The first day of the weekend brought thousands of visitors, both adults and children, to Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2016 yesterday, making the publishers and book stall owners happy, as expected.
The number of visitors was significantly higher as the fair opened early, courtesy of the Children’s Hours from 11am to 1pm.
Though children thronged the fair grounds in the morning, the number of adults were impressive as well.
Publishers and attendants at the Children’s Corner as well as other stalls showcasing children’s literature reported an impressive amount of book sales yesterday.
Many publishers said they were happy as the sales were up to their expectations.
They said the stalls and pavilions both in Bangla Academy and in Suhrawardy Udyan were teeming with visitors.
Stall owners of “Sisimpur,” popular children’s television series, launched six children’s books and a DVD of the show in the morning.
The launching ceremony was attended by Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat and other prominent personalities.
Another attraction yesterday was “Bhuturey,” a children’s horror story written by a child, second-grader Alin Bashar. The book was a popular choice among visitors throughout the day.
The afternoon saw more adults coming in to the fair. The number of weekend visitors kept growing, and long queues were seen at the fair’s two main entrances at the TSC and Doyel Chattar areas.
Renowned writer Muhammad Zafar Iqbal were seen surrounded by hundreds of young fans at Suhrawardy Udyan in the afternoon, busy signing books near the stall of Tamralipi, which has published his new science fiction and one of the fair’s bestsellers this year, “Cranial.”
“Sales were huge today, but that is expected during the weekend,” said Zahirul Islam of publishing house Oitijhya.
Annesha Prakashan publisher Shahadat Hossain, Mitia Osman Tisma of Agamee Prakashani and Tuhin Tushar of Anya Prakash echoed Zahirul’s statement, saying the weekend sales are somewhat different than the regular days.
Yesterday saw 280 new books published, putting the total number of new arrivals at the fair this year at 1,393.
Today is a special day for the book fair as visitors have more occasions to celebrate: today is Pahela Falgun, the first day of spring, and Saraswati Puja will be celebrated today across the country, as well as on Dhaka University campus.
The fair will open at 11am today for Children’s Hour.
