Publishers and book stall owners at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2016 were elated yesterday as the day marked the highest amount of sale on a Friday this year.
There was no Children’s Hour yesterday, but the fair opened for visitors at 11am – and saw thousands of readers pouring into the fairgrounds.
Despite the absence of Children’s hour, a huge number of children were seen visiting the fair with their parents and buying books to their hearts’ content.
The stalls carrying children’s literature naturally had a busy morning; children were seen looking around with their parents on both the Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan premises.
In the afternoon, the a big crowd gathered in front of the stage under the banyan tree in Suhrawardy Udyan when Tuktuki, Halum and Ikri of Sismpur went up on stage to entertain the children as well as their parents.
“We have had a hectic morning today. It was a struggle, attending such a big crowd of children,” said Muhaiminul of the Sisimpur stall.
As the day progressed, the number of visitors kept growing – even better for the sales.
“Today’s turnout was indeed excellent,” said Syed Zakir Hossain, publisher at Adorn Publishers, a huge grin on his face.
“Today’s sales were perhaps the best sale on a weekend day this year,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
Several other publishers and stall attendants also said they had had the best weekend sale so far this year.
Around 4:30pm, a big crowd of readers were seen waiting for an autograph in their copies of “Cranial” and “Tituni Ebong Tituni” from author Muhammad Zafar Iqbal near the stall of Tamraplipi.
“Cranial” remains one of the most sought-after books this year; Tamralipi publisher AKM Tarqul Islam Roni said they were currently selling the fifth reprint of the sci-fi.
Heavy dust mars weekend cheer
The weekend enthusiasm was somewhat marred by the heavy dust in the air in Suhrawardy Udyan.
Hawkers selling masks were seen roaming around the fairgrounds, selling surgical masks to the visitors.
The situation got worse in the afternoon as whirls of dust made it difficult to stay in Suhrawardy Udyan.
Yesterday saw 236 new titles published at the fair, raising the total number of new arrivals to 2,259.
