Kolkata book fair in 2021 to be dedicated to Bangabandhu

Kolkata: The Kolkata book fair in 2021 will be dedicated to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, while Bangladesh will be the focus country, it was announced as this edition of the mega event concluded amid much fanfare.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is the daughter of Rahman, will inaugurate the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair to be held in the last week of January next year, said the neighbouring country's cultural affairs minister K M Khalid.

Publishers and Booksellers Guild president Tridib Chatterjee said 2021 Kolkata book fair wants to honour the 'Father of Bangladesh' on the occasion of his birth centenary, besides commemorating the deep-rooted ties between the two nations.

This year, over 25 lakh people visited the 12-day fair that saw the sale of books worth around Rs 23 crore from over 600 stalls till Sunday evening, Chatterjee said.

"This was a world record for any book fair by any yardstick," he claimed.