The inferno that reduced the Calcutta Book Fair to ashes may have subsided, but flames of fury continue to flare within the representatives of publishing outfits and interior decorators who have seen their strenuous efforts literally go to blazes. There appears to be an overwhelming consensus that it will be impossible to resume the fair from Friday.
While the stalls of big publishing houses like Orient Longman, Oxford, Rupa and Penguin were gutted, it is the small publishers who have been hit particularly hard. Weve lost books worth Rs 20,000 in the fire, lamented a distraught Santosh Maheswari of Taxman Publishing, a New-Delhi based outfit. I am packing and leaving for New Delhi today, he added.
Another small publishing house from Benaras, the Krishnamurty Foundation lost books worth Rs 1 lakh in the fire. Mihir Sen of the Foundation lashed out at the organisers, the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, for absconding since the tragedy. Sen opined that the fair would not resume on Friday. One cannot build a fair from the ashes. And even if it resumes, the Foundation will not be here to participate, he stated.
The participants were also furious at the inefficient crisis management which resulted in damage that could easily have been avoided. A publisher from Agra incurred damages worth Rs 50,000 as the fire brigade personnel tried to douse flames. Water poured into our stall and destroyed many valuable volumes, he said. Miscreants also exploited the situation to their advantage. Although the stall of the Calcutta-based Federal Book House, which specialises in childrens books, was not gutted, books worth Rs 10,000 were looted from it. The aggrieved outfit has decided to immediately withdraw from the fair.
Interior decorators too are an incensed lot. About 70 interior decorators claim to have invested Rs 7 crore to build up the fair grounds. And while bigger decorating houses have incurred damages to the tune of Rs 10 lakh, the smaller houses have seen Rs 5 lakh worth of material go up in flames. Unless the government pays compensation to us, we will not allow the fair to resume, they echo.
The grim mood of the participants was mirrored by the scene at the fair site. Policemen stood guard at the entrance, shooing away curious onlookers. Inside, ashes lay strewn over entire stretches and corporation vans were seen carrying away what had once been precious volumes. Clearly, the organisers will have to step up their efforts if the fair is to rise from the ashes like the proverbial phoenix.
