In praise of the Ekushey Book Fair

The book fair has evolved into a national festival reflecting the cultural ethos of the nation

Two weeks of the month-long ‘Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela’ (the Ekushey Book Fair)  have already elapsed. Like the previous years Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the book fair on the premises of the Bangla Academy on the first  day of this month. The theme of this year’s book fair is “Diamond Jubilee of Bangla Academy” marking the sixty years of the foundation of the organization. Considering the increasing number of visitors, the fair was extended to the Suhrawardy Udyan in 2014, much to the delight of the booklovers, writers and publishers. This year the authorities have allotted a total of  651 units—111 on the Bangla Academy premises to 82 organisations and 540 to 320 organisations at Suhrawardy Udyan. Besides, 15 pavilions   have been allocated for 14 publishing houses, including the Bangla Academy.
Chittaranjan Saha, proprietor of Muktadhara, a publishing house, took the initiative of holding book fair first on February 21, 1972. He displayed 32 books on a jute mat  under the banyan tree in front of the historic Bardhaman House. Later, other publishers joined unofficially. Bangla Academy took over organization of the fair in 1978. In fact, the book fair has evolved into a national cultural festival reflecting the cultural spirit of the nation. In addition to book sales, Bangla  Academy organises literary and cultural events every day. A decent cultural atmosphere prevails at the fair.  Besides, the international poetry festival was held at Bangla Academy on February 3. Apart from Bangladeshi poets, poets from India, Sweden, Slovakia, Morocco, Norway, Taiwan and Nepal participated in it.    
February is the month of language. The historic language movement left a tremendous  influence on the political and cultural domains of the country.
Over the years, the book fair has assumed the shape of a national festival.    It is a grand  occasion for writers, booklovers and publishers. Poets, novelists, short story writers, essayists and playwrights wait eagerly through a year for the month of February to bring before the readers their creative works in the form of books. Booklovers from different places of the country come to the fair. Many buy books by their favourite writers. Many collect catalogues of different publishers and buy books of their choice later.
   People of different ages come to the fair; parents come with their children, young couples come,  youths come with their friends. The fair carries special significance to the budding poets and writers who feel elated by showing their just published books to friends and admirers. The fair is also an ideal place for meeting old friends, relatives and acquaintances.  Memories of bygone days come alive with the meeting of old friends. The publishers make a substantial  part of their business by selling books at the fair. Booklovers also make a major part of their annual purchase of books from the fair.  
Broadening of the intellectual horizon of a person cannot be thought of without reading books. Reading books makes a person perfect ; it is through  reading books that a person can create a world within him or her. Being engrossed in books a person can enlighten himself/herself and get rid of meanness, gross mundane greed  and  selfishness.  Great Persian poet and astronomer Omar Khayyam desired to have a book of verse with him in his contemplated heaven. Poet Rabindranath Tagore laid great emphasis on reading books in his seminal essay ‘Library’. Famous essayist and philosopher Francis Bacon found that some books are to be tasted, some to be swallowed, while some few to be chewed on and digested. Eminent writer Pramatha Chaudhuri came up with the view that buying books does not make a person bankrupt. Great writers and scholars of different ages found solace in books.  
Last year, more than 5,000 books came out on the occasion of the book fair. This year more books are expected to come to the fair. Our young generation must develop a reading habit. In these  days of rapid technological advancement people in increasing numbers are turning to the Internet. Books can also be read through the Internet. But collecting  and reading printed books have  a special appeal ; this can provide unalloyed joy. Apart from the month-long Ekushey Book  Fair,  book fairs can be arranged in all the districts under government or private initiatives for generating enthusiasm among people to read books.
