In addition to its incomparable literary, musical and lyrical archive, Kolkata also has a rich history of drawings, cartoons and graphic art. This cartoon, next to a program encouraging road safety (car ownership is booming in India, which means lots of new vehicles but also lots of untrained drivers), nicely captures the quiet but indomitable Kolkatan spirit of resisting the downpour of what passes for modernity.
This is a shot of the Indo-Vietnamese booth, celebrating the friendship between the two countries. While many of the connections between the various Asian nations are comparatively recent, the result of the common experiences of colonial occupation and the struggle for national independence, some of the most interesting connections are far deeper, and can be traced back for thousands of years. For example, Buddhism started in northern India and later spread to Vietnam, and Buddhist communities of faith and works of art and literature which draw inspiration from Buddhist traditions are a keystone of both cultures to this day.
Jute was the classic colonial commodity, extracted from Bengal to make British plutocrats rich while the jute workers were kept poor. After independence, the industry suffered a severe decline due to logistical constraints (most of the jute-producing regions were in Bangladesh, a separate nation after 1947, whereas the mills were near Kolkata) as well as the post-WW II petroleum boom, which replaced jute with plastics. Here in 2018, it's become clear that (1) hydrocarbons threaten to destroy all life on the planet via climate change, and that (2) plastics are choking the Pacific Ocean to death. Kolkata is doing its part by promoting jute-made bags and packing materials.
One of the most fascinating things about India is its mind-boggling diversity. While the majority of the citizens of the Indian state of West Bengal are Bengalis, there are literally millions of other linguistic and ethnic groups, e.g. the Santals, each with their own languages and dialects, their own complex precolonial, colonial and postcolonial histories, and their own forms of social organization and modes of political contestation.
Numerous colleges and universities advertise at the Boi Mela. We old-timers like to grouse about how the kids just don't read anymore, but they certainly do come to the Boi Mela. Many of them are aspiring writers and have stalls at the Little Magazine pavilion, or hang around their friends who do.
This little travelogue has barely scratched the surface -- you could literally write dissertations about the Fair. If you're even remotely interested in books, literature or anything cultural, or even if you're not, consider coming to the next Book Fair -- there will be some activity, event, speaker or publication for you.
My insider tips for foreign visitors: (1) entrance is free to all events and stalls during the entire week, so be sure to spend some time browsing, chatting, and listening (local folks are extremely hospitable), (2) prices are quite reasonable, so you don't need to be rich to purchase excellent books, and (3) there are large numbers of books, magazines and reading material in English, so you don't need to know Bengali, Hindi or other South Asian languages.
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