Why Kolkata publishers deserve a place in Bangladeshi book fairs

The unavailability of books that are published in West Bengal in the Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela has been a bone of contention between publishers, writers and readers on both sides of the border for several decades now. 

Veteran authors like Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Samaresh Majumdar and the late Sunil Gangopadhyay were always vocal about making their books available at Bangladesh's national book fair. 

And very recently, a statement from the secretary of the Publishers & Booksellers Guild in Kolkata, Tridib Kumar Chatterjee, added fuel to the fire. 

On the closing day of the 2023 Kolkata International Book Fair, he reportedly threatened to boycott Bangladesh from next year if the Kolkata-based publishers are not allowed to participate in the Bangladeshi book fairs. 

The Business Standard sat down with Subhankar Dey of Dey's Publishing, one of the leading publishers in Kolkata, to discuss the matter. Subhankar's father and the founder of Dey's Publishing, Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, is the president of the Guild. 

In the exclusive interview, Subhankar spoke at length about the importance of allowing Kolkata-based publishers in Bangladesh's book fairs, why Bangladeshi and Kolkata-based publishers need to work together for the revival of Bangla literature, and Dey's Publishing's future prospects of spreading Bangla books across the world. 

Book fairs to celebrate Bangla literature

The soft-spoken Subhankar is not of the opinion of boycotting Bangladesh in the Kolkata International Book Fair altogether. However, he understands the origins of the proposition. 

"A book fair is not just a place to trade books. It is a place where publishers and writers come together, interact with their readers, and understand the pulse of the audiences. So, Kolkata-based writers and publishers deserve to participate in Bangladeshi book fairs and vice versa," explains Subhankar. 

Subhankar also understands that Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela is not an international fair unlike the Kolkata book fair, where publishers from all around the world take part. But a Bangladesh Book Fair is also held in Kolkata., so a Kolkata Book Fair could very well be organised in Bangladesh, he opines.  

"Even if the Ekushey Boi Mela can not be open for us, why not a separate Kolkata or International Book Fair? Also, we could jointly organise Bangladesh-Kolkata Book Festivals in both Dhaka and Kolkata to celebrate Bangla literature," Subhankar suggests. 

Cultural hegemony shouldn't be a concern

It was a prominent Bangladeshi writer, thinker, and academic Ahmed Sofa who took a stern stance against allowing Kolkata's books in the Ekushey Book Fair in the late 1990s, implying that West Bengal was trying to establish a cultural hegemony over Bangladesh. 

Subhankar, however, does not subscribe to such an ideology. And he believes, there should not be any border between art, culture, and literature of different regions, rather they should be allowed for a free flow. 

"And when it comes to literature, there should be no tags like Bangladeshi or Indian. 

We have always admired the literary works of Akhtaruzzaman Elias, Hasan Azizul Huq, Shahidul Jahir, Shahid Qadri, or Nirmalendu Goon. We never stopped reading them just because they are Bangladeshis. If we did, we could not learn what Bangladeshis think or feel," says Subhankar. 

The publisher further draws a comparison with Kolkata, which as a city has to always fight (or compete) with the rest of India. 

The Bangladeshi Pavilion at the 41st International Kolkata Book Fair. Meanwhile, West Bengal's books are prohibited from being sold at Bangladeshi book fairs. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Bangla language of Kolkata is now heavily influenced by Hindi, but Subhankar does not consider that to be a big threat. To him, language will keep on changing, no matter what. 

"Kolkata is a cosmopolitan city, where people of so many origins reside together. So, there must be an impact on language, which is normal. Even in Bangladesh, I have seen teenagers who cannot speak proper Bangla but rather resort to English."

Then he also adds, "I wouldn't say Bangla as a language will go extinct. It will live on as an inclusive language. But to keep creating new resources and literary works in this language, Bangladesh and Kolkata need to work together more than ever."

Economic loss is no less significant

Apart from the necessity of literary exchange, Subhankar also emphasises the economic prospects Kolkata-based publishers and writers are missing out on.

In the recently concluded Kolkata International Book Fair, Bangladeshi publishers sold books worth Tk1.2 crores, according to reports. If Kolkata-based publishers were allowed to set up stalls in Bangladesh's book fairs, they could also draw in a hefty amount of money, which in return could benefit both their publishers and writers.

