Boi Mela
In a serene ambience
Compared to the number of visitors on February 21, Amar Ekushey Boi Mela saw a dwindling turnout yesterday.
Those who did come seemed to be enjoying their time at the Bangla Academy premises in the city, patiently going through the new books hot out of the press.
“I came today assuming that few people would be here,” said Masum Saieed, a Bangla lecturer of Savar Model College, “I like to take my time in going through the books I am interested in before buying them.”
With no crowd nagging him, he had already spent Tk 4,500 on some books and was looking for more. “I usually spend around Tk 10,000 each year on books but I could not resist spending so much today,” he said with a smile.
His colleague, Abdul Awal Khan, came from Savar with his three daughters. “I came today as I wanted to avoid the crowds and let my daughters spend some quality time.”
There was a mixed reaction among booksellers on the day's sales.
Sharif Ahmed, a bookseller of Agamee Prakashani, said book sales usually rise after February 20 and the publishing firm had made good profits yesterday.
The owner of Ittadi Grantho Prokash, Johirul Abedin Jewel, however, was not satisfied. “Today was a really bad day for sales. We closed the stall with around half an hour still left on the clock.”
Meanwhile, a total 89 new books arrived at the fair yesterday. A discussion was held and Nasiruddin Yusuf's movie on the Liberation War, “Guerrilla”, was also screened.
COMMEMORATIVE NOTE
Agrani Bank Limited's Bangla Academy branch started selling the commemorative notes of Tk 60 and Tk 40 denominations at the fair from February 20, drawing the attention of a lot of visitors. Shahnaj Begum, the branch's senior principal officer, said commemorative notes worth around Tk 30,000 had been sold in the first two days. A buyer, Shahin Alam, a businessman by profession, said, “I wanted to collect the notes as part of memorabilia since I heard about them a few days ago.” Bangladesh Bank released the Tk 60 note on February 15 to mark the 60th anniversary of the country's Language Movement. The Tk 40 note was released on December 26, 2011 marking the country's 40th Victory Anniversary. SHISHU PROHOR TODAY
Only children and their guardians will have access to the fair between 11:00am and 3:00pm, an exclusive four-hour period termed Shishu Prohor (children's hour), today, as per Bangla Academy's earlier announcement. Shishu Prohor will also be observed tomorrow.
Agrani Bank Limited's Bangla Academy branch started selling the commemorative notes of Tk 60 and Tk 40 denominations at the fair from February 20, drawing the attention of a lot of visitors. Shahnaj Begum, the branch's senior principal officer, said commemorative notes worth around Tk 30,000 had been sold in the first two days. A buyer, Shahin Alam, a businessman by profession, said, “I wanted to collect the notes as part of memorabilia since I heard about them a few days ago.” Bangladesh Bank released the Tk 60 note on February 15 to mark the 60th anniversary of the country's Language Movement. The Tk 40 note was released on December 26, 2011 marking the country's 40th Victory Anniversary. SHISHU PROHOR TODAY
Only children and their guardians will have access to the fair between 11:00am and 3:00pm, an exclusive four-hour period termed Shishu Prohor (children's hour), today, as per Bangla Academy's earlier announcement. Shishu Prohor will also be observed tomorrow.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments