The 12 day Kolkata International Book Fair ended on Sunday 9 February. This is always a lovely event as the passion for books is very noticeable in Kolkata. We have also noticed an increased awareness about the teachings of J Krishnamurti and this was reflected in the interactions with new friends at our stall. Well over 150 new friends, young and old, expressed and recorded their interest to be connected with our Centre and the beauty of J Krishnamurti’s insights. They also took away books (over 450) for their own further exploration of those insights.
Some books have been particularly liked by the young. A young entrepreneur mentioning that ‘The Book Of Life’ has touched him immensely. A young lady said that she found the book ‘Think on these things’ absolutely amazing because it touched all dimensions of life in such a candid manner. A middle aged medical professional (oncology) recalled how the insights of J Krishnamurti helped him deal with the many crises that life throws up. But the interaction with a young IT professional was quite profound. He said that “the beauty of the insights is that no matter which quote or text or audio you read or listen to, any one of them is enough to give you clarity if one reads or listens with intensity.” He said that each contains the seed of truth.
It was also very interesting to see that Bengali books comprised one third of the books bought by visitors. Our grateful thanks to our translators whose work has meant that J Krishnamurti is available to the Bengali reader too. There are now a number of books and booklets available in Bengali.
All major events require a team effort. So too our participation in the Book Fair. It starts with stall space allocation, design of interiors and exteriors, office support and then the 8 to 9 hour management of the stall. Then there is the support of the Publications Team in Chennai who send us those beautiful books for our stall.
It is thanks to the whole team that we could do what we wanted to do i.e. make the beauty of those amazing insights of J Krishnamurti available to more and more human beings.
