Book fair draws a huge crowd
Earlier, a major grouse of people who attended the Ekushey Book Fair was the heavy security at the event. A serpentine queue of people jammed the Ekushey Book Fair on Fridays and special holidays or the lazy hartal days due to heavy security. The queue is so long that it starts from TSC, often circles around Dhaka Medical College and the Doel Chattar and then comes to the entry gate of the fair.
"This is not what Ekushey Book Fair means to us. It is the place that broadens our intellect and rationality. And everyone has the right to visit the fair without facing any questions. I am here with my aged mother. How can she survive standing in a line for two to three hours?" questioned an irate Rumana, who came to visit the fair but couldn't make it.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Many people, including the publishers and writers shared this opinion. "It's not that we don't want security. But my point is that the authority should open many more gates with the same security measures to divert the rush," said a publisher, who is participating in the fair.
Writers and poets also have to wait in the long queue. As is customary, on holidays the writers come to the fair early. "It is a good sign to see a million people waiting in the queue. People are the lifeline of the fair and care should be taken to ensure that they don't drift away from their roots and their traditional Ekushey Book Fair," said an aspiring poet.
Despite the unfortunate incident on February 14, the fair continues to draw people. Many new books are arriving everyday to attract the crowd and the sales are satisfactory.
Books make great gifts. The young people dressed in trendy clothes were seen buying a good number of romantic novels, poems and other books on the occasion of Valentine's Day. Apart from Humayun Ahmed's Leelaboti, Chheleta, the other best sellers of the day were Shedin Chaitra Mash, Angul Kata Jaglu and Science Fiction Shamagra. Popular writer Zafar Iqbal's science fiction Nayira brought out by Shomoy Prokashon was the people's first choice of the day.