[🇧🇩] Ekushey Book Fair

[Saif]

Date of Event: Feb 1, 2025 Source : https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/256859/ekushey-book-fair-begins-today

Ekushey book fair begins today
MA Aslam Molla 01 February, 2025, 00:53

Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2025 will begin on Bangla Academy premises and at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka today.

This year Bangla Academy organises the country’s largest month-long book fair, commemorating the historic Language Movement of 1952, the War of Independence in 1971 and the participants in the recent student-led mass uprising under the theme of ‘July Mass uprising- Rebuilding Bangladesh’.

The chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, will remain present as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony and inaugurate the fair.

The chief adviser will also hand over the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2024 at the inaugural ceremony.

Bangla Academy director general Mohammad Azam will deliver the welcome speech while cultural affairs adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki will attend the inaugural ceremony as a special guest while the session will be presided over by the academy’s president Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq.

Addressing a press conference at Suhrawardy Udyan on Friday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali, meanwhile, said that they had special preparations to prevent mobs at Amar Ekushey Book Fair.

‘The Dhaka Metropolitan Police will monitor the fair round the clock from their control room on the fair premises, and they have special preparations to prevent mobs at the fair,’ said Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali, adding that the members from the intelligence and Rapid Action Battalion would remain deployed also at the fair.

The law enforcers have been alert to tackle any kind of disruption by anyone, including the banned Chhatra League, Sajjat Ali said, adding, ‘At a meeting with Bangla Academy, I requested the academy not to allow displaying any provocative books at the month-long Ekushey Book Fair.’

DMP commissioner Sajjat also said that the publishers would get manuscripts verified by the Academy before publishing them at the fair from the forthcoming edition.

The fair premises will also remain free from street hawkers, rickshaws and other vehicles during the fair hours to ensure security.

‘This year we will close the road from Doel Chattar point to Teacher-Student Centre only from 2:00pm to 10:00pm every day instead of closing the road permanently due to huge traffic congestion in the city,’ DMP additional police commissioner for traffic Md Sarwar said, adding that no heavy vehicles would be allowed to operate in the DU area during the fair.​

 

[Saif]

Book Fair: Paperback still rules readers’ choice in digital age

Despite the rapid digitalisation of reading materials, paperback books remain the preferred choice among readers in Bangladesh, as research, surveys, and reports consistently indicate that physical books offer a more comfortable and distraction-free reading experience compared to digital alternativ

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Book Fair: Paperback still rules readers’ choice in digital age
UNB
Published :
Jan 31, 2025 15:45
Updated :
Jan 31, 2025 15:45

Despite the rapid digitalisation of reading materials, paperback books remain the preferred choice among readers in Bangladesh, as research, surveys, and reports consistently indicate that physical books offer a more comfortable and distraction-free reading experience compared to digital alternatives.

While digital reading formats, particularly e-books, have gained some traction, younger generations continue to struggle with distractions from social media and a preference for quick, superficial information consumption rather than in-depth reading.

This trend is having a significant impact on reading culture in the country.

The month-long Ekushey Book Fair 2024 concluded with record-breaking sales of books worth approximately Tk 600 million, according to figures provided by participating publishers and Bangla Academy. Bangla Academy alone sold books worth Tk 13.6 million.

In comparison, book sales at Tk 470 million in 2023, Tk 525.0 million in 2022, and a pandemic-induced low of Tk 31.1 million in 2021, following a peak of Tk 820 million in 2020.

Paperback books remain popular due to their affordability. In June 2023, paperbacks accounted for 38.8 per cent of the US trade book market. Their lower cost compared to hardcovers makes them more accessible to a wider audience.

A 2021 survey in the US found that 68 per cent of 18–29-year-olds preferred print books. Additionally, college graduates were more inclined towards print books than those without a diploma, and women read print books more than men.

By 2029, the global physical book market is expected to serve approximately 1.9 billion readers, while e-reader users are projected to reach 1.2 billion by 2027.

Despite the growing presence of e-books, print books continue to dominate. In 2023, the US saw 767.36 million print books sold, while e-books accounted for only 9.9 per cent of total trade sales in the consumer book market. Although e-book revenues rose by 4 per cent in September 2024 compared to the previous year, they remain a secondary preference.

A report from an international business magazine found that Bangladeshis read for an average of 10 minutes per day, amounting to 62 hours annually. Bangladesh ranked 97th among 102 countries in reading time, with the top five being the United States, India, England, France, and Italy.

Physical Books Appeal

Despite the convenience of e-books, the sensory experience of reading a printed book remains unmatched. Writer and journalist Mizanur Rahman Sohel highlighted that printed books help readers focus, put less strain on the eyes, and provide a lasting connection.

Writer Rina Tuli echoed this sentiment, stating that printed books are integral to cultural and social traditions. Similarly, writer Rahitul Islam reaffirmed that printed books hold a special place in the hearts of readers and will continue to do so.

Co-founder of Tourdibo.com, Anik Hossain, plans to purchase books by emerging writers at the upcoming book fair to encourage their craft. Poet Sharafat Hussain, who is also the Head of Digital at Daily Ittefaq, noted that excessive screen time makes people restless, further reinforcing the significance of physical books as a form of relief and escape.

