It’s that time of year when fairs and exhibitions gradually start making ways to shaping up on ground from planning stage. Of all the fairs in the city, the Book Fair is considered as the biggest in terms of area encroached and number of footfalls. It is also a prestigious event for the government, perhaps because it feels a grandiose book fair is a sure sign of connecting Kolkata (and thereby, Bengal) with ‘cultural eminence’.
No effort is spared to ensure that the book fair succeeds along with all its sub-events, which means a good crowd is a must. Is that the reason why the book fair refuses to shift away from maidan? I believe so.
But, isn’t maidan out of bounds for holding any congregation? And so, isn’t Book Fair too supposed to be no exception? In high hopes, that is true. Not in reality. There is already a strong attempt to foil the fair’s moving away to the Bypass venue, even though – as the picture suggests – holding the fair in maidan is nothing short of trampling the green. [Picture source]
There’s a small hump on the path to disregarding public wish. Since the army is the custodian of Kolkata’s ‘lungs’, its opinion is important. The army doesn’t like it, nor presumably do many Kolkattans.
However, despite the army’s and our fervent wish, there’ll in due course be no other ‘option’ than to allow the fair on the maidan this year too. All our good hopes of not converting the maidan into a business venue yet again may after all go waste. For, in a democracy like ours, what matters more is pulling the right political strings than any obvious good for the society at large.
PS:-
If you’re at odds with my opinion, you’re not alone. Many Kolkattans love the maidan venue, if only for its convenient location. Here is an account of a book fair lover.
Technorati Tags: kolkata, calcutta, book, fair, book fair, kolkata book fair, calcutta book fair
Leave a Reply