the Republic of India
Press conference on the upcoming 44th International Kolkata Book Fair 2020
The press conference dedicated to the 44th International Kolkata Book Fair 2020 (IKBF) with Russia as a “Focal Theme Country” was held on December 17, 2019 at the Lalit Great Eastern Hotel. The IKBF which is annually organized by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild will be held at the grounds of Salt Lake Central Park from January 29 to February 9, 2020. The affiliated Kolkata Literary Festival (KLF) will be held on February 6-8, 2020.
Consul General of the Russian Federation in Kolkata Mr Alexey Idamkin, President of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild Mr Tridib Chatterjee, Secretary General of the Guild Mr S.S.Dey as well as representatives of Indian publishers took part in the press conference. The official Focal Theme Country - Russia logo of the IKBF 2020 was unveiled during the event.
A special video message of Mr Vladimir Grigoriev, the Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, was presented during the press conference. He informed that visitors of the IKBF will witness a rich exposition, which includes various aspects of Russia’s book publishing industry with the focus on modern literature, including children’s. Mr Vladimir Grigoriev highlighted the project of publishing translations into the Bengali and Hindi languages of the works of Mr Peter Aleshkovsky, Ms Alisa Ganieva, Mr Andrei Gelasimov, Mr Stanislav Vostokov and other Russian writers, which is being jointly implemented together with Indian publishing houses. The said authors will participate in the IKBF 2020.
Speaking at a press conference Mr Alexey Idamkin noted that in addition to the translations of modern authors it is planned to reprint the books which were translated into Bengali in the last century and are still of interest to Indian readers. They include Two Captains by Veniamin Kaverin, Old Man Khottabych by Lazar Lagin, The Golovlyov Family by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Tales from the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov, The Blue Cup by Arkady Gaydar and When Daddy Was a Little Boy by Alexander Raskin.
The Consul General emphasized the importance of strengthening cultural ties between the two countries. He pointed out that it’s for the first time ever in the history of Kolkata’s book fairs Russia will participate on such a magnificent scale.
The event was widely covered by the local media.
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