The Archaeological Department under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs built the stall, as they do every year, at the month-long book fair to promote Bangladeshi heritage sites to the public, especially to students.
Photos of significant archaeological sites hang on a wall of the stall.
Timothy Ray, a fourth-year student of Titumir Government College, was allured by the decorations on the stall’s façade. He said he would love to visit Bangladeshi sites, and this arrangement by Bangla Academy was helping people like him to learn more about them.
Muntasim Billah Nasir, a post-graduate archaeology student at Jahangirnagar University, said: “Such arrangements need more support to address the historically and archaeologically significant sites we have.”
Faruk Ahmed, a reference assistant at Bangla Academy, said: “Every year we decorate the stall as a replica of a heritage site to attract visitors, and this year again we did not miss out.”
“Huge crowds have turned up at the stall every day. In particular, school and college students have dropped by on study tours from their institutions,” he said.
During such tours, the students’ teachers and Bangla Academy representatives have made short presentations on archaeology and historical sites to uphold Bangladesh as a nation rich in archaeological treasures, a stall representative said.
Though the stall has limited publications on offer, visitors clamour for more, he said, adding that 26 publications are currently available with seven more to be unveiled in the next two months.
The books are mainly based on district-wise descriptions of Bangladeshi archaeological and heritage sites.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