Another spectacular aspect of the book fair is a good number of little magazines make their emergence on the occasion of the book fair. There is corner on the Bangla Academy premises for selling little magazines. Many prominent as well as budding writers contribute to those magazines. A note of optimism is evident among the publishers this year centring around the book fair. They had a nightmarish experience last year at the end of the fair following the brutal murder of writer and blogger Avijit Roy by elements of bigotry. They suffered huge financial losses as books remained unsold. After the killing booklovers dared not enter the fair as the question of sheer insecurity loomed large.
A huge rush of booklovers, jostling and crowding forced the Bangla Academy authority to shift the fair venue to the sprawling Suhrawardy Udyan. It is a prudent and farsighted decision. Now the visitors feel at ease to move around the fair and buy books of their choice from the stalls.  On the premises of the Bangla  Academy booklovers would have to withstand the hassles  of moving ahead amid the surging crowd.  Swirling dusts were an additional menace. Presence of a popular writer in a book stall was an additional problem as swarms of  admirers and fans would rush to him, creating an embarrassing situation for the writer and the publisher. Naturally, the writer got tired in autographing the books bought by the fans. It happened mostly with Humayun Ahmed, the most popular novelist of the country. Whenever Humayun would sit in a book stall, hundreds of fans would surround him for autographs. It was quite difficult for buyers of books of other writers to go near the stall. With the demise of Humayun Ahmed hundreds of his fans are extremely shocked and frustrated. But still now books by Humayun are selling quite well.  
In fact, Humayun Ahmed was undisputed king in the domain of fiction. He created vast readership in the country. Many publishers flourished and thrived by publishing his books. However, there are other writers whose books also sell well. Readers of novels have outnumbered readers of other branches of literature.   
There was a time when poetry books of Shamsur Rahman, Al Mahmud, Shaheed Quaderi, Abu Zafor Obaidullah and Nirmalendu Goon would enjoy wide readership. Poetry books by Syed Shamsul Haque, Fazal Shahabuddin, Rafiq Azad, Abdul Mannan Syed, Mahadev Saha,  Sikder Aminul Haque, Asad Chowdhury, Mohammad Rafiq and Mohammad Nurul Huda would also sell well. Of them, Syed Haque and the late Mannan Syed proved their mettles also in other genres of literature.     
However, number of readers of poetry has not increased over the past few years compared to fiction readers. This is equally true with the readers of essays and research works. However, science fictions by Mohammad Zafar Iqbal and novels by Imdadul Haque Milon and Anisul Haque, among others,   are selling well. Books of essays by Kazi Abdul Wadud, Abul Fazal, Syed Ali Ahsan, Ahmed Sharif, Badruddin Omar, Sirajul Islam Chowdhury and Anisuzzaman, among others,  are enjoyed by serious and introspective readers.       
Prices of books have increased this year due to sharp rise in the price of paper, high printing and book binding costs and rise in other  expenditure relating to production of books. This may dishearten buyers of books. However, for booklovers  it may not  be a reason for curtailing their book purchasing budgets. It is encouraging that books published by the Bangla  Academy are cheaper. The academy mainly publishes dictionaries, collections of essays, research and translation works.   
  However, one thing is noticeable. Hundreds of people crowd the book fair everyday. But all of them do not buy books. There are visitors who come out of the fair empty-handed. Why do they come to the fair ? For glancing at the displayed books and meeting friends and relatives only ? For chatting ? These questions  may assail conscious people. They should develop the culture of buying books for enlightening themselves and for contributing  to the book promotion schemes.  It is expected this year’s book fair will run smoothly throughout the month. Let the Ekushey Book Fair flourish further in the years to come.

