Bengali book fair returns

The New Delhi Kali Bari premises is playing host to stacks of books and hordes of bibliophiles for six days starting March 5. However, most of the binded goodies on offer are in Bengali and have a dedicated clientele in the Capital. Ritam Halder reports.

The New Delhi Kali Bari premises is playing host to stacks of books and hordes of bibliophiles for six days starting March 5. However, most of the binded goodies on offer are in Bengali and have a dedicated clientele in the Capital.

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Organised by the Bengal Association, with financial support from the National Book Trust, India, the book fair, which is currently in its 12th edition, saw Bengalis from in and around Delhi huddle up in this popular corner of Central Delhi to take home new books.

“You don’t get good Bengali books in Delhi and only a couple of bookstalls, one in CR Park and another in Gol Market, cater to this demand.

"So we wait throughout the year for this festival to browse through and then buy books,” Rohit Mukherjee, a software professional in his early 30s, said.

Around 48 stalls belonging to various publishers have set up shop at the fair. The big names of publishing in Kolkata are also here such as Deys Publishing, Ananda Publishers, Patra Bharati, Nirmal Book Agency and Gangchil are catering to the literary thirst of these Bengalis away from home.

So what is selling like hot cakes? A staff manning the Ananda Publishers stall, which witnessed a sizeable crowd, felt the primary demand among Delhi readers is for novels.

Six-year-old Subhodeep Panja, a Class I student of Amity International School, sprinted towards the Math Olympiad booklet, while his parents Subhasish and Debjani, kept looking for comics to lure their son into his mother tongue.