Book enthusiast Zakia Rayhana Rupa has taken the initiative to promote reading culture in Dhaka by launching a micro-library at Dhanmondi Lake Park. Inspired by Germany’s "Little Free Libraries," she set up a wooden bookshelf where readers can borrow, read, and return books.

Similarly, Pathagar Andolon Bangladesh, a non-profit platform founded in Cumilla in 2005, has been working to ensure reading is not confined to schools. Coordinator Imam Hossain established ‘Vidyasagar Unmukto Pathagar’ at the age of 14, which encouraged others to create community libraries. The organisation now has around 200 libraries across Bangladesh.

The Rise of Book Cafés

The concept of book cafés, long popular in Western countries, is now flourishing in Bangladesh. These spaces offer a tranquil environment for readers and serve as cultural hubs for literature enthusiasts.

Pathak Shamabesh – Established in 1987, this bookstore and library is a favourite among readers. It offers a unique Reader’s Club Membership, allowing patrons to deposit Tk 20,000 in advance for purchases.

Bengal Boi – Founded in 2017, this bookstore café promotes reading and hosts literary events. It provides a serene outdoor space for book lovers.

Boi Chottor – Located in Shyamoli, it offers a wide collection of imported books and nationwide home delivery.

PBS – Established in 2010, it is Bangladesh’s first bookstore café chain, offering an extensive range of books across multiple genres and a children’s reading zone.

Baatighar – Founded in Chattogram in 2005, this library-style bookstore has expanded to multiple cities, offering a quiet space for readers.

The Reading Café, Dhanmondi – Operating since 2014, it specialises in imported books and hosts frequent literary events.

Bookworm Bangladesh – Established in 1994, this café bookstore is renowned for its collection of English books and its peaceful atmosphere.

Nerdy Bean Coffee Haus – Open since 2017, it blends a café experience with a literary retreat, catering to book lovers with a vast collection of English titles.

Vive – A recently founded study café offering a comfortable environment for reading, studying, and remote work, with no entry fee.

Dhaka’s diverse range of bookstores, reading cafés, and study spaces reflect the unwavering love for physical books. Despite digital advancements, readers continue to embrace the tangible experience of flipping through pages, making printed books an enduring cultural staple in Bangladesh.​

 

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Police want Bangla Academy to scrutinise manuscripts before book publication

Bangladesh Police have requested the Bangla Academy to scrutinise the manuscripts before publications of books that could create an unstable environment and curb those

en.prothomalo.com

Police want Bangla Academy to scrutinise manuscripts before book publication
Staff Correspondent
Dhaka
Updated: 31 Jan 2025, 21: 38

DMP Commissioner Sazzat Ali addresses a media conference on 31 January 2025 Prothom Alo

Bangladesh Police have requested the Bangla Academy to scrutinise the manuscripts before publications of books that could create an unstable environment and curb those.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) seek the policy to be implemented from the Amar Ekushey Granthamela-2026 (book fair).

DMP high officials said this after visiting the security arrangements centring the book fair at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on Friday.

A journalist asked at the media conference whether the police have any initiative to avert untoward incidents that arose in the past regarding book contents?

Responding to this, DMP commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali said, “We had a coordination meeting where the Bangla Academy officials were also present. We requested them so that no books with instigating writings could hit the fair; they could scan and assess that. I hope they will carry out their duties properly.”

At that time, DMP additional commissioner SN Nazrul Islam, who was beside the DMP commissioner, said that they suggested the Bangla Academy make a policy so that the manuscripts of the books that would be published are submitted at the Academy first. “They would assess those to scrutinise so that books with no such contents that would disrupt our social life, communal harmony, and the government and contain seditious statements are published in the fair. We have made this request to the Bangla Academy.”

Nazrul Islam further stated, “We hope, we would be able to implement this through the Bangla Academy from the next year that manuscripts have to be submitted to them before publishing the books. Those will be published only if they nod.”

‘No fear over AL programmes’

Responding to a question on whether there is any fear over the programmes of hartal (strike) and blockades of Awami League in February, Sazzat Ali said, “This is the world of media. The news of Dhaka city is travelling to Brazil in just a minute… So many programmes are being announced from different places. You all are observing that we are facing those programmes. Anyone could issue video messages and programmes. We have arrested many leaders of banned organisation, Chhatra League. We surely will take actions if they take any such attempts. But for now we don’t see any such apprehension.”

Surveillance on freed ‘terrorists’

The police have intensified its surveillance activities on the freed terrorists centering the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela.

The DMP commissioner did not provide any direct answer to a question on the fear of any terrorist attack on the fair.

Writer professor Humayun Azad was chopped while he was leaving the fair ground on 27 February 2004. After taking treatment for several months, he went to Germany in August that year for research. But his body was recovered from his flat in Munich on 12 August.

Later, on 26 February 2015, US expatriate writer Avijit Roy was killed in a terrorist attack near the TSC on Dhaka University as he was leaving the fair ground with his wife Rafida Ahmed. His wife lost a finger in the attack.

