ARMAN HOSSEN
The Ekushey Boimela (Book Fair) offers a vibrant celebration of literature, drawing readers of all ages and tastes with its vast collection of titles across a number of stalls. Yet amid the festivity and abundance, a sense of incompleteness lingers, particularly near the Bangla Academy's exit gate, where two stalls tell a different story.
Seated there are visually-impaired students, proudly representing their initiatives and advocating for equal access to reading. Their shelves may not boast the same volume of publications as the mainstream stalls, but they carry a powerful message - the right to read belongs to everyone.
One of the stalls belongs to Sparsha Braille Prokashona, where a small collection of children's Braille books awaits curious hands. The representatives are not driven solely by sales. Rather, they seek to demonstrate that visually-impaired individuals are equally eager and capable readers.
Their aim is to challenge physical discrimination and promote psychological equality by urging publishers to recognise that producing books exclusively for the sighted readers leaves an entire community deprived.
Irin Sultana Akhi, a student of Bangla dept at Jahangirnagar University and a representative of the publication, noted that their mission extends beyond commercial goals.
"We are offering registration opportunities for the visually-impaired individuals at the fair. Those who register will be invited to a gathering on March 14, where Braille books will be distributed among them."
Akhi lamented the lack of coordinated social and institutional efforts to expand Braille publishing. "Publishers rarely feel the necessity to produce them on their own."
She further expressed a heartfelt sentiment shared by many visually-impaired readers: "We, too, wish to hold newly-published books in our hands."
Adjacent to Sparsha's stall, Visually Impaired Society (VIPS) has set up a booth under the theme "Somotar Bangladesh" (Bangladesh of Equality). The stall features Braille books, calendars, specialised tools for the visually-impaired individuals, literary works, research publications, and reports - aimed at fostering inclusion and awareness.
Representatives from the organisation also called on the government to grant legal recognition of their rights and to provide state subsidies for the production of accessible educational materials.
