Ekushey Boi Mela sees more visitors on 3rd day

Ekushey Boi Mela sees more visitors on 3rd day

Jagriti Publication is paying tribute to its slain owner, Foysal Arefin Dipon, by putting up his photo in its stall at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela this year.  newswsworld844.blogspot.com

Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2016 started to pick up momentum on the second day yesterday as the number of visitors increased slightly, with all the stalls open for public.

Unlike the first day when the fair grounds were strewn with construction materials, visitors found the grounds clean on the second day, with all constructions and decorations complete.

The fair, the biggest congregation of writers, publishers and readers in Bangladesh, is being held on the Bangla Academy premises and in parts of Suhrawardy Udyan.

An international poetry festival is scheduled to take place at Bangla Academy today in two sessions. Ten poets from Slovakia, Morocco, Sweden, Taiwan, the UK and India and 20 poets from Bangladesh are taking part in the festival, said Abdul Hye, a director of Bangla Academy.

A large number law enforcement personnel were seen patrolling the fair grounds and the adjacent areas, which put the visitors at ease.

Although yesterday saw a larger crowd of visitors at the book fair, the majority of them were seen looking through the books on display and asking around about the new titles by their favourite writers.

Rahnuma Rahman, an NGO official, who was visiting the fair with her family, said she was looking for the new books by Imdadul Haque Milon and Muhammad Zafar Iqbal. 

However, Masud Rahman Rana, publisher of Oboshor Prakashani, said the book sales were not bad. “It is increasing. The fair will gain its momentum on the weekend,” he said.

Milon Kanti Nath, publisher of Anupam Prakashani, also said the sales and the visitors would increase gradually.

“The first few days of the fair are generally slow. But hopefully the number of visitors will increase on Friday,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

The second day of the fair saw seven new books published; last year the number was 35.

Some of the new arrivals yesterday are “Engreji Sahityer Koyekti Dik” by Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, published by Rodela Prakashani, “Panchrokom Hashir Upanyash” by Anisul Huq, brought by Somoy Prakashan, “Bangladesh Rashtra o Rajniti Vol I,” edited by Nasreen Akhter Hussain and KM Mohiuddin, published by Shangbed, and “The New Girl” by Kaya Hussain, brought by Bengal Publications.

As the fair’s theme this year is the 60th founding anniversary of Bangla Academy, a seminar will be held every day at 4pm until the end of the fair, discussing contemporary literature and the history and research works of Bangla Academy. 

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