<i>Boi Mela: A time for children</i>
Kids leave Amar Ekushey Boi Mela premises with bags full of new books yesterday. The fair authorities dedicated the hours from 11:00am to 3:00pm of the day exclusively for children. Photo: Palash Khan
Anyone taking a look into Amar Ekushey Boi Mela yesterday between 11:00am and 4:00pm might have mistaken it for a children's recreational centre. They cannot be blamed. Only children and their guardians occupied the Bangla Academy premises. The youngsters were scampering from one end to the other, shuffling through books and tugging and making faces at the guardians to buy something of their liking. It was an exclusive four-hour period for children, termed Shishu Prohor (children's hour), announced by the academy authorities on Wednesday to encourage guardians into acquainting budding minds with books and the habit of reading. Shishu Prohor will also be observed today and on February 23 and 24. Though the number of child visitors did not meet the expectations of the organisers and book publishers, the fair was quite lively with their clamour. One enthusiastic child bares all his fingers and thumbs at this correspondent. “I got 10 books,” says the child, Sarmin Fatima Mahbub, who arrived with her two nursery-going friends and mother. The friends, Ayean Ali Khan and Ariyana Manjur Tonmona, not to be outdone, proudly display the books they are carrying under their little arms. “We came here during Shishu Prohor as it would not be crowded and the kids would be able to have a good time while roaming around freely,” said Sarmin's mother, Roksana Mahbub. However, the books failed to attract Ayean's mother, Sadia Afroz. “Children's books available here should be more attractive and suited to their age,” she said. An author of children's literature, Lutfar Rahman Riton, echoed Sadia. Despite the large number of arrivals, most children's books are below standard, he said. Arman Bhuiya of Eti Prokashon said overall sales of children's books, especially one based on a cartoon character, Doraemon, is satisfactory. Meanwhile, booksellers and publishers put the blame for yesterday's low turnouts on the lack of publicity. The academy's Deputy Director Murshiduddin Anwar said at least 15 to 16 national dailies published the news on Shishu Prohor yesterday. The authority itself gave the announcement twice. The publishers themselves should have spread the news, he said.
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