Yesterday, the grandest book fair in the country had a unique set of young book lovers for its visitors – from uniform-clad school-goers to yellow-donning young adults celebrating Pohela Falgun.
Spring was welcomed with much ardour around Dhaka, but the ground of Amar Ekushey Boi Mela seemed to be a major attraction for the spring lovers.
But even more interesting was the huge number of children who went to the fair – straight from school.
Hartal throughout the weeks has forced many schools in the city and elsewhere to take classes on the weekends. But the school work did little to subdue the excitement of the children. They went to fair, still in their school uniform, teeming the area and excited to browse through new books. Even though most children book stalls are located on the Bangla Academy premises, the little bookworms seemed happy to explore the entire venue – perhaps they were excited by spring’s arrival as well.
Looking around the fair venue, the visitors were seen donning yellow and other bright colours relating to the season of rejuvenation. Inside the ground, the troubles of the outside world seemed to be a faraway concept.
“The outer world may be in chaos right now, but if feels good to be here, at the boi mela, right now,” said Shams Swann, who purchased five books, visiting with his friend.
What added to the festive mood was the Valentine’s Day next day. Young people swarmed the book stalls looking for books of stories and poems on love.
One such couple, donning sari and panjabi of spring colours, were seen searching for Mahadeb Saha’s “Premer Kobita,” at the Anindo Prokash stall around 2pm. When the stall attendant assured them that they had it, the young man wasted no time in making a purchase.
“We came here now to avoid the mad evening rush,” said Rakib (not real name). “We have already gotten ourselves the romantic titles by Nirmalendu Goon.”
“He loves poetry,” said his girlfriend Sultana (not real name). “Especially romantic poetry. So I like to buy him books of poems.”
“She, on the other hand, likes the works of Humayun Ahmed,” Rakib said.
The festivities at the fair was a good omen for the stall owners; sales were better yesterday.
Attendants at various stalls were seen busy handling customers. An attendant at Anya Prokash stall said they had a good day. So did other publication houses, such as Ananya, Agamee Prakashani and Shahitya Prakash.
The 13th day of the book fair saw 311 new arrivals, putting the number of newly published books at the fair at 1,782.
As the world celebrates the Valentine’s Day today, the second day of this weekend will, perhaps, see equally enthusiastic crowd and satisfying sales for the book stall owners.