Bengali-Russian exchange of literature to mark 44th Book Fair

Kolkata: The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) 2020 is set to be held in January next year, where Bengali books would be translated into Russian and vice-versa. The venue for the book fair will be Salt Lake Central Park, with Russia being the theme country.

"This is for the first time in the history of International Kolkata Book Fair that exchange of literature between two nations will be held. Five Russian books would be translated into Bengali during the book fair, while Bengali books will also be translated into Russian," said Tridib Chatterjee, president of the Publishers and Book Sellers Guild, after unveiling the logo of the 44th IKBF.

"Noted Russian authors will visit the book fair. We believe that this will strengthen the cultural bond between Russia and India," said Alexey Idamkin, Consul General of Russia in Kolkata.

The international complex will also have the presence of UK, USA, Japan, Vietnam, France, Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Australia, 11 Latin American countries and a big pavilion of Bangladesh.

Publishers from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana and Odisha will also participate in the fair, concluding on February 9.

Meanwhile, the 7th Kolkata Literature Festival, a highlight of the book fair, will be held from February 6 to 8.

"We are thankful to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation for their support and cooperation. We sincerely believe that with inspiration from our Chief Minister and Mayor and all the government officials and the love of the book lovers, the book fair at Central Park will again be immensely successful," said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, general secretary of the Publishers and Book Sellers Guild.

It may be mentioned that the IKBF had shifted to the Salt Lake venue in 2017, with the state government taking up a total renovation of the Milan Mela ground opposite Science City, which used to be the venue for the fair earlier.