Book Fairs are always a celebrated phenomenon in our culture. Even before Bangladesh's birth in 1971, book fairs had always been celebrated with enthusiasm in the countryside. Since 1972, Ekushey Boimela has been a sensation among the generations; the youths were and are always the primary customers of these book fairs.
In these modern days, youths are still noticed at the premises of Ekushey Boi Mela with their friends, hanging around, buying books, and reading some too. This Ekushey Boimela has become a festival other than the usual religious festivals in the country. Youths celebrate the time of the year, even those who are not bookworms.
During a conversation, Homayra Mahzabin Ankita, a sophomore at the University of Dhaka and a bookworm, says, "What I like about book fairs is that it is like a big festival for people in our country. I love seeing people excited to buy and read newly released books, even old-released ones. It is a part of our culture."
However, the scenario has changed a lot. Earlier, it was only for the love of reading and spending time with loved ones, and now it has a lot of co-desires, or you can say, the effects of technology.
Ankita tells a bit about how she feels about it, "As time goes by, more people are attending the fair for just pictures to update their Facebook status or to add to their Instagram feed, which is very annoying for us who go there to buy or even learn about new books."
Surprisingly, bookworm youths are not rare in this world of Netflix and chill. For bookworms, a book fair is a place to find peace. They will enjoy the smooth, warm fragrance of the new books and feel fresh for a week or so. The books telling thousands of tales will be their reasons for breathing.
Despite the book lovers and the social media lovers, perhaps the maximum of the crowd comes from the youths who are irregular and are just visiting the book fair to buy a book they thought they would buy years ago. On this occasion, that old inspiration invigorates them to come by.
Zubair Hossain, an incoming freshman at Colby College, says, "I don't go to the Book Fair every year, but whenever I do, I try to buy books that will last me until my next visit. I have some favourite book stalls (where I try to get the latest books) and series of books."
With all these going on, a new kind of sensation is starting among the youths, and that is to read nonfiction. Whereas youths read Shesher Kobita, Devdas, or Sherlock Holmes in earlier days, a certain portion of them has recently been inclined to Atomic Habits, $100 Startup, Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fu*K, or Bengali books such as "Communication Hacks" or "Student Hacks" by Ayman Sadiq.
Zubair tells about his experience toward fiction/nonfiction, "I have mostly read fiction my whole life as nonfiction books didn't intrigue me that way. But I think I'll try some nonfiction books I have in mind when I visit the book fair next time."
Ultimately, it comes down to different puzzle pieces as the youths nowadays feel very individualized toward the book fair. Some are waiting months to get their favourite books, some have been waiting since the last fair to enjoy the literary environment, some are planning a Valentine's Day date at the book fair, and some are planning to buy some productive nonfiction books to upgrade their life.
Yet, the only sad truth might be that nowadays, many youths only go to book fairs to update their Instagram or Facebook feeds. Well, that's how we created the picture of this modern world, didn't we?
Here's to a magnificent February with a wonderful book fair where youths might discover their love for reading and expressing thoughts through literature.
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