Pohela Falgun, the first day of spring, and Saraswati puja were the highlights of the 13th day of Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2016.
Thousands of Dhakaites donning traditional attire in spring colours – especially yellow – who visited the Dhaka University campus to celebrate the two occasions also stopped by the book fair, adding more flavour to the already festive air.
Spring is the season of rejuvenation, and it was evident at the fair grounds yesterday – young people were seen swarming the venue, happy expression on their face, exchanging greetings with each other.
Among them were young couples, too, browsing the stalls and looking through the collections of romantic poems and novels.
These special occasions, coupled with the fact that it was a Saturday and the Children’s Hour was from 11am to 1pm, brought in a huge crowd at the fair yesterday and a huge smile on all the publishers’ and stall owners’ faces, who reported huge sales.
“The sales are excellent today [yesterday]; we have a tremendous number of visitors here,” said Masud Rana, publisher at Oboshor Prakashan.
Another attraction at the fair yesterday was the launch of 18 science fiction books, published at a programme held by a group of science fiction writers and publishers under the banner of Bangladesh Science Fiction Society.
Earlier in the day, the launching ceremony of the second episode of the graphic novel based on the life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took place around 11am at Bangla Academy, which was attended by Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor.
In addition, 135 new titles were released at the fair yesterday, so the total number of new arrivals now stands at 1,528.