comments,suggestion
Mudar Patherya (mudar@giascl01.vsnl.net.in)
Mon, 15 Jan 1996 19:36:52 +0000 (GMT)
you might call this stupid and useless mail but this message comes to you
right from the heart of mother theresa's city of joy - calcutta. we
picked up your e-mail address from browsing through the web. why we are
writing to you is that fifteen days from now, one of the biggest cultural
events of the year opens in calcutta : the calcutta book fair. what makes
it the high point of calcutta's cultural calendar is this : calcutta is
not the wealthiest of india's cities any longer, in fact it would be the
equivalent of naples in italy or some city which has seen its best days
and whose youth are more to be found in the universities of delhi /
america than wasting themselves back home. however, for one fortnight
each year, calcutta comes alive - with the book fair. it has surprised a
number of observers including the legedary film maker satyajit ray : how
a city with apparently no hope can actually queue outside the fair for
hours merely to gain an entry. around 30,000 come to this fair each day,
the number peaking to 100,000 on the last day. what has amazed a number
of observers in the book trade in the considerably richer delhi and
bombay is where the money to buy books comes, considering that books have
become more expensive over the last two years as a result of the boom in
the paper industry and the devaluation of india's currency. no one seems
to have an answer. intyriguingly, bombay's book fairs attract a crowd of
2-3000 per day only. delhi's book fair in 1996 has had to be shelved
because of a paucity of space ! why are we telling you all this ? mmmmm,
no reason in particular, except perhaps because you are a member of a
thinning tribe of people who might prefer curling with a book in bed than
be watching the laser disc of the latest madonna starrer. if you find the
time to reach out to strangers thousands of miles away, we'd be
delighted. do keep in touch. regards and god bless for a great 1996.