How a book fair in Assam is keeping local publishers afloat

At one of the bookstalls at the ongoing Assam Book Fair or Axom Granthamela in Guwahati, a veteran publisher laments the steady decline of book sales since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. "The business never recovered and we are all struggling. The book fair is a relief. I come to Guwahati to attend the book fair and earn some money every year. Otherwise, the whole year remains lacklustre with hardly any sales of books," told the Nalbari-based publisher, who did not wish to be identified.

He also owns a bookshop in the town, around 70 kilometres from Guwahati, where the capital of Assam, Dispur, is located.

The entrance of the Assam Book Fair or Axom Granthamela in Guwahati.

Clarifying his stand to remain anonymous, the publisher added, "I do not want to be identified as a bearer of bad news. But the news is bad. The business of books is on the verge of collapse, especially for small-time publishers like me. I don't want to blame anyone but if things continue like this I have to shut down my business."

'A rough ride for publishers and sellers'

Dhiraj Goswami, working president of All Assam Publishers and Booksellers Association (APBA), agreed with the point stated by the Nalbari-based publisher. "It has always been a rough ride for publishers and sellers of books, especially those who are involved with Assamese literature. They are trying their best to push forward the rich legacy of Assamese literature and promote the legendary and upcoming writers of the beautiful language.

"If there is no business, how could publishers bring out books written by new and exciting talents from Assam? The book fair helps bookstores and publishers from across the state to do decent business and continue with what they do best—that is to keep the joy of reading alive," added Goswami.

 A steady flow of bibliophiles entering and exiting various counters at the fair. 

The Assam Book Fair—known as the biggest book carnival of the Northeast region—is a joint effort by the APBA and Assam Prakashan Parishad or Publication Board Assam, a semi-autonomous body under the Assam government. The book fair began on December 27 and will end on January 7.

The annual festival for bibliophiles has been temporarily shifted to the outskirts of the city in Khanapara this year because of the ongoing flyover construction near the original venue in Chandmari.

The business of books

Talking about business, the organisers say the book fair has earned more than Rs 4 crore within seven days of its commencement. "It is a remarkable success," said Pramod Kalita, secretary, Publication Board Assam.

"The very idea of the fair, hosted in different places of Assam throughout the year, is to keep the publishers and sellers afloat as they are struggling. We provide a platform to them to come together to sell books, interact with readers and writers and spread the message of reading and writing." Kalita added.

This year, the feista saw the participation from 118 publishers and booksellers, with a total of 350 stalls. "Among them, 15 publishers are from Kolkata, 16 from Delhi, and one each from Haryana and Hyderabad," said Kalita.

The Bangladesh connection

This year, publishers from Bangladesh did not attend the festival because of "political unrest in the neighbouring country”. Kalita explained that publishers from Bangladesh, who had participated last year, were not invited this year due to the current situation in the country. “While Bangladeshi publishers expressed interest, they decided against participating, and we also chose not to extend invitations,” Kalita added.

Bengali literarture especially from Bangladesh has a huge fan following in Assam. Take for example Bangladeshi novelist and dramatist Humayun Ahmed. "The book connoisseurs of Assam love Ahmed as much as they adore Assamese authors like Nabakanta Barua, Mamoni Raisom Goswami and Bhabendra Nath Saikia. They are all deceased but their works continue to appeal book lovers. That is the power of literature. It brings people, places and countries together,” said Sukanya Talukdar, a teacher, who was accompanied by several school children on the eighth day of the fair.

Another visitor at the book fair, who did not want to be identified, said that although the ruling dispensation both at the centre and Assam try their best to portray Bangladesh as an enemy country from where illegal immigration continues, people here love literature, music and art from the border country.

Some politics, promotion but no censorship

Since the fair is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Assam, huge cutouts of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other members from his cabinet could be seen at the venue. A small kiosk at the fair celebrated the life and times of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Several pictures of the deceased BJP leader adorned the walls of the counter.

A cutout of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in front of a counter showcasing life and times of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Kalita clarified that despite the government's support, there is no censorship on any books or personal opinions of authors and thinkers at the fair. "Knowing the authoratarian nature of the BJP government, everyone is careful of what they read or talk about at the venue. We can see a lot of self-censorship here," a young Assamese poet told The Federal, post an interaction between readers and writers on the eighth day of the event.

Readers enthusiasm brings hope

Bolen Baniya is a happy man. Baniya is in charge of a bookstall. As he hands over books to readers on the counter, Baniya smiles at each of them. If he gets some free time from making bills, Baniya talks to the visitors. Conversations usually revolve around answering queries on books, authors and discounts available on each purchase. “It is 10 per cent discount on all books at the fair," said Baniya.

The reason behind his happiness is that his bookcounter—Global Net Publication—is earning Rs 50,000 every day. "The business is good and I am happy," Baniya smiled.

"People are coming in hordes. The visitors are mostly buying novels (both English and Assamese), children's books and competitive exams books."

Enjoying food and creating awareness

The festival is not only about books, as food stalls remain one of the main attractions for the visitors. Most of the food stalls selling tea and fast food are filled with people after they finish buying their favourite books with their families and friends.

A small kiosk by the Assam State AIDS Control Society is grabbing good amount of interest among readers at the fair. Abhijit Kumar Das manning the stall said the kiosk was to create awareness on HIV and AIDS among the public. Das was heard telling a college-goer about the difference between HIV and AIDS. "Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) occurs at the most advanced stage of infection."

A small kiosk by the Assam State AIDS Control Society is grabbing good amount of interest among readers at the fair.