Home ›› 03 Feb 2023 ›› News
The second day of the “Amar Ekushey Book Fair” in the capital drew a sizable crowd of book lovers despite it being a weekday.
As soon as the gates opened at 3pm on Thursday, the fairgrounds filled to the brim with visitors. The crowd only increased as the day went on.
Officials from various publishing houses told the Business Post that considering the fair just kicked off, the sales were not bad at all. They hoped the business would be even better in the coming days.
This Fair is an annual event highly anticipated by both publishers and readers alike. But last year’s fair failed to meet the expectations due to the pandemic’s impact which led to low sales and modest arrangements.
“The turnout of visitors and readers at the stalls in Suhrawardy Udyan is impressive, but the fair still lacks organisation,” said Rashedul Rony, a student of the American International University Bangladesh, who visited the fair Thursday.
Several book stalls were still under construction on the fair’s second day. However, that did not diminish the enthusiasm of the visitors.
Asaduzzaman Tawfiq, a salesman of Anannya Prokashoni, said, “Compared to previous years, the number of visitors is good.” The crowd is not yet overwhelming, he added.
Publishing houses participating in the fair, including the Bangla Academy, will sell books at a 25 per cent discount. Bangla Academy has set up three pavilions and a stall for marketing children’s publications.
There will be a “Shishu Prahar” session from 11:00am to 1:00pm every Friday and Saturday. The fair will also host seminars and cultural programmes at 4pm every day. These programmes will add an extra dimension to the fair, making it not just a place to buy and sell books, but also a hub of cultural and intellectual activities.
The month-long book fair provides a platform for cultural and literary activities, including seminars, workshops, book signings, and other events, showcasing the richness and diversity of the Bangladeshi literary tradition.
It also provides a glimpse into the cultural heritage and values of Bangladesh, which are deeply rooted in its rich language and literary tradition.
Amar Ekushey Book Fair is arranged every year in February commemorating the sacrifices of language heroes who laid down their lives on February 21, 1952, for establishing Bangla as an official language of then-Pakistan along with Urdu.
Bangladesh was the eastern wing of Pakistan until its liberation in 1971.
But the traditional dates of the fair got shifted for the past two editions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The traditional Amar Ekushey Book Fair started informally in 1972 on the Bangla Academy premises and then in 1978 the academy officially took the responsibility of arranging the fair every year.
