Amar Ekushey Boi Mela-2021 opened at Bangla Academy on Thursday afternoon. It will remain open in the afternoon on weekdays and from morning to evening on Fridays and Saturdays until mid-April at the Academy premises and the Suhrawardy Udyan. The fair opened late this year due to the pandemic shelving the traditional launching in fanfare in early February. We would say this is not an easy decision between how to give a break that did not happen in the past on the one hand against the grave risk to public health on the other.
The outbreak of Covid-19 is showing a new surge with rising infections and death toll though the nation seems to have passed the height of the pandemic behind. What is highly worrying at this point is that thousands of visitors will throng the venue crashing against each other and there is every apprehension that it may turn into a super-spreader. This is why school reopening is also being delayed. Many believe it could have remained a virtual event this year to maintain continuity, but the government decision may have been influenced by an eagerness to show that it has been able to defeat the pandemic. We would only hope that the decision would not prove costly in the end.
This year’s book fair has been dedicated to the martyrs of 1971 Liberation War while its main theme is the Birth Centenary of Bangabandhu and the Golden Jubilee of Independence. A total of 834 stalls have been allocated to 540 publishers. This year, stalls specially earmarked for children have been dropped while the children’s corner has been moved to Suhrawardy Udyan. Some other facilities have also been rearranged. Visitors have been asked to wear masks all the time and hand sanitizer booths have been opened at all entrances. Limited seminars will be held at the main stage in the afternoon till April 14 followed by cultural events. Four emergency shelters have also been opened at the venue. Other than terrorism and related security concerns, precaution against the pandemic this year is dominating the scene.
Amar Ekushey Boi Mela not only highlights the glory of the language movement that over time inspired our independence movement and the ethos the nation.
