The Enduring Warmth Of Boi Mela

The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair began on February 1 on the Bangla Academy premises and at adjoining Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka.

- Wafiur Rahman

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the book fair on the Bangla Academy premises, while poet Agnes Meadows, from UK, Cameroonian poet Dr Joyce Ashuntantang, Ibrahim El Masry, from Egypt, and Orne Johnson, from Sweden, were present as distinguished foreign guests.

She stressed the need for spreading Bangladesh’s art, culture and literature across the world. “If we can’t respect and enrich our own culture, language, art and literature, we can never develop ourselves as a nation in the global arena,” she said.

Hasina said the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela is not only a place to sell and buy books, but also to increase the number of readers and writers, and enhance the study of literature. She said the fair created an opportunity for fresh writers to publish and publicise their books. “It also creates a scope for many readers to explore unknown knowledge. It opens the door to knowledge.”

A precious heritage

Muktodhara Publishing House under the initiative of Chittaranjan Saha had started a little sale in front of Bangla Academy on 21 February 1972. Later, other book publishers joined there. Bangla Academy took over charge of the Fair in 1978. In 1984, it was named Amar Ekushey Book Fair. Apart from book selling, the literary and cultural events are also organized there. The visitors gather at Nazrul Manch, a corner dedicated to Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Besides, many go to Lekhok Kunjo, a dedicated place for writers. In fact, this book fair is the cultural reunion of Bangladesh which is attended by every person who is related to book publishing and writing. In 2014, the authorities extended the territory of the Fair up to Suhrawardy Udyan to accommodate a huge number of visitors.