You ask anyone in India about Kolkata People and the most common answers you will get is
- Art Lovers
- Book Worms
- Singers
- Foodie
And the list goes on.
I didn't entirely believe this data until I visited kolkata during the Boi Mela (Book fair) days.
People everywhere were talking about visiting the Boi Mela like it was part of their yearly schedule. People had a strange kind of Enthusiasm for the event. Looked almost like they were waiting for the event like they wait for Durga puja.
All of it suprised me. Their excitement had so much pull that I too decided to visit the Book fair although I am not much of a reader. I felt like experiencing the energy of a place filled with thousands of highly excited book lovers would be something different to do.
The Annual International Book Fair 2017 was conducted from 25th January 2017 to 5th Fbruary 2017.
And is being conducted around this time every year (Dates might slightly change)
So I asked a friend of mine to accompany me. And then it was Hell of a photowalk.
4th February 2017 : Time 2:30 PM
People crowding their favourite Publishers.
Separte sections were made based on not only different publishers but genre and nation too.
Section for Nation based books like Bangladesh , Costa Rica , China , etc
Also there were books from various local writers , I bought some for my Mother from that section.
After an hour between energy filled book lovers , I felt very very hungry. Lol. And to my very pleasant surprise , there was an entire section for food. Just not some random food for the sake of it. I was lucky enough to find all the food items Kolkata is famous for.
And Kolkata food is the best to me. Period.
I went all crazy. Took 30 mins to decide what do I want to eat (yes ! 30 mins) .
Finally my love for biriyani won. Haha.
After filling my stomach , we started walking to see the other aspect of Boi mela.
The section of Art and Handicrafts.
One word. Amazing !
People from various parts of Bengal came in to showcase their work. (Have a look at the pictures)
So what do you think ?
Isn't the title "Kolkata - The City Of Joy" very apt.
There is so much life , your soul is ought to feel bright.
So maybe next time visit Kolkata during such fairs and festivals and surprise yourself.
Kolkata is the only place which being a Metropolitan city, never makes me feel lifeless or annoyed.
Its not the city or the hi-tech infrastructure that makes a city feel like home. It is the people , the culture that does the magic.
To know more about the pictures , read the picture description.
Have a good day readers :)