The Amar Ekushey Book Fair is taking shape over the weekend, as visitors thronged yesterday from morning till early night, with a gap mid-day.
With Friday being a day off, book-lovers of all ages came in droves, with more children in attendance from morning till 2pm.
There was a long queue from TSC to Bangla Academy late afternoon.
Sales of newly-arrived books were much higher for some better-known publication houses, Somoy Prokashan being one. Yesterday morning, they introduced Muhammed Zafar Iqbal’s new science-fiction tale, “Serina,” which drew many readers and sold over 200 copies, Somoy attendants told the Dhaka Tribune.
Also yesterday, Dr Gokul Chandra and his family came to the fair from Mirpur, and bought a book of children’s stories from Tona Tuni’s stall.
He said there was no fear of violence on the roads, as there was no hartal that day. And his child had insisted on visiting the fair, as it was the weekend.
Mujibur Rahamn, a vendor at Tona Tuni publications, said a decent number of children had visited the stall, yet book sales were higher this day than they had been before.
“The authorities concerned took a great step by introducing Child Hour, but they should also keep an eye on them, and take an additional step by introducing a children’s discount,” said Ratan Kumar, another vendor at Tonatuni.
Jakaria Md Palash, Sisimpur’s executive director, told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is encouraging to see so many children here. They are very excited to see the books.”
“We sold over Tk75,000 today,” added Palash.
Ferdous Alam, a caretaker at Duck publication, said the sales of children’s books fell short of his expectations yesterday.
Friday was the first day of Child Hour. Both parents and children flocked there from different parts of the capital since 11am. Bangla Academy was bustling with their enthusiasm.
As part of Child Hour, Bangla Academy arranged an art contest at around 8.30 am, which was inaugurated by the artist Hashem Khan.
At least 663 children participated, sources said.
The children sketched Shahid Minar, the rally of freedom, 21 February protest, and others, using colours and pencils.
After submitting their drawings at the end of the competition, the children rushed to the stalls with their guardians, excited to buy the books they wanted.
Sales at Prothoma, Onno Prokash, Annesha Prokashon, and Adorno Publication were not bad for a Friday, the attendants said.
At least 290 new books arrived, making the total number of new arrivals 582. With these, novels, collections of poetry, collections of short stories remained high in number as the previous days of the fair.
Today’s programme:
Today at 4pm, a discussion on National Professor Abdur Razzak will be held, with Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhit presiding. Professor Salimullah Khan will present the keynote paper, with Dr Akbar Ali Khan, Dr Mizanur Rahman Shely and Professor Mesbah Kamal as seminar participants.
