27th Sonarpur Book Fair

The 27th Sonarpur Book Fair ran from 9 to 18 December 2016. After Purba Medinipur in 2015, the theme was Paschim Medinipur.

Medinipur was one of the most militant and resolute faces of India’s freedom struggle. West Medinipur is rich in people and traditions: it is home to some of the oldest tribal communities of India, including the Santal, Munda, Kol, Mahali and Lodha, and to songs such as Gajan, Tusu, Bandhana and Sohrai, and dances such as Kathi, Rumal, Jhumur, Raibenshe and Chhau. It is also home to Birsingha, the village where Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was born.

At the fair

• A main complex with about a hundred bookstalls, the theme pavilion, the children’s pavilion and the little magazine pavilion
• Education park and science pavilion
• Government and corporate stalls
• Amusement park and food park
• A cultural stage for a thousand spectators, and an open-air stage

Programme

• Daily evening quiz: 9–18 December
• Run for Books: 11 December, 6 am, from Champahati station
• Sit-and-draw competition: 11 December, 1 pm
• Extempore speech: 17 December, 4 pm
• General quiz: 18 December, 11 am; school quiz: 18 December, 2 pm
• Model presentation competition (classes V–XII), science park