News Desk :
The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair, which brought together a diverse mix of the country’s well-known writers as well as up-and-coming authors, thinkers and entertainers on one stage, ended on Thursday night.
The traditional Amar Ekushey Book Fair was opened for the booklovers on Bangla Academy premises and its adjoining Suhrawardy Udyan maintaining strictly the heath instructions due to COVID-19 pandemic, reports BSS.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2022 on
February 15 virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence.
The fair was scheduled to be continued till February 28 due to Covid-19 situation. Later, duration of the fair was extended till Thursday (17 March).
The month-long book fair is usually arranged every year in February commemorating the sacrifices of those who laid down their lives on 21 February, 1952 for establishing Bangla as the mother tongue.
The traditional Amar Ekushey Book Fair began informally in 1972 on the Bangla Academy premises. Later, the academy officially took the responsibility to arrange the fair every year.
On the last day, readers and visitors were crowded at the fair. Publishers have expressed satisfaction with the sale and public gathering of the fair on Thursday. They also said there were more sales and public gatherings this year than last year.
According to the information given by the publishers, “poetry books have sold the least” this year. Besides, there were a lot of books by new authors at the fair, but the popular authors were at the top of the list of readers’ favorites.
According to the public relations sub-division of Bangla Academy, 77 new books arrived on the 30th day of the fair on Wednesday.
Notable books are – Pratya Prakashan has published Amar Mitra’s novel ‘Dhruvaputra (first volume)’, Selina Hossain’s novel ‘Jharnadharar Sangeet’, Farooq Nawaz’s poetry book ‘Hariye Jaoa Hoy Na Amar’ and Ahsan Habib’s novel ‘Ek Ebong Eka’,
Besides, Mawla Brothers has published Muntasir Mamun’s book on history ‘Itihash Hatya and Pathyachrome and Pathyaboi (1949-2020)’, Journeyman Books has published Tariq Sujat’s book on Bangabandhu ‘Bangabandhur Shwadesh Prattyabartan: Comet Biman and British Gopon Dolil’, Pathok Somabesh has published Muhammad Nurul Huda’s lyric-poetry ‘Seeta Songhita’, Hasan Hafeez’s biography and children’s book ‘Bishwasera 12 Biggani’, etc.
Chittaranjan Saha, the owner of Muktadhara Prakashan, started selling books at the gate of Bangla Academy on the occasion of Language Day on 21 February 1972. Many more later joined him in 1977. In 1978, the then-director general of Bangla Academy Ashraf Siddiqui added Bangla Academy with this book fair. The following year, the Bangladesh Book Sellers and Publishers Association joined the fair.
In 1983, when Monzur-I-Mowla was the director general of Bangla Academy, preparations were made to organize a fair called ‘Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela’, however, it was not held. The next year, in 1974, ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’ was started on the premises of Bangla Academy.
