Home ›› 08 Feb 2023 ›› Back
Ahnaf Islam (not his real name), a student of an English-medium school in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi, was looking forward to buying translated books on the country’s history and culture from the ongoing Amar Ekushey Book Fair at the Suhrawardy Udyan. But visiting the fair on Tuesday, he was disappointed to not find any corner with such literature.
“For the last two weeks, my cousins and some of my local friends have been talking a lot about the book fair, its age-old traditions and cultures. But being an English-medium student, it is difficult for me to read Bengali books, especially the ones on the country’s history and Liberation War,” he said.
For many others like Ahnaf, who are not well versed in Bengali, including foreigners, the book fair is not much of a welcoming place in terms of translated books. Fifty years since the first time the fair was organised, it still lacks a corner with translated literature on the country’s culture and history.
Speaking to The Business Post, sellers at the fair said the objectives of the Ekushey Book Fair have evolved a lot throughout the years. Its significance and popularity has grown in recent years.
Poritosh Paul, a volunteer seller of a stall Muktizudher Boi (Books on Liberation War) under Centre for Bangladesh Liberation War Studies, said, “A young mother came with her little boy on Monday just after the fair opened. She was looking for easily written history literature for her child. But she could not find any.
“She finally decided to buy A Tale of Millions by Major M Rafiqul Islam, the translated edition of ‘Lokkho Praner Binimoye’.”
The Ekushey Book Fair not only introduces the readers from older to new generations to Bangla literature but also has become a form of festival, a well-known cultural tradition, said publishers and stall owners.
“We see thousands of young people come in groups only to understand what Ekushey Boi Mela is,” Mirajul Islam Munna, publisher and a book seller in the fair said.
Paritosh Paul said considering the growing interest, keeping a book corner at the Bangla Academy premises would have served more purposes to new readers from English Medium students who are weak in Bengali.
“This would help them learn about the culture,” he added.
Besides, the Bangla Academy authorities can invite foreigners from the embassies situated in the country that can also pave a way to allow a cultural integration, he opined.
However, there has been no initiative in setting up a corner with translated literature on Bangladesh’s history.
Although, speaking to this correspondent a few years back, former Director general of Bangla Academy Prof Dr Shamsuzzaman Khan said he was planning to introduce a Liberation war corner with translated literature at the Bangla Academy premises.
However, the idea is yet to be realised.
Dr KM Muzahidul Islam, member secretary of Amar Ekushey Book Fair Committee, and director (Admin) of the Bangla Academy said he recently took charge of the book fair and was unaware of any such plan.
Cultural integration
Under an agreement signed a few years back, the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh is participating in the country’s largest annual book fair this year with a stall at the Bangla Academy premises. This is the second time they are participating with a stall named China Book House.
“We are getting huge responses surpassing our expectations. Youths and students from the English-medium schools are mostly visiting the stall. The reaction has been so good that we have run out of some four to five books displayed in the fair,” said Limon Sardar, a staff of the Chinese embassy.
“We came here for cultural integration and it is exciting to see how much the local people are welcoming the initiative. We are offering gifts to the buyers as a souvenir of cultural integration,” he said.
Limon added that children’s books, and China-centric political and cultural books are in the most demand.
Meanwhile, Japan’s largest printing and bookbinding company Fournetsha has set up a stall under the banner of ‘Source?’, a recently introduced manga publisher in Bangladesh. The magazine is being managed by Fournetsha Bangladesh Limited.
The initiative comes amid the growing popularity of Japanese comics and graphic novels in the country.
SM Nasir Hussain Nayan, general manager of Zelda Limited who brought Fournetsha to Bangladesh said that through the initiatives the integration of Bangla Literature with Japanese comic Manga has been displayed with displaying their first issue in the fair.
