Un-Fair Deal

Indeed, Mukherjee, and hundreds of writers like him (an estimated 1,500 books are lined up for release at the Book Fair this year), have probably waited for their moments of glory with bated breath — scrambling to meet deadlines and pursuing publishers for an appropriate release date. All for vain. “The High Court ruling has thrown a wet blanket over our plans. The Book Fair is an incredibly important time for us, the vernacular writers,” says writer Kinnar Ray, who was slated to release five of his books at the fair this year.

Unlike the Indian writers in English, who command high-profile book launches with full media attendance, most vernacular writers depend on the Book Fair to give them the much-needed publicity boost. “It’s very difficult for writers like us to get large-scale publicity. We have to fall back on seminars at the Book Fair for publicity,” says Kaveri Ray Chaudhury who was supposed to release her fourth novel, Jatra, at the Book Fair this year.

Writer Procheto Gupta, whose work Chander Bari was adapted into a popular Bengali film recently, may not need to depend on the Book Fair to gain recognition, but is perturbed nonetheless. “Even if a writer is popular, he or she needs the fair platform to reach out to his or her readers. Moreover, being featured in a popular stalls like Dey’s boosts the sales. There is a lot at stake,”he says.

Sudhangshu Dey of Dey’s Publishers reiterates the point. “Thousands of books are launched at the Book Fair every year.Millions of people troop in and check out the books. Without the fair these writers can’t even dream of getting such an exposure. Even established writers depend on the fair for publicity and public interaction,” says Dey.

“Things will prove to be particularly grim for first-time novelists. We might release their books, but they will lose out on a lot of publicity. A Book Fair release is crucial for them,” adds Subir Mitra of Ananda Publishers which was supposed to release as many as 50 new books at the fair this year, many of which were by first-time novelists.

Mukherjee, however, is not losing heart yet — “The city loves the Book Fair.It’s probably the most important event in Kolkata’s social calendar. No matter what happens, I’m sure people will ensure that the Book Fair takes place.” Amen to that.

Pragya Paramita

Samarendra Maitra is in a fix. The recent decision of the High Court to disallow the Kolkata Book Fair to be held at Park Circus maidan this year, will leave him with nearly 2,000 unsold copies of his magazine Chatushkhone, unless alternatives are made - and quickly.Maitra has been participating in the fair since its inception and this if indeed the Book Fair is not held this year, it will be the first time that his readers will not be able to pick up their copy. “We have been publishing the magazine for nearly 59 years and the book fair has provided us with one of the largest platforms to reach out to the masses. While the monetary losses are huge for us, running to nearly Rs 40, 000, more than that we regret the loss of the platform. This year our book fair issue had some great works by writers like Ujjwal Majumdar, Pallab Sengupta and Sunil Nandi, and it will be a great loss if people are denied the chance to read them,” says Maitra emphatically.

Like Maitra, countless other publishers of little magazines have been hit hard by the court’s decision t. The Book Fair provides one of the biggest platforms for the promotion of the little magazines and newsletters, giving small publishing houses a chance to increase their readership and get themselves noticed, and also provided an ambience for discussions and exchange of ideas.

Little magazines, feels Piysuh Bagchi,in-charge of the little magazine section, are not just reading materials but also a movement, and it is this movement that will suffer the most by the court’s decision. “ There are a couple of little magazine fairs held through the year but none of them have the scale and magnitude of the Book Fair. With the court’s decision, the fate of the fair is now in jeopardy,” says Bagchi. A thought reiterated by Amalendu Biswas, editor of Nouko, another popular little magazine. “This year we were ready with almost 500 copies of the Book Fair special issue with writings on Buddhadeb Ghosh and Purnendu Dasgupta but now have lost the impetus to go and finish printing them. This is a big blow to us, but it will hit many of the smaller publishers the hardest. Many of them borrow large sums of money to bring out the Book Fair issues,” feels Biswas.

For some like Goutam Kumar De, book fair is a place to network to increase the readership of his magazine Pro re nata. “This is the time when we have to network.We also try and discover some new talent to pump some fresh blood into the business. For most this is the biggest loss, as all publishers set up stalls at fair to increase their readership base,” says De.

Most publishers however, blame the guild for this year’s woes stating that the guild had enough time to look for an alternative venue for the fair. “There have been problems for the past few years, and the government and the guild should have by now come up with a permanent solution. Many international fairs, including the one in Delhi that’s held at Pragati Maidan are permanent grounds, and with the astronomical amount that the guild earns each year, providing such a solution should not have been a problem,” continues Biswas. Agrees Parthik Basu, editor of Srayasthal, a magazine that deals with sustainable development and lifestyle. “The Kolkata Book Fair has an international status, yet, it has been plagued by these problems for the past few years. Last year, when the venue was shifted to Salt Lake, people visited it in spite of its location. The guild should have anticipated all these problems. Wherever the book fair goes, book lovers will still visit it, be it Maidan or Salt Lake,” opines Basu.