A feast for book lovers

With a huge number of people thronging the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela every day, the MA Aziz stadium in Chattogram continues to wear a festive look.

The book fair began on February 10 on the stadium's gymnasium field and will continue till the end of this month.

The fair is being organised under the patronisation of Chattogram City Corporation, said Councillor Nazmul Haque Duke, also convener of the fair.

While visiting the book fair, this correspondent saw book lovers of all ages swarming the stalls to choose their favourites from an array of choices.

"So many collections… I'm yet to decide what to buy," said Shuvescha Ghosh. The Jamal Khan Road resident visited the fair with her husband. 

"I am a huge fan of Humayun Ahmed and I will definitely buy some of his books to enrich my collection," she said, adding, "I'm also looking for books on travels."

Although there was a huge rush, especially on the weekend, no one seemed to mind.

Rubana Binte Kamal, a student of Chittagong College, said, "There's something magical about reading a new book. It's like going on a great journey. You don't know what'll happen, but something is bound to change. And for me, that change has always been good."

"I never miss the opportunity to visit the book fair here as it's not possible for me to travel to Dhaka that often," she added. Rubana said she bought eight books last year and is planning to add more to her collection this year.

Meanwhile, Pinku Barua was searching for comics and books by Prof Muhammad Zafar Iqbal. The seventh grader was all smiles when his father bought those for him.

Asked, Nazmul Haque Duke said a total of 205 publishers have been participating in the fair this year. "Of those, 111 publishers came from the capital. The number of participants was 140 last year," he added.

"The enthusiasm of book lovers will encourage more publishers to participate in the fair in the years to come," he said.