While hundreds of children along with their parents thronged the fair during the “shishu prohor” (children’s hour) yesterday, a number of street children were found struggling to earn a little money by doing small businesses inside the fair.
Eight-year-old Md Alam collects scrap bottles inside the Bangla Academy.
While collecting scrap bottles he watches children joyfully buying books from the stalls.
He lives in front of the High Court with his mother, who also collects scraps, and studies in class one at Shegunbagicha Ideal School.
“I come here every day after class. After collecting bottles me and my mother go to Puran Dhaka to sell the bottles and buy food for us. I do it every day as my mother cannot gather a lot of bottles alone,” Alam said.
“I can read now and I love to read. But I do not have money to buy the colourful books. However, I will buy a lot of books one day when I will start earning,” he added.
Like Alam, a number of street children gather at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair every day. Some of them sell flowers, some collect scrapped bottles, while some carry books to different stalls.
These children, who are studying in different schools run by different social welfare organisations, cannot afford to buy books although they are capable to read. The fair has become a new spot for them to earn livelihood but unfortunately the festivity of the fair does not really matter in their lives.
The Bangla Academy authority celebrated its second “Shishu Prohor” yesterday from 11am to 3pm, four hours exclusively dedicated to children. The children were found putting on designs with water-colour and paint brush on their cheeks and hands.
Simultaneously, at the Doyel chottor, the street children were found waiting for publishers to carry books to the stalls on their handmade trolleys-a new medium to make money developed at the fair.
Hridoy, a class three student who lives in the capital’s Anondobazar slum, said: “My father is a day labourer, but whatever he earns is not enough to run the family. Every day I earn Tk100-150 by carrying books to help my father. Before the fair started I used to work in a hotel near my house.”
Maria and Marjia, two sisters were found selling flowers in front of the Surawardy Udyan. They come here every day from the Kamrangirchar slum. Maria, the elder one, said: “Our father died a few years ago in a road accident. Now my mother looks after us. We help her by selling flowers.”
A total of 126 books hit the fair yesterday, the fifteenth day of the fair while 17 books were unveiled at the Nazrul Mancha.
A discussion on Lalon Shah was held presided over by former Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University Professor Pabitra Sarker at the central stage.
