Poetry in CDs the new wave

A visitor looks at a CD, featuring poetry recitations, on sale in a stall at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela in the city's Bangla Academy yesterday.Photo: STAR

Audio format of poems of eminent Bangla poets is fast gaining popularity alongside books at the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela.
Visitors are collecting a good number of CDs on recitations of their favourite poems from four stalls -- Abritti Mela, Boikantha, Bangladesh Abritti Samonnay Parishad and Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi -- set up before the city's Bangla Academy.
“We started getting a huge response from visitors from the very first day of the fair,” said Mofidul Islam, chief executive of Abritti Mela.
They sold such CDs, each ranging in price from Tk 60 to Tk 100, worth over Tk 8 lakh last year and hope to make similar sales this year, he added.
Since most of these CDs are not available in shops around the city and outside, visitors find it convenient collecting them from the fair, said the sellers.
“I like both reading and listening to poetry recitations,” said Robin, an ardent poetry fan who bought three CDs from the stall yesterday.
The sellers said most visitors preferred romantic and patriotic poems by popular poets.
“Poems recited by popular artistes have a different taste. I became a fan of the CD format a couple of years ago,” said one visitor, Kamrunnahar Keya, a government official.
Asked why he sells CDs in a fair for books, Mofidul, who also recites poems, said, “Poems recited by artistes played a significant role during different socio-political movements of Bangladesh.
“Poems are a part of literature. We are offering the same poems but in audio format, which does not contradict the basic spirit of this fair.”
Mofidul said he did not face any problem getting space for his stall.