Kolkata, Jan 20 (.) Russia and Ukraine may be at war for four years, but they are set to co-exist peacefully for close to a fortnight in this metropolis for a literary cause.
Both European nations would participate in the iconic 49th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF), which is set to be inaugurated on Thursday, January 22, by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with Tagore scholar and essayist from Argentina, Gustavo Canzobre, at the Salt Lake Central Park ground.
Ukraine is making its debut, while Russia is a regular participant at the event rated as the world’s largest non-trade book fair in terms of footfall. The IKBF this time will run till February 3.
With Argentina being the theme country of the upcoming edition of IKBF, Mariano Agustin Caucino, the Ambassador of the Latin American nation to India, will also grace the inauguration.
In honour of the theme country, the main pavilion would have a blue-white colour combination, resembling the jersey of the World Cup title hodlers Argentine football team. Two of the nine gates at the fair would also simulate ancient Argentine architecture.
Publishers from at least 20 countries would take part in the IKBF, though the US and Bangladesh would be unrepresented, the organisers, Publishers and Book Sellers Guild, told a press conference here on Tuesday.
Bengal’s leading literary figure, Swapnamoy Chakraborty, will be conferred the Guild Lifetime Literary Award at the inauguration by the chief minister. The award carries a cash component of Rs 2 lakh,
Senior Citizens’ Day will be celebrated on January 30, when Poet Mridul Dasgupta, Publisher Rajendra Kumar Mehra of Rupa and voracious reader Nirmal Bhattacharya will be felicitated.
The Kolkata Literature Festival, which has now become an inseparable part of the IKBF, will be held on January 24 and 25.
The KLF would be inaugurated by writer Amitav Ghosh and filmmaker Goutam Ghose. The Samaresh Majumdar Prize would be presented to Goutam Ghose
Among those scheduled to attend the various KLF sessions are Chandril Bhattacharya, Ullash Mallick, Srijato, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Pracheta Gupta, Devdutt Pattanaik, Anirban Bhattacharya, Avik Sarkar, Himadri Kishore Dasgupta, Suman Mukhopadhyay, Sudhir Mishra, Sathya Saran and Durjoy Datta. . .