 publishers, the organisers Publishers and Booksellers Guild said.
    The book fair, which is held around two months after the International Kolkata Book Fair, was inaugurated by eminent Bengali writer Sanjib Chattopadhyay, and saw the participation of celebrated poets such as Joy Goswami, Srijato Bandyopadhyay and Subodh Sarkar.
    Chattopadhyay called the book fair 'Boi Parbon' (book festival) as it is being held ahead of the Bengali New Year.
    The book fair will culminate on April 7, while the Bengali New Year or 'Poila Boisakh' is on April 15.
    Sarkar recalled the 1980s and 1990s when 'boi bazaars' (book markets) used to be organised alongside book fairs in different parts of Kolkata to enable bibliophiles to collect their favourite titles at nominal prices.
    He urged the organisers to take similar initiatives for book lovers in the future.
    Goswami said such book fairs raise the hope about the future of printed texts in the age of e-books and social media.
    The 'Boiparay Boi Utsab' (book fair in book hub) began in 2013 in College Square as an initiative of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
    Initially launched as the 'Nababorsho Boi Utsab', held during Bengali New Year, it was later shifted to the spring season and renamed 'Basanta Boi Utsab' to avoid the extreme summer heat and sultry conditions.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)