How Ekushey Book Fair feels like in Ramadan

In the digital world, where technology allows you to download any book in minutes to the palm of your hand, there are still people who eagerly wait for the printed version of their favourite authors' books. And Ekushey Book Fair makes it possible for all those book lovers to get their hands on those books while upholding the language, freedom, and spirit of Ekushey February. The joy of finding new books, the feeling of holding freshly printed books of their favourite authors, children enjoying activities with their parents, and publishers welcoming their readers make the whole environment a literary hub for everyone.

Ekushey Book Fair is held every year in February, when book lovers and people from all walks of life gather to buy books and enjoy the cultural atmosphere.

The students' sacrifice in the 1952 language movement continues to be reflected in books that remind us of our roots and national identity. Usually, the book fair starts at the beginning of February and lasts for a month, but this year, it was different. This year's book fair commences under specific circumstances. National Election, political changes, and the starting of the holy month of Ramadan delayed the opening of the book fair. Apart from the usual timing, this year, the event was held on 26th February and will last till 15th March, which is only 18 days. Many publications wanted this fair held after Eid to ensure smoother operations and better engagement with visitors.

Unlike the traditional Ekushey Book Fair, this year's book fair is very different. The author observed many changes during her visit to the book fair and gained an understanding of the overall situation while interacting with publishers and visitors.

The book fair has started during Ramadan. Unless a real book lovers, people aren't really visiting the book fair because of fasting. Fasting makes it difficult to walk and explore the whole venue in this humid weather.

On the occasion of Eid, many people are going home to celebrate with their loved ones. So, they aren't much interested in visiting the fair and prioritising getting together with their families.

Those who actually went to the fair were disappointed by the number of visitors and stalls. But the number of visitors is relatively higher on weekends. Many publications refuse to participate in this year's book fair. In previous years, the stalls of major publications were nicely decorated with a particular theme to attract visitors. Because of these well-decorated stalls and their vibrant, eye-catching colours, people would not only come to buy books but also take pictures of the stalls or at least interact with the books.

But this year, the author has observed that the stalls of many publications were less decorated, simple, and almost bare. Many publications think timing is the main problem, and so they couldn't host big pavilions. Visitors weren't satisfied with the decorations. Anyaprokash expressed their reasons behind hosting simple stalls. They said, "We couldn't host and install the stalls according to our plan this time. Every year, we set up a large pavilion and operate on the venue's main stages. But this time, it didn't happen, and our hosting place shifted. So, many visitors are facing difficulty in finding our stalls."

Himika Jannat, a visitor and book reader, expressed her disappointment with translated books. She was saddened by the number of translated books rather than Bangla books. "I wouldn't say translated books are bad. But at first, book fairs represent our Bangla language, and then come the translated ones. But if the number of translated books exceeds the number of our own language books, then it doesn't fulfil the purpose of our book fair. I have even seen stalls filled only with translated books. I personally felt very disappointed about this fact."

The author had the opportunity to talk to Arisha, a 3rd-grader who came to the book fair with her grandfather. She brought English and Bangla storybooks and was still exploring to decide what to buy next.

Her grandfather observed that the splendour and the number of visitors are lower than in recent years. He thinks Ramadan and the humid weather are the main reasons.

Lastly, he proposed seating arrangements for the entire venue. "I think after every 3-4 stalls, there should be umbrellas, benches, and folding chairs to come sit and relax. This would make the whole experience more comfortable as parents can rest for a while, whereas their children can get the opportunity to explore more stalls and pick their own books," he said.

The publication agencies have also faced issues negotiating with the organisers to set up their stalls and reach a conclusion. Yet, despite every obstacle, they have managed to have their publications featured at the book fair.

The main problem that they have faced is the timing. The book fair during Ramadan has attracted fewer visitors due to the difficulty of movement while fasting.

A K M Kamruzzaman, Senior Assistant Manager of Sales and Distribution of University Press Limited has commented about the number of visitors. He said, "We are not seeing many people in the Ramadan month. But on weekends, customer traffic is a bit higher than on other days. If we had customers like this for the whole week, then it would have been a different situation for us."

One of the main attract for the children in the book fair was the puppet show and the Bioscope. This segment not only attracted the children, but also people of all ages. The author has observed many people gathering around the stage to enjoy the puppet show, or at least peeking amid the crowd. Mohammad Robin, a member of the management team at Kaktarua Puppet Theatre, shared his entire initiative and experience regarding hosting their shows. "We plan to create a segment where the children can watch a fun, educational puppet programme, and we are hopeful for a creative approach. Mostly on weekends, children's engagement is higher than on other days. On weekdays, mostly teenage and students are enjoying the show besides children."

While talking about their expectations and reach, they were very satisfied with the response. Mr Robin stated, "At first, we were sceptical about the response, especially in Ramadan. But the number of people who visited our show didn't disappoint us. On average, the response exceeded our expectations, and we're very happy about it," he added. The book fair starts at 2 pm and lasts till 9 pm, except on Friday and Saturday, when the fair starts at 11 am. Despite being held in Ramadan, publishers and visitors still hope for a lively Ekushey Book Fair this year.

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