Shishu Prohor, or Children's Hour, will resume at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on Friday morning after a one-year break, bringing smiles to the faces of publishers and sellers of children’s books at the Shishu Chattar.
From 11:30am to 1pm, the Sisimpur characters will perform at the Shishu Chattar and that, coupled with the appeal of the new books, will bring more child visitors to the premises, they hope.
The children will get the opportunity to play with their favourite characters, such as Ikri, Halum, Tuktuki, and Shiku, from the popular children's show Sisimpur.
Publishers, proprietors and salespeople said there had been no crowds at the Shishu Chattar in the last 11 days.
The return of Shishu Prohor is going to make parents happy as well.
"Every year, I bring my daughter to the fair, and I generally pick weekends since she enjoys playing with the Sisimpur characters. She has been waiting for this and was frustrated as there was no Shishu Prohor this time from the start. But after hearing of its resumption, she is now overjoyed," said Shirin Akter, a visitor.
Another guardian, Abdullah Mamun, said: "This is fantastic news for all the children. I will bring my son to the fair on Friday morning."
"Our sales were good but we think they will improve even more now," Tariqul Islam, a salesperson at the Sisimpur stall, said.
In this year's Ekushey Book Fair, 69 stalls have been allotted to children's book publishing companies. But apart from several popular publishing houses, others are not seeing much business.
During the fair every year, Shishu Prohor is held from 11am on Fridays and Saturdays. Last year, Children’s Hour was avoided due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The organizers wanted to not organize the program this year as well but recently changed their decision.
The fair is generally held every year throughout February. But this year, it was postponed by 15 days as the country was going through a sudden rise in Covid cases and deaths at the time.
However, publishers hope the fair will be extended till March 17, the birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which is why Shishu Prohor has apparently resumed.
Organizing Committee member Jalal Ahmed said: "Publishers have sought additional time. We also want the same thing. We have already written to the ministry in this regard. It will go to the prime minister’s office soon for a final official decision.
“Hopefully, they will agree to extend the fair's duration."
