The Amar Ekushey Book Fair doubled the festive mood and joy among the students and the people who came to celebrate Pahela Falgun or Valentine's Day or both on the Dhaka University campus on Tuesday.
Since morning, students and people from different professions, irrespective of colour, creed or religion, started gathering in the Dhaka University area wearing colourful panjabis and sarees as the area has traditionally been a venue for Pahela Falgun and Valentine's Day celebrations, while the book fair takes place on the nearby Bangla Academy premises every year.
Besides the huge arrangements by the Bosonto Utsab Udzapon committee at Bakultola of the fine arts faculty of Dhaka University, several programs were arranged in the university area, like “Somogit Bosonto Utsob”, at the historic Bottola of Dhaka, three-day cultural festival at the department of political science and “Sangit Utsab” at the faculty of Business Studies of to welcome spring.
Marking the special day, various floating stalls of flowers and food almost everywhere on the campus were set up to meet the demands of the visitors.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneAbid, an eleven-year-old boy who was selling flowers and floral bands walking around busy areas of the campus, said that he came to the area from Mouchak of the capital in the morning to sell flowers hoping for better profit.
“My mother sent me here to sell flowers as many people from different areas came here to observe the day and they buy flowers from us. From the morning I have bagged around Tk800,” he said.
Besides, flower sellers were ready with massive stocks of roses and bouquets for people eagerly waiting to celebrate the day with their loved ones. The flower shops at the Shahabag crossing were very busy and filled with foot traffic.
On the other hand, the Amar Ekushey Book Fair added an extra festive mood among the people who came to observe the Pahela Falgun in the Dhaka University area, as one of the venues of the Pahela Falgun celebration was set at Muktomoncho of Suhrawardy Uddyan, near the ground of the book fair. As a result, most of the visitors who only came to the book fair also joined the Pahela Falgun celebration.
February 14 has become a day of celebration over the years following an ancient Roman tradition that has been celebrated mostly in Western countries. Following this global trend, many couples wearing floral bands were seen in the campus area in the morning.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneShamima and Kamal came to celebrate Valentine's Day from Mirpur 2. “This is our first Valentine's Day after our marriage, though we had a two-year relationship before our marriage. This day reminds us of our beloved ones and we came here to enjoy this day,” Shamima said.
Osman Ahammed, a student who came to the book fair and was enjoying the cultural programs at Muktomoncho, said: “Actually I came to the book fair from Jatrabari. I did not have any intention of joining the Pahela Falgun celebrations, but when I was crossing by this place, (Muktomoncho) cultural programs grabbed my interest and I am enjoying it here.”
Meanwhile, the huge public gatherings in the university area created severe traffic across the whole campus which made some students unhappy with the rush and gathering of outsiders.
Moniruzzaman, a final-year student at the mass communication and journalism department, said: “I usually try to avoid the TSC area on the off days. It becomes hard for students to move freely on such days.”