Look back with wonder

🖊️Kathakali De

Book fairs evoke a wide spectrum of emotions often intertwined with a notion of nostalgia and a sense of wonder. Through books, we live thousands of lives and traverse hundreds of roads and journeys as we delve deep down into our imaginative lane of psyche exploring different dimensions and characters of the stories. Book fairs can be regarded as treasure troves of knowledge and imagination.

The International Kolkata Book Fair is right upon us, presenting a never-ending wonderland of books. It's a grand literary extravaganza that is not just a mere marketplace of words. It's a highly manifested and anticipated pilgrimage for bookworms, a nostalgic reminiscence of the past, a vibrant tapestry woven with threads of emotions and anticipations across generations.

For the older generation, it evokes memoirs of the bygone eras that can be crafted into anecdotes. They reminisce about the good old days by witnessing the younger and their former generations leaving their footprints at the bookstalls. They see their entire life from their childhood when they would nag their parents to purchase the book they have longed for, to their teenage days when they would visit the fair with their friends or families to becoming a married man who would procure books for their children, wife, and old parents, to the declining years when they purchase a book for their grandchildren, every stage of life encapsulated in one event.

They recollect the days when the book fair was a land of intellectual, literary discourse and a reservoir for literary enthusiasts, waiting for the stories to explode upon their imagination. The acerbic smell of freshly printed books, the crispiness of the pages, the twisted plots, that open the portals of thoughts. The hushed whispers of the book enthusiasts engrossed in their newly discovered treasures - all of these beautiful memories of yesteryears are cherished and preserved like precious heirlooms that would never be oblivious.

For youngsters, the book fair is a haven for books encompassing genres of romance, action, sci-fi, autobiographies and others. They find themselves in the shoes of the characters. The vibrant color of book covers, the aroma of freshly printed pages, the lively chatter of authors and writers, the unexpected meet with writers fill them with excitement. They experience the tactile pleasure of physically holding a hard copy of a book and the thrill of losing themselves in the story’s narrative. The fair becomes a lifetime memory and a milestone in their literary journey.

International Kolkata Bookfair is not just a mere marketplace for book publishers but a testament to the enduring power of literature to connect generations, and cultures, enhance the knowledge quotient, and inspire lifelong love towards books.