Ekushey book fair

The sombre season of Ekushey, with all the symbolism attached to a reconnecting of our thoughts to our political and cultural heritage, is upon us once again. The inauguration of the Ekushey book fair, or Ekushey Boi Mela as we know it, on Friday was once again a bringing together of writers, publishers and readers in a poignant recalling of the seminal sacrifice in defence of the Bangla language in February 1952. Over the decades, the Ekushey book fair, perhaps more than any other occasion, has served as a constant reminder to us of the traditions we are heir to.
The Ekushey book fair has, with the passage of years, been expanding not only in its social dimensions but also in its physical ambience. For the past few years, the increasing number of stalls both within the grounds of the Bangla Academy and outside on the long stretch of road before it has only brought home the thought that the fair needs a bigger space in order to accommodate both publishers and visitors. We are at one with those who think that organising the Ekushey book fair on the adjacent Suhrawardy Udyan will answer the growing needs of those who see mirrored in the fair significant glimpses of our national history.
Of course, there are those who, for reasons of sentiment, may not be receptive to the idea. We think that sentiment itself is a good reason why the book fair should move out to Suhrawardy Udyan. If Ekushey is an indelible part of history, Suhrawardy Udyan remains testimony to one other huge slice of our place in history. It is the spot where the message of freedom went out from Bangabandhu, the hallowed ground where the Pakistan occupation army surrendered to the triumphant people of Bangladesh. The Ekushey fair and Suhrawardy Udyan are, therefore, inextricably linked in the gleaming chain of our history. With the Bangla Academy planning and supervising the book fair, as it always has, at Suhrawardy Udyan hopefully from next year, our understanding of the intellectual underpinnings of the Bangladesh cause from the early 1950s to the early 1970s can only acquire richer and newer substance.