It's been a long time since I wrote on this blog. I can't decide if it was due to my habit of procrastination or I really didn't have anything to write. Anyways, today's topic is a wonderful documentary film by AlJazeera. The documentary film Kolkata Books tells the story of change that is coming to the College Street - the largest books market in the world - in Kolkata through the eyes of three persons: a bookshop owner, a magazine collector and a student.
Sandeep's story is the most interesting. He is a collector of "little magazines" in Kolkata. Over the years he has accumulated over 60,000 titles. Now he is old and worries what would happen to his collection after his death.
Arabinda DasGupta is the owner of a bookshop on College Street which has recently been declared the first heritage bookshop in India.
Then there is Chalita Gosh. She is a student of literature at the Kolkata University. She loves to read books and has a "very good acquaintance", in her own words, with DasGupta.
Sandeep's story is the most interesting. He is a collector of "little magazines" in Kolkata. Over the years he has accumulated over 60,000 titles. Now he is old and worries what would happen to his collection after his death.
Arabinda DasGupta is the owner of a bookshop on College Street which has recently been declared the first heritage bookshop in India.
Then there is Chalita Gosh. She is a student of literature at the Kolkata University. She loves to read books and has a "very good acquaintance", in her own words, with DasGupta.
They are all worried about a new mall which is under construction on College Street. All three of them express their reservations about the damage to the book reading culture that the opening of the mall will cause. In spite of their fears, all three of them hope that the mall may give them a chance to read books and magazines from other countries.
Here is a link to the documentary: Kolkata Books
