Book lovers, writers take 'literary' walk

British playwright and novelist Hanif Kureishi was among around 60 writers and literary enthusiasts who took a 'literary' stroll down the historic Chowringhee and Park Street today, reminding people of the relationship between literature and heritage.
The walk, a first-of-its-kind, was organised for bibliophiles to explore heritage sites of the city and its connection with the world of books.
As part of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF), the group started with Derozio's grave in the South Park Street Cemetery.
Organised by Iftekhar Ahsan of Calcutta Walks, the three-hour-long stroll commenced from the main gate of the silent South Park Street Cemetery exploring mausoleums to resurrect the memory of people left behind by time.

Famous poet Vivian Louis Derozio and Major-General Charles Stuart, who worked for the British Army, and was also a writer, are buried here.
It also has the grave of Lieutenant Walter Landor Dickens, the second son of Charles Dickens.

The walk then headed towards the Goethals Indian Library of St Xaviers' College on Park Street giving the trail walker a sneak peek into the precious collection of books of Paul Goethals who was the Archbishop of Calcutta from 1886 to 1901.
After a tea break at Oxford Bookstore's Cha Bar, they headed towards The Asiatic Society of Kolkata contextualising the society's origin. The earliest printed book preserved in its library is Juli Firmici's Astronomicorum Libri published as early as 1499.

The walk culminated at the Indian Museum where the participants were addressed with a brief talk on rare manuscripts and a tour of exhibits within the premises.
Ahsan, who conducts specialised walking tours, reiterated what literary giants like Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Munshi Premchand had said about Kolkata.
Dominique Lapierre's novel 'City of Joy', Vikram Seth's 'A Suitable Boy' and Rudyard Kipling's poem 'The City Of Dreadful Night', all of which feature Kolkata, were also discussed.
The five-day long literature fest, which ended today, was held across heritage venues - Indian Museum, National Library, Victoria Memorial, Tollygunge Club and the historic Lascar War Memorial.

"As a 100-year-old company headquartered in Kolkata we value the heritage of the city and believe that citizens want to utilise as well as enjoy its heritage and culture at venues that are iconic to the city and not part of their regular itinerary," Renu Kakkar, head of communications for AKLF and Apeejay Surrendra's CSR director, told PTI.
She said heritage gives citizens not only a historical perspective but also a sense of place and time.