The long queue from Dhaka Gate to Bangla Academy was moving at a snail’s pace. People were asking those in front of them to move quickly. They were headed towards the Amar Ekushey Granthamela 2016.
With the end of the month-long fair approaching, more and more people were thronging the fair, and the weekend added to the normal crowd yesterday, the 19th day of the fair.
Shihab Uddin Mondal, an employee of a private firm, went to the fair with his wife and two sons.
“We live in Jamalpur. We arrived in Dhaka on Thursday to buy books from the fair,” he said, while waiting in the queue.
At around 4:30pm, the correspondent visited the stall of Anyaprokash. Salespersons were busy meeting visitors’ demands.
Simi, a student of class XI, bought two books of Humayun Ahmed “Tara Tinjon” and “Prothom Prohor”.
“I’m a great fan of Humayun Ahmed. I have decided to read all of his books,” she said.
Md Zakaria, a salesperson, said they saw a huge crowd yesterday.
Amjad Hossain Kazal, an executive of Oitijjhya, said the book “Tajuddin Ahmad: Neta O Pita” by Sharmin Ahmed was selling well.
Children were seen crowding Panjeree’s bookstall for comic books like Basic Ali, Babu and Mongal Ovijan.
Prothoma Prokashoni was overflowed with visitors as fans were taking autograph of noted litterateur, journalist and playwright Anisul Hoque.
Prothoma published a new book of Hoque “General o Narira”. The book is written about Pakistani General Yahya Khan who used to love women’s company a lot. Yahya’s affection for women was known so much that police called the president’s house a “brothel”.
He along with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto led the massacre of the people of Bangladesh in 1971, which was supported by the then US president Richard Nixon and his adviser Henry Kissinger. But they could not stop the birth of Bangladesh.
Onu, a student of history, bought a copy and took the autograph of Hoque.
“The book is written on different aspects. I believe I will learn something new from it,” he said.
A total of 236 new books hit the fair yesterday.