And Subhankar points to  an irony – even though West Bengal's books are prohibited from selling at the Bangladeshi book fairs, Nilkhet and numerous online book shops are flooded with their pirated versions. 

Upon arriving in Dhaka in late February this year, Subhankar was surprised to come across a Facebook advertisement for two "premium quality" books published by Dey's. Because he was not aware of that specific online bookshop selling their books. So, he instantly made a call to the number shown in the advertisement.

As it turned out, those "premium quality" books are simply pirated copies, made out of unauthorised PDF files. 

"This is how not only us as publishers and writers but general readers are also getting deceived. Those books printed from unofficial PDFs are full of mistakes, hence readers are also missing out on the pleasure of enjoying original copies," says Subhankar. 

In the quest to spread Bangla literature worldwide

Dey's Publishing was one of the first to come forward and raze down the boundaries that exist between Bangladesh and Kolkata's book markets. 

Dey's has distributors like Baatighar, Nobojug, Ananda, Tokkhoshila, and Prothoma who imports their books to Bangladesh. On the flip side, Dey's also works as a key distributor of many Bangladeshi publication houses in West Bengal. 

"We are working to make books of all major Bangladeshi publishers available in our outlets. Besides, we also have our own website through which readers of West Bengal can order Bangladeshi books," informs Subhankar. 

Right now books from Bangladeshi publication houses such as Anyaprokash, Baatighar, Bangla Academy, Charulipi Prokashon, The University Press Limited, and many, many more others are available in the offline and online stores of Dey's.

Apart from importing Bangladeshi books to their country, Dey's also has plans to acquire copyrights and print Indian editions of popular Bangladeshi books, which will be cost-effective for the readers. 

The publishing house is also inking partnerships with Bangladeshi publications. "We have had such a partnership with The University Press Limited, who are bringing the Bangladeshi editions of Sankar's books. In the future, we will have more partnerships with other Bangladeshi publishers, provided the deal is honest, trustworthy, and transparent," says Subhankar. 

'Books are for readers'

Since its beginning in 1971, Dey's has so far published more than 5,000 titles. But unlike most other publishing houses, Dey's has not specialised in publishing any specific genre. 

The only thing that matters to the publishing house is the quality of a book and not its genre. And despite having already acquired rights to a huge content library, Dey's has stuck to keeping their books' prices within everyone's reach. 

Dey's humble beginning, according to Subhankar, has a lot to do with it. 

Subhankar's grandfather, Bhagwan Chandra Dey, came to Kolkata from a small village of Medinipur back in 1929, when he was just 14 years old. He first took a job as a peon in a school. Then the headmaster of the school recruited Bhagwan in selling some of his books on the streetside. 

This is how Bhagwan was first introduced to the world of the book business, and more than 40 years later, helped his son, Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, to set up Dey's Publishing.

However, the owners of Dey's never forgot their roots. Also, they could always feel how difficult it is for young students to buy books with the savings of their pocket money. So, they always gave their first priority to keeping a book's price as low as possible. 

"My ultimate goal is to send our books to as many readers as possible. Books are for readers; so if they can not get access to books, what is the point of publishing them in the first place?"

No time for hate 

In recent times, Bangladeshi art and culture are becoming immensely popular among Kolkata audiences. Bangladeshi books, movies, OTT shows, and music are rated very highly by them. 

However, a small part of the West Bengal population is not entirely happy with this development. And they are taking to social media platforms to voice their discontent. 

When asked about the same, Subhankar said "those handfuls of people are narrow-minded". According to him, such hate mongers are now more visible due to the advent of social media. 

He then shares an anecdote of how furiously some of the Bangladeshi Facebook users reacted in the comment box upon hearing that prominent writer Chandril Bhattacharya and Subhankar were to take the stage for a talk session in Bangladesh recently. 

"They reacted as if we were going to take control of the Bangladeshi publishing industry with our mere words," Subhankar says, adding, "These people are now everywhere. They fail to overcome their abysmal mentality. But as publishers, writers, or artists, we cannot afford to give them any attention. We have so much work to do."