Good thrillers never get old

A person stuck in a situation he or she can not escape, or pitted against a ruthless maniac determined to destroy the stability of the free world, what will he or she do, how far will they travel to save us; these are the nail-biting cliffhangers that compels us to turn the pages of a thriller or finish it in one sitting.   

It has been almost fifty years, yet the appeals of these books from Sheba Prokashoni have not diminished among the readers.

Enthusiasts of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books swarmed the stall no 373 of the Amar Ekushe Granthamela 2016 yesterday to buy the books of their choice.

"I have been reading the Tin Goyenda series since I was in the seventh grade," said Labiba Hasan, an 11th grader. Cheerily, she bought Tin Goyenda's Volume 131, 132 and 133.

Based on the English detective novels, Tin Goyenda was first published in 1985. The creator of the series, Rakib Hasan, introduced the story of three ordinary teenagers, also detectives, and opened the window to a new and exhilarating world among countless teenagers. He wrote 160 stories at a stretch; Shamsuddin Nawab took the helm of writing afterwards.    

Masud Rana, one of the most iconic characters created by Sheba Prokashoni founder Qazi Anwar Hussain, is still in popular demand. The first story of Masud Rana was published in 1966.

Though the plot of the spy thriller was influenced by western novels, Masud Rana books are enjoyed by all.

Another attraction of Sheba Prokashoni is their translation of English classics like The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Last Days of Pompeii, The Jungle Book, David Copperfield and Great Expectations, among many more.

"When I read these books, not only do I learn about these classics, I also get thrilled," said Shibli Mahmud. Like him, many young readers crowded at the stall to buy those books.

In-charge of the stall, Abdus Salam, said, "We sell 250-300 books every day during the fair." He however claimed their sales have dropped because of the location of the stall. "Last year, amid political unrest, our sales were higher than these 14 days…we sold 500 books per day," he said.

In the afternoon, a discussion titled, "Rabindracharcha in Bangladesh: Past to Future" was held at the main stage of the Granthamela.

Prof Biswajit Ghosh said after the political changeover in 1975, the defeated force of the Liberation War attacked the literary works of Rabindranath Tagore.

In the Pakistani era, Prof Ghulam Murshid said, many attempted to distort and abandon Rabindranath's literature but failed because of the love Bangladeshis have for his work. Yesterday, 93 new books were published.