Dipan Nandy

As scores of people placed floral wreaths on the pedestal of Central Shaheed Minar yesterday, they also thronged the nearby Ekushey book fair, which commemorates the sacrifice made in 1952 through literature.

Becoming a writer was always a distant dream of theirs. But due to  harsh realities of life and meagre income, they had to sustain  themselves first. In the process, they had to bury that dream a long time ago.

Around hundred publishing houses have set up stalls at Shishu Chattar at the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. A number of childrens’ books have been published by these publication houses. However, parents have claimed that there’s little to no variation in these books.

Literature can leave a lifetime impact on our minds. It helps us understand ourselves and the world around us, and it transcends boundaries through translation. This year’s Ekushey book fair saw a large number of translated versions of world literature by prominent authors.

It was quite a sight. The premises of the Boi Mela in Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan were packed with bookworms. They were moving from one stall to another, turning through the pages of the books available and buying them.

Beraid is a small place in terms of size, but it is huge in terms of popularity, thanks to a large number of ancient mosques.

At first glance, it looks like a simple tin-shed house. One will not even find any decent-looking furniture inside the room.

Residents of the newly-added wards in Dhaka North City Corporation expressed dissatisfaction after being denied civic amenities, claiming that life was far better when they were under the union parishad.

It’s been more than a century since he won the Noble Prize in literature and 82 years since he passed away. However, Rabindranath Tagore remains alive in the minds of readers. Be it poetry, songs, novels, short stories or plays, the works of Rabindranath Tagore are forever etched in their minds.

People were coming hand in hand, wearing yellow and red color dresses. Celebrations of Pahela Fagun and Valentine’s Day were in the air everywhere yesterday, especially at the premises of Ekushey Boi Mela.

It’s that time of the year again, when the first day of spring and the occasion to express one’s love coincide with the passion of bookworms, creating a festive atmosphere at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela.

“There’s no better place to share a moment reading and pass on this habit, than a book fair,” said Farhana Taher, who was sitting next to a stage at the Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday.

It was a sunny morning, which was further brightened up with the presence of children, who turned up in huge numbers at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela with their parents. They bought books of their choice and had a fun time with the characters of Sisimpur (Sesame Street’s Bangladeshi adaptation).

Mahatabul Rahman was roaming around the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela with his wife. He went to a stall on the Suhrawardy Uddyan premises and took a book in his hand, raised his eyebrows and put it back.

Although the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela is yet to go in full bloom, bookworms are already scouting the stalls looking for new reading material.

From the information centre, the announcer said Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s “Adarsha Hindu Hotel”, has been published by Abosor Prokashoni. Even after 73 years of his death, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s book is being published. This goes to show that no matter what, classic literature books are always in demand.

Monowarul Islam was looking at the books in the stalls at Suhrawardy Udyan. He suddenly stopped in front of  Anyaprokash and picked up Humayun Ahmed’s “Badshah Namdar”.

Besides local books, readers are getting the scope to know about the language, history and culture of foreign countries at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela this year.

The fourth day of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela was infused with great smell and music. Added on top of that was the sound of flipping the pages of the new books that came to the fair, bringing their own music.

With a smiling face and curiosity in her eyes, six-year-old Anika stood beside a barbed wire fence and gazed up at the sky. Soon, an aeroplane took off with a loud roar.