Ekushey Book Fair 2020 Number of new titles on rise
The number of new titles rose to 2,194 on the fourteenth day of the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair on Saturday. Books published in the first two weeks of the fair this year have broken the records of past three years for the same period.
Among the total books published this year’s fair, highest 637 are collections of poems, followed by 367 novels, 295 short stories, 123 essays, 43 research books, 46 rhymes, 91 children’s books, 65 biographies, four articles, 80 books on Liberation War, nine plays, 40 books on science, 39 travelogues, 48 books on history, four books on politics, 14 books on health. There are also 71 books on country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 14 on satires, six on religion, 23 translations, five dictionaries, 41 science-fictions and 129 books on other different categories.
In 2019, 1,999 books were launched in the first two weeks and 4,685 books were launched in the entire fair. Among which 1,555 were collections of poems.
In 2018, 1,993 books were launched by the second week and total number of books published in the fair was 4,591. Among those, 1,472 were collections of poems.
In 2017, 3,646 books were launched in the entire fair and 1,663 books came in first two weeks.
Like the previous Children’s Hours, the fairground was abuzz with children from 11:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday.
The final round of the music competition for children was held at the Bangla Academy at 10:00am where 31 children participated in two categories. Prizes would be distributed to the winners on February 22. Singers Chandana Majumdar, Kalyani Ghosh and Yakub Ali Khan were present as judges.
Sheuly Chanda, a lecturer at Kamalganj Government College in Moulvibazar, said, ‘I came here with my child from Shylet. I want to introduce my child with books and that’s why I came so far.’
The stall attendants said that they were very happy with the day’s sales.
In the afternoon, a large number of visitors thronged on the Bangla Academy premises and Suhrawardy Udyan.
Saber Hossain, a 1st year student of Rajshahi University of Science and Technology, said, ‘I came from my hometown Cumilla. I am looking for Humayun Ahmed’s books.’
Nazmus Sakib, a stall attendant at Saralrekha Prakashani, said, ‘We are attending the fair for the first time. We are happy with our sales. Al Mahmud’s epic “E Galper Shesh Nei Shuru O Chhila Na” is on high demand’.
A discussion was held on the book titled ‘Jatir Pita Bangabandhu’ penned by Shahjahan Kibria.
Poets namely Aminur Rahman, Masud Pathik, Shamim Reza and others recited poems while recitation artistes Kazi Mahtab Sumon, Mohammad Shamsuzzaman, Shamima Nasrin Mitu and others recited poems to the delight of the audience.
The fair remains open for visitors from 3:00pm till 9:00pm on weekdays.
On holidays and weekends, the fair remains open from 11:00am till 9:00pm.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