The writer is a senior journalist. Email : [email protected]

In praise of the Ekushey Book Fair

The book fair has evolved into a national festival reflecting the cultural ethos of the nation

Two weeks of the month-long Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela (the Ekushey Book Fair) have already elapsed. Like the previous years Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the book fair on the premises of the Bangla Academy on the first day of this month. The theme of this years book fair is Diamond Jubilee of Bangla Academy marking the sixty years of the foundation of the organization. Considering the increasing number of visitors, the fair was extended to the Suhrawardy Udyan in 2014, much to the delight of the booklovers, writers and publishers. This year the authorities have allotted a total of 651 units111 on the Bangla Academy premises to 82 organisations and 540 to 320 organisations at Suhrawardy Udyan. Besides, 15 pavilions have been allocated for 14 publishing houses, including the Bangla Academy. Chittaranjan Saha, proprietor of Muktadhara, a publishing house, took the initiative of holding book fair first on February 21, 1972. He displayed 32 books on a jute mat under the banyan tree in front of the historic Bardhaman House. Later, other publishers joined unofficially. Bangla Academy took over organization of the fair in 1978. In fact, the book fair has evolved into a national cultural festival reflecting the cultural spirit of the nation. In addition to book sales, Bangla Academy organises literary and cultural events every day. A decent cultural atmosphere prevails at the fair. Besides, the international poetry festival was held at Bangla Academy on February 3. Apart from Bangladeshi poets, poets from India, Sweden, Slovakia, Morocco, Norway, Taiwan and Nepal participated in it. February is the month of language. The historic language movement left a tremendous influence on the political and cultural domains of the country. Over the years, the book fair has assumed the shape of a national festival. It is a grand occasion for writers, booklovers and publishers. Poets, novelists, short story writers, essayists and playwrights wait eagerly through a year for the month of February to bring before the readers their creative works in the form of books. Booklovers from different places of the country come to the fair. Many buy books by their favourite writers. Many collect catalogues of different publishers and buy books of their choice later. People of different ages come to the fair; parents come with their children, young couples come, youths come with their friends. The fair carries special significance to the budding poets and writers who feel elated by showing their just published books to friends and admirers. The fair is also an ideal place for meeting old friends, relatives and acquaintances. Memories of bygone days come alive with the meeting of old friends. The publishers make a substantial part of their business by selling books at the fair. Booklovers also make a major part of their annual purchase of books from the fair. Broadening of the intellectual horizon of a person cannot be thought of without reading books. Reading books makes a person perfect ; it is through reading books that a person can create a world within him or her. Being engrossed in books a person can enlighten himself/herself and get rid of meanness, gross mundane greed and selfishness. Great Persian poet and astronomer Omar Khayyam desired to have a book of verse with him in his contemplated heaven. Poet Rabindranath Tagore laid great emphasis on reading books in his seminal essay Library. Famous essayist and philosopher Francis Bacon found that some books are to be tasted, some to be swallowed, while some few to be chewed on and digested. Eminent writer Pramatha Chaudhuri came up with the view that buying books does not make a person bankrupt. Great writers and scholars of different ages found solace in books. Last year, more than 5,000 books came out on the occasion of the book fair. This year more books are expected to come to the fair. Our young generation must develop a reading habit. In these days of rapid technological advancement people in increasing numbers are turning to the Internet. Books can also be read through the Internet. But collecting and reading printed books have a special appeal ; this can provide unalloyed joy. Apart from the month-long Ekushey Book Fair, book fairs can be arranged in all the districts under government or private initiatives for generating enthusiasm among people to read books. Another spectacular aspect of the book fair is a good number of little magazines make their emergence on the occasion of the book fair. There is corner on the Bangla Academy premises for selling little magazines. Many prominent as well as budding writers contribute to those magazines. A note of optimism is evident among the publishers this year centring around the book fair. They had a nightmarish experience last year at the end of the fair following the brutal murder of writer and blogger Avijit Roy by elements of bigotry. They suffered huge financial losses as books remained unsold. After the killing booklovers dared not enter the fair as the question of sheer insecurity loomed large. A huge rush of booklovers, jostling and crowding forced the Bangla Academy authority to shift the fair venue to the sprawling Suhrawardy Udyan. It is a prudent and farsighted decision. Now the visitors feel at ease to move around the fair and buy books of their choice from the stalls. On the premises of the Bangla Academy booklovers would have to withstand the hassles of moving ahead amid the surging crowd. Swirling dusts were an additional menace. Presence of a popular writer in a book stall was an additional problem as swarms of admirers and fans would rush to him, creating an embarrassing situation for the writer and the publisher. Naturally, the writer got tired in autographing the books bought by the fans. It happened mostly with Humayun Ahmed, the most popular novelist of the country. Whenever Humayun would sit in a book stall, hundreds of fans would surround him for autographs. It was quite difficult for buyers of books of other writers to go near the stall. With the demise of Humayun Ahmed hundreds of his fans are extremely shocked and frustrated. But still now books by Humayun are selling quite well. In fact, Humayun Ahmed was undisputed king in the domain of fiction. He created vast readership in the country. Many publishers flourished and thrived by publishing his books. However, there are other writers whose books also sell well. Readers of novels have outnumbered readers of other branches of literature. There was a time when poetry books of Shamsur Rahman, Al Mahmud, Shaheed Quaderi, Abu Zafor Obaidullah and Nirmalendu Goon would enjoy wide readership. Poetry books by Syed Shamsul Haque, Fazal Shahabuddin, Rafiq Azad, Abdul Mannan Syed, Mahadev Saha, Sikder Aminul Haque, Asad Chowdhury, Mohammad Rafiq and Mohammad Nurul Huda would also sell well. Of them, Syed Haque and the late Mannan Syed proved their mettles also in other genres of literature. However, number of readers of poetry has not increased over the past few years compared to fiction readers. This is equally true with the readers of essays and research works. However, science fictions by Mohammad Zafar Iqbal and novels by Imdadul Haque Milon and Anisul Haque, among others, are selling well. Books of essays by Kazi Abdul Wadud, Abul Fazal, Syed Ali Ahsan, Ahmed Sharif, Badruddin Omar, Sirajul Islam Chowdhury and Anisuzzaman, among others, are enjoyed by serious and introspective readers. Prices of books have increased this year due to sharp rise in the price of paper, high printing and book binding costs and rise in other expenditure relating to production of books. This may dishearten buyers of books. However, for booklovers it may not be a reason for curtailing their book purchasing budgets. It is encouraging that books published by the Bangla Academy are cheaper. The academy mainly publishes dictionaries, collections of essays, research and translation works. However, one thing is noticeable. Hundreds of people crowd the book fair everyday. But all of them do not buy books. There are visitors who come out of the fair empty-handed. Why do they come to the fair ? For glancing at the displayed books and meeting friends and relatives only ? For chatting ? These questions may assail conscious people. They should develop the culture of buying books for enlightening themselves and for contributing to the book promotion schemes. It is expected this years book fair will run smoothly throughout the month. Let the Ekushey Book Fair flourish further in the years to come. The writer is a senior journalist. Email : [email protected]