Dipan Nandy

On the day before February 21, there was an onrush at the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela yesterday to find books on the Language Movement. From visitors’ enthusiasm to publisher’s marketing, books on the topic took up the fair grounds since morning.

Over the years, Aparajeyo Bangla and Kala Bhaban have become enduring symbols of Dhaka University. Before the ‘60s, the same spot housed a residential area for government staffers, known as Nilkhet Barrack.

Besides being a place to buy and sell books, the Boi Mela is also where readers get to meet and greet their favourite writers. While the more popular authors attract bigger crowds to their publishers’ stalls and pavilions with an appearance, for more obscure authors, this is the chance for them to get acquainted with their readers.

Right after February 21, tension spread throughout East Bengal. Faced with repressive policing and torture, the Language Movement started to get deflated. But even then, some of its organisers remained steadfast, and it was one residence in the capital’s Shantinagar that gave them the space needed to re-organise.

While the first two days of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela saw a good number of visitors, the third saw another early success for the fair, as publishers reported good sales figures.

Boi Mela is an open invitation to all. It’s not just a mere book fair, rather it’s a cultural phenomenon -- where people of all ages spend the day with their loved ones, hopping from one book stall to another.

Capital Press and Pioneer Press -- two names that carry significant historical value when it comes to the Language Movement.

There was no way to understand that it was just the second day of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela yesterday. Not even a weekend afternoon, the

On February 21, 1952, the protesters had two programmes to press home their demand for Bangla as a state language. One, the section 144 had to go, and two, taking a memorial plaque to the East Pakistan Ain Parishad.

Becharam Dewri. The name itself comes with the fragrance of various kinds of biriyani, all of which taste different too.

The Amar Ekushey Boi Mela kicked off yesterday afternoon amid much fanfare.

The Amar Ekushey Boi Mela begins today with preparations still unfinished till yesterday afternoon.

Even before the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, Rasheed Building hosted the Suruj Jamal mess on its first floor. During the early days of the Language Movement, numerous organising activities were carried out from there.

“When the Language Movement was still in its infancy, Principal Abul Kashem nurtured it with a mother’s care. We were inspired by his company, most of which was hosted by 19 Azimpur.”

There’s a message floating in the air. Those who can read it know that spring is already here.

Any discussion on the Language Movement cannot take place without mentioning Beltala. It lies right beside Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s Amtala, another historic site by its own right. It was at Beltala where the first public meeting on the movement took place.

This is how the saying goes -- back in the days, a British traveler arrived in the area and was so blown away by all he saw, he exclaimed, “What a grand area!”

Those who are regular listeners of contemporary Bangla music are familiar with a song that talks about roaming around the streets of the city in search of a cup of tea that comes in cheap.

Bangla Academy has decided to hold this year’s Amar Ekushey Boi Mela from February 15, with the condition that all concerned with the fair will have to possess Covid-19 vaccine certificates.

Even though the way to Buddu’s Puri was shown by a flower seller sitting in front of Sutrapur’s Govinda Mandir, it was difficult to locate the vaunted puri shop inside the labyrinthine Hemanta Das Lane.