28th Sonarpur Book Fair

The 28th Sonarpur Book Fair ran from the evening of 8 December to the night of 17 December 2017. After Paschim Medinipur in 2016, the theme was Maldah.

Sonarpur, “the golden city”, has been at the centre of social and political movements since the dawn of the Bengal Renaissance. The book fair has been held without a break since 1989 and is acclaimed as one of the great events of the state: hundreds of thousands of book lovers come from across the district and beyond for this ten-day festival of life and learning.

Maldah lies 347 km north of Kolkata and is famous for its mangoes, jute and silk, and for gombhira, its folk theatre of everyday joys and sorrows. Its headquarters, English Bazar, was once the capital of Bengal, and the ancient capitals of Gour and Pandua lie within the district.

Programme

• Artist selection (audition): 26 November, 9 am, Samannay Bhaban
• Inauguration: 8 December, 3 pm
• Daily evening quiz: 8–17 December
• Run for Books: 10 December, 6 am, from Champahati station
• Sit-and-draw competition: 10 December, 1 pm; extempore speech: 10 December, 4.30 pm
• Maldah Divas: 16 December, 5.30 pm
• General quiz: 17 December, 10 am; school quiz: 17 December, 2 pm
• Model presentation competition (classes V–XII), science park