Tens of housands of people of all ages crowded the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on Thursday, one day before the closure.
Long queues were seen in and around the TSC, the Shapla Chattar and the Suhrawady Udyan. There were no hassle, but discipline and conviction.
Shihab Uddin, resident of Gulshan, told The New Nation that the fair would be closed tomorrow (Friday) to come back again a year after. I came here to buy books which are not available elsewhere. I have so far bought 30 books from different publishers.
Mamunur Rashid, owner of Adarsha Prokashan, said, sales of books are encouraging at the last moment. We like to request the Bangla Academy authorities to rebuild the fair premises as it should be.
A prize giving ceremony for the expatriate writers was held on the main stage of the fair on Thursday.
The Bangla Academy conferred crests to Ishaq Kazol, Golam Abu Zakaria and Faruque Ahmed. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon addressed the function as the chief guest, while Professor Emirates Anisuzzaman presided over it. Bangla Academy Director General Professor Shamsuzzaman Khan gave the vote of thanks.
Rashed Khan Menon said, we are happy that the expatriates think of Bangladesh and its culture. The expatriates can contribute not only to the economic sector, but cultural sector also.
Professor Emirates Anisuzzaman said, many expatriates are trying to introduce Bengali in the foreign countries. International Mother Language Day is the contribution of expatriates. We should appreciate them.
He called upon expatriates to work more to flourish the Bengali Language and culture all over the world.
He also hoped that the Bengali would be official language of United Nations some day or the other.
A fascinating cultural festival was held with the participation of hundreds of people from all walks of life.
Meanwhile, the month long Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2014 will be closed today although the publishers demanded extension of time of the fair. The Bangla Academy authorities did not agree with them.
Director General of Bangla Academy told The New Nation, the academy does not arrange the fair for profit. The fair is arranged just to recall the language martyrs and to flourish the Bengali Language. The fair inspires the Bengali speaking people to know their history. One month is enough. Time extension will mar its beauty only.
