Bangladesh Book Fair kicks-off in Kolkata

As part of the cultural cooperation programmes between New Delhi and Dhaka, the Bangladesh Book Fair kicked-off in Kolkata on Saturday.

The book fair, which is being held at Rabindra Sadan, was inaugurated by West Bengal's Education Minister Partho Chatterjee.

Shreyoshi Bandhopadhay, a visitor to the book fair, said that such initiatives help bridge the gap created by borders.

"This type of cultural exchange will always help in bridging the gap that had been put up by the fences," he said.

Another visitor, Sukumar Singh, said Bangladesh and West Bengal have similar culture and habits.

"Both the Bengals have a very good relationship because the languages of two Bengals are the same, the cultures are the same, food habits are the same and even their literature reading is the same. If we have the Bangladeshi and Bengal together, we are all together and we enrich ourselves, equally. They enrich us and we enrich them," Singh said.

The fair has been organised by Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata in collaboration with the country's Bureau of Export Promotion and Gyan O Srijonshil Prakashak Samiti.

35 publication houses are participating in this fair, which promises to be a reader's delight and on offer will be a vast collection of novels, poems, short stories and articles by Bangladeshi writers.

This book fair is on for six days till October 30. The previous editions of the fair had received great response from the people.