International Book Fair Kolkata
01-February-2024
I visited the Kolkata Book Fair and had a very good time. This is a must visit place for all book lovers. In fact its not limited to books but traditional music and arts are also exhibited. Though I don’t know the exact number, but I guess more than 800 stalls were put up for the books. And at any given time at least 4 amphitheaters have performances going on (simultaneously) in addition to the auditorium hall which is exclusively used for the panel discussions and award ceremonies.
There is one full section devoted for food/snacks etc. The organisers had made available drinking water pouches throughout the book fair. So you can just pick up a pouch and drink water from it.
There is ample parking facility for 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers and the traffic is managed very smoothly. At no point will the visitor feel hassled.
A visitor will need at least 3-4 hours just to have a cursory look at all stalls.
The recommended strategy is to visit twice. First time to get a feel and locate the stalls which interest you. Then visit a 2nd time only to those stalls.
The fair is organised by Kolkata Publishers and Booksellers Guild. The 47th edition of the book fair was held this year(2024).
This is one of the largest book fairs in the world and the largest in Asia. An estimated 2 to 2.2 million people visit this fair in the 10-12 days that its held. This year it was held from 18th Jan to 31st Jan.
