The Lure of Ekushey Boi Mela

Sajid Huq

February, being the month we commemorate Amar Ekushey and celebrate the rightful place of our mother tongue, what could be more appropriate than a visit to the annual Ekushey Boi Mela? This year the crowds were thick as ever and bookstalls have been brimming with books written by established as well as new writers and poets. With tight security measures the lines at the entrance were long and tiresome but did not dampen the enthusiasm of book lovers who just had to get their hands on a copy of their favourite writer or to try out something from the army of young generation writers and poets. Poetry, however, seems to have taken a backseat as far as sales of books is concerned. There are many books of poetry by new and upcoming poets along with the more known ones but a lack of interest among the visitors who seem more inclined to prose. But whether it is prose or poetry that fares well in this grand intellectual fair one thing is for certain. It is the best way to encourage everyone both young and old, to take part in the most pleasurable and valuable of activities reading, something that is fast fading out with the onslaught of visual entertainment.

Photo: Zahedul I. Khan

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