Too soon to end

It was almost seven. The evening had already spread out against the sky.

Holding a heap of books, Maisa Jaben was sitting on a bench at Suhrawardy Udyan.

 “I'll sure miss the book fair. The month went by so quick,” said the Dhaka University student. “Why can't we have the Ekushey boi mela for two months? I'm planning to stay till the end today [yesterday].”

 “These two are for my collections,” she told this correspondent as she showed him “Deshe Bideshe” by Syed Mujtaba Ali and “Srestha Golpo” by Manik Bandopadhyay. She bought the books from the stall of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro.

It was a farewell filled with optimism, excitement and yearning as booklovers in droves thronged the premises -- Suhrawardy Udyan and Bangla Academy -- of the Amar Ekushey Granthamela on the last day of the month-long fair yesterday.

Almost all the stalls were crowded with people of all ages picking their favourites. Publishers and volunteers were also helping bookworms to the best of their abilities.

“I bought books for my students as I believe it will help nurture a reading habit and culture among them,” said Ferdous Ara Begum, a vice principal of Dhaka Residential Model College.

Expressing satisfaction over the fair management, she said, “Publishers brought out more books this year.” She was optimistic that the fair next year will be better and bigger.

Almost all the visitors echoed her.

Being the last day, many of them could not resist dropping by for one last time. Some of the visitors also came from outside the capital with their family members to partake in the literary journey.

Rafia Zaman, a fourth grader, was all smiles as she showed this correspondent the books she bought. She came to the fair with her parents from Sylhet.

“I have bought books by Humayun Ahmed, Mohammed Zafar Iqbal and many others. I cannot wait to show these to my friends,” she said.  

Her father, Md Moniruzzaman, a government official, was also busy buying books. “I always encourage my daughter to read books.”

For visitors, the last day became special as they were greeted by many of their favourite writers at the stalls. A large crowd of bookworms of all ages were seen taking autographs of writers Anisul Hoque and Imdadul Haq Milon and capturing the moments with their mobile phones.

“I cannot believe Anisul Hoque just signed the book I bought…,” said Adhara, a college student, while showing the book to her friends. She purchased “Alo Adharer Jatri” written by the author.

Meanwhile, many students were seen swarming the Suhrawardy Udyan premises as they did not want to miss the opportunity of getting their hands on new books.

For them, the book fair was also a perfect place for a “literary adda”. Many of their friends also worked part-time at various stalls. Even though they were busy assisting visitors to select their old and new favourites, there was no shortage of smiles from them.

Many of the publishers also expressed satisfaction over the sale and the overall fair environment. “The sale was higher this year… even on the last day, visitors kept pouring in,” said Farid Ahmed, publisher of Somoy Prokashon.

The curtain fell on the book fair at 9:00pm yesterday.

The total sale at the fair was Tk 70.50 crore, said a Bangla Academy press release. It was Tk 65.40 crore last year.