46th Kolkata Book Fair 2023 | Boi Mela dates location timings

International Kolkata Book Fair 2023 began on Tuesday, 31 January, and ends on Saturday, 12 February, in Central Park Mela ground, Bidhannagar, at Salt Lake. The focal theme is France.

So, You want to go to the Kolkata Book Fair, right? Do you know where the location of the event? The book fair is not just a book fair; it’s a complete festival enriched with food, Baul songs, shopping and gossiping, and other activities.

Kolkata International Book Fair 2023

As per the Booksellers Guild authority, it’s announced that the International Kolkata book fair will be held in Central Park, Salt Lake – Karunamoyee. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate this fair.

In this festive time, another attraction is the Kolkata Literature Festival, which is the glory of the book fair. We will celebrate this occasion on the same book fair premises. The Literature Festival will combine writers, directors, historians, authors, theatre personalities, etc.

A statistic said that last year of the book fair, 2.2 million visitors came, and they sold books worth 22 corers in the book fair.

The International Kolkata Book Fair’s official name is Antarjatik Kolkata Boimela / Antarjatik Kolkata Pustakmela. It’s a unique book fair for the general public rather than wholesale book distributors.

It is the world’s largest non-commercial book fair, Asia’s biggest book fair, and the world’s most public attended book fair.

Kolkata Book Fair is the world’s third-largest annual collection of books after the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair. Today,’ Boimela’ (bookfair) in Kolkata is integral to their lifestyle.

The Kolkata book fair is not only a book fair but also an opportunity for writers, painters, singers, musicians and a chance to introduce West Bengal’s food to the food companies.

Last year, the United Kingdom, America, Russia, China, Japan, Vietnam, 11 other Latin American countries, and Bangladesh participated. This year, it’s the first time Iran and Pakistan have tried to join the book fair. Other states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, and Karnataka publishers also participate in the Kolkata book fair.

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• Popular places in Kolkata city
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• Rabindranath Tagore house in Kolkata | Jorasanko Thakurbari Museum

Kolkata Boi Mela date and timing

The starting date is Tuesday, 31 January 2023. The Kolkata book fair’s last date is Saturday, 12 February, and the Calcutta book fair timing is 12 PM – 8 PM.

2023 Book fair address and location

2023 Kolkata Boimela venue is the Central Park Mela ground at Salt Lake – Sector-III in Karunamayee, Kolkata, West Bengal.

International Kolkata book fair stalls

International Kolkata book fair stalls are about 580 Book publishers, and 200 little magazines will participate this year. But this year, the authority reduced the stall number to 800 and the little magazine stall to 200, said Publishers & Booksellers Guild.

This year I bought some Real Estate, Home Improvement Services, software, and marketing-related books.

• Bolpur Santiniketan tour plan guide from Kolkata
•  How to reach Gangasagar from Kolkata | Mela tour guide
• Marble Palace in Kolkata (North)

How to reach book fair Kolkata

There are several ways to reach the Mela ground. You can come to Ultadanga and hire an auto, or if you come from Em bypass, reach Beleghata, Chingrighata, Kadapara, etc., and reach by auto. There are many buses available for this event. From Sealdah railway station, you can quickly get an auto to Kadapara, Beleghata, etc.

Kolkata Boi Mela special buses

Special buses available from:

• Howrah Railway station
• Esplanade (Dharmatala)
• Dum Dum Railway station
• Sealdah Railway station
• Santragachi Railway station
• Joka and Behala
• Garia
• Shovabazaar
• Jadavpur 8 B bus stand
• Chingrighata More
• Ultadanga
• Dunlop More

History of Kolkata Book Fair

• The first time, in 1976, on 5th March, the Calcutta book fair was inaugurated. The state education minister, Mrityunjay Bandyopadhyay, inaugurated the Boimela. The Bookfair is beside the Victoria Memorial, opposite the Academy of Fine Arts. This book fair has 56 stalls and 34 Book publishers in Kolkata. The entry was 50 paisa. This year’s Guild organized another book fair and participated in the World and Frankfurt Book Fair.
• In 1983, the Secretary-General of the International Publishers Association (IPA), Geneva, Mr. Koutcowmow, was present at the inaugural ceremony.
• In 1988, the book fair required more space for the growing number of publishers each year. The ground opposite Rabindra Sadan and Birla Planetarium made it impossible to organize the book fair. Then, the book fair authorities moved to a new place near Esplanade and Outram Ghat Road, which became the new venue for this international event.
• In 1991, the Kolkata International Book Fair started having a focal theme as the Frankfurt Bookfair every year. Firstly, they decided on a theme based on the Indian state, and the first focal theme was Assam, followed by Orissa, Tripura, Bihar, and West Bengal.
• In the year 1997, the book Fair gets international value. For the first time this year, the focal theme was a foreign country, France.
• This year, a disaster happened. The fair was destroyed by an explosion of fire on the sixth day of the fair, and everyone suffered huge losses. Then, the State Culture and Home Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, reconstructed this fair within three days.
• In the year 1999, Bangladesh was a focal theme. A remarkable incident was, after 27 years, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to this city of literature.
• 2006, the book fair happened for the last time in the Maidan.
• In 2007, the book fair authorities faced a critical situation. The Kolkata High Court issued an order to stop the book fair in Maidan. It was just before the day of the fair inauguration. The book fair schedule was changed and shifted to Salt Lake Stadium. Only 8 lakh people came to the fair this year; in 2006, the number was 25 lakh.
• 2008, a book fair was already organized in the park circus Maidan. But again, just before the inauguration day, the Calcutta High Court ordered to stop the book fair in this place because of some environmental issue. So, the book fair was postponed. After clearing all the legal problems, the fair was organized in Salt Lake Stadium in March.
• In 2010, the book fair committee decided that if a person bought books worth 200 rupees, they would refund the entry fee, which naturally boosted sales.
• In 2011, the Guild offered free space to the Little magazine stallholders. As well as the government also took the initiative they told Guild to share the profit from the book fair to make Guild Milan Mela Ground. Also, it can be used by the state government to organize fairs.
• From 2011 to 2018, the book fair shifted to Salt Lake Central Park because of the ‘Milam Mela’ contractions.

Last year’s book fair attention

• CALCUTTA ELECTRIC SUPPLY CORPORATION (CESC) made an APP for an ANDROID and ISO mobile to locate any Kolkata book fair stalls.
• The book fair offers special arrangements like medical assistance, an ambulance with doctors, Wi-Fi zones, shuttle services, and security personnel have been made for event attendees.
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• Ancient holy books
• Introduction 4000 years old Astronomy
• Two Big kites about 40 feet in height
• Sheff comes from Guatemala and teaches their cooking style.