Kolkata: Not For Booze, This Long Queue Is Of People Waiting Outside Book Store To Buy Their Favourite Read
The picture was shared on Twitter by a user named Diptakirti Chaudhary and he wrote, 'Photo of the queue in front of a publisher's store in Kolkata. Every city lines up for booze. Only Kolkata lines up for books.'
We've all seen and heard about all the long queues outside liquor shops before a dry day or especially during the pandemic induced lockdown, but seeing a queue to buy a book is something that is a little surprising.
No, we're not talking about a popular celebrity endorsing a book or some free offer along with it, we're talking a long line of people just waiting to get a book of their choice.
Well, this actually happened in West Bengal's Kolkata, which is also a home of intellectuals such as Rabindranath Tagore. It may seem like a stereotype, but people from Kolkata actually do like reading a lot and they have proved it.
A picture is going viral on the internet where people are standing in a long queue outside a book store named Dey's Publishing in Kolkata just to buy their favourite books.
The picture was shared on Twitter by a user named Diptakirti Chaudhary and he wrote, 'Photo of the queue in front of a publisher's store in Kolkata. Every city lines up for booze. Only Kolkata lines up for books.'
Photo of the queue in front of a publisher's store in Kolkata.
¡ª Diptakirti Chaudhuri (@diptakirti) August 11, 2021
Every city lines up for booze. Only Kolkata lines up for books. pic.twitter.com/aSqJgMASCa
He mentioned that the long queue outside the store was because Dey's Publishing offered a 50% discount on their in-store catalogue from 11th-15th August, calling it "Independence Day Book Bazaar".
People on the internet were all praises about the people of Kolkata and the culture of reading still very much prevails in the city. However, many questioned why they formed a queue instead of buying a book online.
Calcutta Book Fair used to be and probably continues to be a festival on its own, paralleled by only the fervor of Durga Puja.
¡ª Saurabh (@sgupta001) August 11, 2021
That's why waste bengal is highly civilized, highly industrialized, model state in India.
¡ª Sugnana?? (@sugnanags) August 12, 2021
And elect Communist and Mamata????
Books are great. Alone is a man when he isn't with a book. I can literally beg for a book. My biggest treasure is the library gifted to me by my father. A library containing more than 10,000 books. I say, I am perhaps one of the richest man.
¡ª Rahul Khatri (@RahulBarmer1) August 11, 2021
Before the smartphones, every such queue was an opportunity to make friends with the person in the front and back. We are shrunk into our own worlds after the devices made us smarter.
¡ª Sam (@ADPEDIKEDI) August 11, 2021
Nice to see the youth lining up before book store !
¡ª Sreenivas Bidari ?? (@BidariSreenivas) August 12, 2021
But it¡¯s not new or unique to any one city !
Whenever a sale was on, I used to see such lines waiting for gates to open at @crossword_book at Kemp¡¯s Corner, Mumbai
&@oxfordbookstore near Churchgate Mumbai
I don¡¯t queue up for booze because I don¡¯t drink. I do not queue up for books either. But that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t read. I use Amazon, Flipkart to order online. Even my neighbourhood book store sends book if I call. We just adopted new ways.
¡ª Ashok Shetty (???? -#JaiShreeRam) ?? (@ashokshetty1970) August 12, 2021
And mostly young ppl, who r relentlessly accused of being in thrall of social media so much so that allegedly they have forgotten how to read books, which makes the pic even nicer.
¡ª supreme vaxinator (@sorkaridorkar) August 11, 2021
That is one of the thing which I really like about this city and obviously the grand book fair !!!!!
¡ª ?????? ????? (@abhijeetkarkare) August 12, 2021
Be it college street, International Book Fair or meeting writers at Oxford book store , its paradise and I consider myself extremely lucky for lining up for Books.
¡ª Arbind (@arbind001) August 11, 2021
Hi @AmazonHelp and @Flipkart @amazonIN - hi Amazon / Flipkart - u seem to have a readymade market here. Y don¡¯t you tap this?
¡ª Naman ?? (@tohfakaboolhai) August 12, 2021
Dey's Publishing is one of the oldest book stores in the city and has a cult fanbase.
The Kolkata government, however, is ready to start its election campaign and launched 'Khela Hobe' recently. The CM of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee was seen dribbling a football and throwing it among the crowds at the launch event of the very same campaign.
Building, coordinating and crafting engaging content for lifestyle brand 'Evolve' at Indiatimes. Successfully revamping the lifestyle section including topics such as mental health, relationships, self, skin care, music etc. I collaborate with experts from various fields to gather insights and create well-structured pieces.
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