As readers across the globe mark World Storytelling Day, storytelling is increasingly finding new life on social media platforms. In Bengal’s growing online book community, short videos, reviews and reading recommendations are helping younger audiences discover Bengali literature in new ways.

One of the voices in this emerging space is Shawmava Mukherjee, a Bengali Bookstagram creator by the ID of Porokkho La Vida. who works as a teacher at Kalinagar State Plan Primary School. Alongside his teaching job, Mukherjee shares short videos and posts about books, building a community that discusses Bengali classics, contemporary fiction, thrillers and graphic novels.

Mukherjee says the Bengali Bookstagram community is still developing but has grown rapidly in recent months.

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“Actually, the Bengali Bookstagram space has seen a significant growth in the last few months. I am discovering a new Bengali creator posting about books every day. But it’s still at an early stage,” he said.

Romance and horror dominate the algorithm

Mukherjee notes that certain genres perform particularly well on short-form video platforms.

“I have seen Bengali books from strong romance genre get the most views on Instagram followed by the horror genre,” he said. At the same time, he has tried to broaden the reading interests within his online community.

“Thankfully I have so far succeeded to build a community that show interest in thriller, contemporary and even graphic novels. I am also sharing English books and the interest among them is gradually rising,” Mukherjee added.

Young readers discovering Bengali books online

Social media has also opened the door for younger audiences to discover Bengali literature. Mukherjee says analytics from his page show a strong youth presence among viewers.

“Absolutely. Around 35% of my viewers are aged between 18-24 while 8% are between 13-17. I am optimistic that more young viewers will engage with bookish content,” he said.

Interestingly, he has also noticed that English-language titles sometimes attract similar engagement. “Surprisingly, some of my videos on English books have performed as well if not better than the Bengali books. However, there are only a few English book videos in the Bengali bookstagram space,” he explained.

What makes a book go viral online

Mukherjee believes that certain features increase a book’s chances of gaining attention on social media. “A book that is fast paced and has an attractive cover/title has the potential to go viral,” he said.

At the same time, he believes publishers should not overlook other kinds of storytelling. “This is great to bring new readers but publishers shall not refrain from publishing longer books that are slow paced and explore deeper topics.”

Mukherjee says the influence of Bookstagram goes beyond views and engagement and often leads to real book sales. “Many of my Bengali books/Graphic Novels have got 50-100k views and viewers DM me that they have purchased the book,” he said.

For him, the bigger cultural shift is how reading is being perceived among younger audiences.

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“It has succeeded globally and I am optimistic the same will be followed here as well. While reading shall be an activity for pleasure but this habit/hobby can also look ‘cool’ to GenZ,” he said.

Three Bengali books for new readers

For those starting their journey into Bengali literature, Mukherjee recommends three titles:

Chander Pahar by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay

Alikpur Chronicles by Somaja Das

Gosaibaganer Bhoot by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay

As World Storytelling Day celebrates the enduring power of stories, creators like Mukherjee show how literature is finding fresh audiences, not just in libraries and bookstores, but also on phone screens and social media feeds.