Let there be no mistake about the 25th annual Calcutta International Book Fair. As host Subrata Datta Gupta informed the press prior to the show, though the fair paid special tribute to Brazilian literature and culture this year, “books from other Latin American countries would also be on sale showing that these countries have more to offer than just football.”
Mercifully, not a shinguard was in sight as the fair kicked off on January 25, with a crowd of an estimated two million said to be browsing 500 stalls (up 10% from last year), presumably tossing back caipirinhas as they went. The Brazilian cocktail-confections would have helped, anyway, after a somewhat disorganized opening ceremony, in which well-known sculptor Chintamoni Kar carried on to the accompaniment of construction workers hastily throwing up the fair’s stalls. In fact most stalls, including Brazil’s festive pavilion, remained closed at the inaugural event, in which Kar mused about the fraying of values and interpersonal relationships, and called upon writers to lift up their fellow citizens. Unfortunately, there was no lifting up Günter Grass, who had been asked to give the inaugural address but had to beg off due to ill health. Apparently offerings of feijoada were not enough to stir the Nobel laureate from his bed.
Conditions could only improve after the opening hiccups, and the fair was still in progress as PT went to press. Luminaries adding panache to the fair included Jeremy Mynot, chief executive of the Cambridge University Press, who was set to deliver an address on the future of academic publishing, Benjamin Zephaniah, the UK’s renowned “performing poet,” and the Brazilian scholar Dr. Candido Mendes de Almeida. The foreign complex this year included stalls from France, Britain, and the Oxford University Press, Karachi, and Indian representatives included 39 participants from New Delhi, five from Maharashtra, three from Punjab, and two each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Nepal joined the fair for the first time, and Bangladesh sent around 25 participants. The extra support helped, because although revenue from the fair has been going up in recent years, the high price of books has reportedly had a negative effect on sales volume.
On the other hand, somebody should perhaps alert BOL to a market opportunity, as our source reports that the impact of the Internet on Indian publishing has thus far been negligible, mostly due to the high price of shipping from Amazon’s US and UK sites. Most commonly, Indian consumers will scan the Amazon postings and then order English-language books through Indian booksellers, as most books of British and American origin are available in India at prices lower than their list prices (because of the extreme price-sensitivity of the Indian market). Insurgent Indian-based sites such as Rediff.com, an Indian entertainment and e-commerce portal, are making steady progress, however, and they are expected to bolster Indian publishers in the long run.
As fairgoers couldn’t fail to notice, there is little interest in Indian language translations from English, with the exception of the Malayalam language, which sees some translation for literary works. Due to widespread English literacy, even works in French, Russian, and Spanish are read in English translations. For that matter, we’re told, books in Indian languages are translated into English, so that a greater number of Indians can read and understand the literature in Indian languages not known to them.
Regarding territorial issues, our source said that most popular titles are now sold in India in both US and UK editions, despite the longstanding British control of the market. Even when a multi-national company such as Random House owns world rights, keen competition is felt from both its American and British subsidiaries. “In short,” said our correspondent, “infringement of territorial rights seems to be the accepted norm.”
We thank K.S. Padmanabhan for his contribution to this article.
