Staff correspondent, Dhaka, (Date: __/__/_)
The Ekushe Book Fair is going to be more and more popular. Only three years ago the fair was confined to the Bangla Academy premise. The popularity reached so high that the fair has been extended to Suhrawardy Udyan. This year the number of stalls exceeded all the previous records. When I was visiting the fair a week ago, I noticed the enthusiasm among the visitors. The stalls were crowded. Some stalls selling juveniles were more crowded. This is a very good sign for the young generation of our country. Today children are going to be addicted to mobile phones and the virtual world. But the book fairs now are going to attract them to reading books. I asked a teen-aged boy about his feeling and he said, “Every year I eagerly wait for the Ekushe Bookfair and I find new books of my interest here. I come with my parents and my younger sister. It’s a passion for all of us. And look, I have bought more than ten books.” I happened to meet some authors who were giving autographs to their fans. Anisul Haque was one of them. I asked about the selling of his books, and Mr. Haque said, “Amazing! I’ve never thought that so many books of mine could be sold within a week. In fact, some juveniles are being sold like hotcakes. I’m really happy with my readers.” When I was leaving I met an old lady. He bought a bag of books and was carrying them with a lot of difficulties. I offered help to carry, her bag and she turned at me with a smile. She said, “No pains, I enjoy carrying these books. Some are for my granddaughter. These are all storybooks. Thank you.” When I was leaving the fair I was really feeling proud of my country’s biggest book fair and its continuous popularity.
