The Amar Ekushey Book Fair wore a festive look with a vibrant presence of thousands of enthusiastic book lovers on Friday as people from all strata thronged the fair turning the venue of the month-long event into an animated occasion. With huge enthusiasm and curiosity, thousands of visitors of all ages flocked to different stalls and pavilions to find books of their beloved writers.
Setting an air of inspiration for the readers, the booklovers were seen roaming around the fair venue as the sale at the stalls increased significantly. The sellers struggled to manage the large number of visitors intending to buy books.
On the first day of Shishu Prohor (children's hour) at Amar Ekushey Book Fair yesterday, the fairground was buzzing with children as the fair has dedicated four hours -11:00am to 3:00pm - specially for children on every Friday and Saturday. Hundreds of children crowded the Sishu Prahar, adding joyful cheer and festivity to the fair.
Children seemed to be enjoying themselves as they were playing, buying books and taking pictures with the characters of Sisimpur at Shishu Chhattar, a platform that has been dedicated to children in the fair for learning and playing at the same time. Friday and Saturday being the holidays attracts more visitors than the working days.
The fair authorities declare children’s hour, when general visitors are not allowed, so that children can buy books without facing any hassle found usually on other days. A guardian can accompany a child visitor. Most of the children bought books based on comic characters and fairy tales.
Nazmun Nahar, a representative of Pragati Prakashan, said it was normal that book fair would witness large crowds on holidays. Many youths visited their stall and a good many of them bought books, she added. With the rolling on of time, the crowd turned bigger. Although the crowd decreased a little at noon, the rush grew thicker again in the afternoon.
Besides being a spot for the booklovers, the venue of the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair is also for many an escape from the monotony of routine city life. People of all ages come to the fair, now on the Bangla Academy premises and at Suhrawardy Udyan, to pass a few hours in a secure and protected area.
Enjoying a respite from daily toil at workplaces or educational institutions, couples, teenagers and groups of young people are now seen whiling away time at the venue. People of all ages, especially students and parents with their children, were found browsing through books at different stalls.
On the other hand, many people, who live far from the book fair venue and who cannot visit the fair on working days, took the chance to pay tributes to the martyrs and visit the fair on the holiday. The authorities have allotted 179 units at the Bangla Academy ground to 126 organizations and 694 at the Suhrawardy Udyan to 434 organizations while a total of 34 pavilions have been allocated this year.
Like in previous years, stalls for the mainstream publishing houses have been built inside the Suhrawardy Udyan while government organisations and the Bangla Academy stalls have been placed within the Bangla Academy compound. Holding of the fair on the Bangla Academy premises began informally in 1972, only to be institutionalised in 1978. The fair was then named Amar Ekushey Granthamela, and subsequently a guideline for it was formulated in 1984.