In 2023, a letter was sent to Bangla Academy director general poet Muhamad Nurul Huda with a bomb attack threat. However, the fair ended without any untoward incident.

Those who were arrested on charges of their involvement with the incidents are outside of jail now.

The DMP commissioner was asked whether he sees any apprehension regarding them.

Sazzat Ali said, “We have kept under surveillance the people who have come out of the jail. We will keep a watch on the suspected people.”

News agency BSS adds: DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali today stated that intensified security measures have been put in place on Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan premises to ensure the peaceful holding of the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair, set to begin Saturday.

“We have taken stringent security measures like previous years to ensure the peaceful holding of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair,” he told a press briefing after inspecting the security arrangements at the fair venue.

He said the DMP has also beefed up the security arrangement in and around the Dhaka University and its surrounding areas to make the security foolproof.

“Required police personnel have been deployed in the fair venue and its adjoining areas in large numbers to oversee the security arrangements,” he said.

The DMP chief said they have set up a control room to monitor the security arrangements round the clock.

He also said senior officers, especially deputy commissioner of Ramna division, will supervise the overall security arrangement on the fair ground.

“Apart from the police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and various intelligence agencies have been assigned to enforce security measures,” he said.

“The entire fair venue has been brought under CCTV surveillance,” he said, adding that sufficient lighting arrangements have been made at night to prevent any untoward incidents.

The DMP chief informed the media that plying of heavy vehicles inside the Dhaka University areas will be stopped throughout the month of February.

The road from Doyel Chattar to TSC is a very significant one and it will be opened or closed depending on the rush of the book lovers, he said.

Sazzat said that breast-feeding stations and lost-and-found centers have been set up at the fair venue.

If anything or any child is lost at the fair ground, the police will help to find it upon receiving a complaint, he said.

The DMP chief asked all concerned to look into the matter so that no hawker can create chaos by setting up their food courts on the fair venue and charge two or three times higher than that of the actual prices of the food items.

He asked the DMP traffic department to take necessary measures to ease the traffic movement during the book fair.​

 

[Saif]

Ekushey spirit helped inspire July uprising

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today said the spirit of Amar Ekushey inspired the country’s people to wage the July uprising aiming to build a “New Bangladesh”.

www.thedailystar.net

Ekushey spirit helped inspire July uprising
Says Prof Yunus

Photo: PID

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today said the spirit of Amar Ekushey inspired the country's people to wage the July uprising aiming to build a "New Bangladesh".

While addressing at the inaugural session of Amar Ekushey Boi Mela at the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan, he said the great explosive power that ignited the July uprising was hidden in the blood of Barkat, Salam, Rafiq, and Jabbar.

After half a century, the indomitable sprit of the martyrs of language movement gave strength to the people for the mass uprising and changed the country, he added.

The chief adviser said this explosion instilled the determination of building a "New Bangladesh" and was deeply rooted in the country's 170 million people.

"We have come to take an oath on this commitment through this ceremony of Amar Ekushey," he said.

Yunus said on August 5 last year, the historic student-mass uprising brought down a 16-year autocratic regime.

The chief adviser recalled with deep respect all the courageous students, masses and workers who gave their lives and were brutally injured in the July uprising.

The uprising achieved through great sacrifice has brought this year's book fair before the people with a new significance, he said.

The theme of this year's book fair is "The July uprising: Rebuilding a new Bangladesh".

"The July uprising strongly united the nation. Because of this, we found the courage to rebuild a country devastated economically, politically, institutionally, and humanely," he said.

"Our young men and women, teenagers, painted their dreams, their aspirations, their demands on the walls of the streets with incredible determination. Our street walls have now been transformed into historical documents," he said.

Congratulating the book fair organisers for presenting these murals at gates of the fair, the chief adviser said the boi mela, organised by Bangla Academy, has become an integral part of national life.

Stressing the need for recognising the contributions of Bangladeshi expatriates and expatriate workers, he said Bangladeshis are showing their achievements in various fields all over the world.

"We want to remember all of them on Ekushey. They all celebrate Ekushey February remembering their country...," Yunus said.​

 

[Saif]

Ekushey Boi Mela kicks off

As soon as the clock struck 5:00pm and the gates of Suhrawardy Udyan opened, enthusiastic book lovers poured into the fairgrounds, exploring the vast collection of literary works

www.thedailystar.net

Ekushey Boi Mela kicks off

Photo: PID

The atmosphere around Dhaka University was filled with a special energy this evening, reflected in the streets and the eager faces of visitors.

After all, it is the first day of the month-long festival of books.

As soon as the clock struck 5:00pm and the gates of Suhrawardy Udyan opened, enthusiastic book lovers poured into the fairgrounds, exploring the vast collection of literary works.

Earlier in the day, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus inaugurated the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela at 3:00pm.

The theme of this year's book fair, "July Gono-Obbhutthan: Natun Bangladesh Binirman," carries profound significance, coming in the wake of the July uprising that led to the fall of the Awami League government. The echoes of that movement resonate throughout the fair, transforming it into not only a celebration of literature but also a reflection on the power of people's voices.

The influence of the July uprising is particularly evident in the newly introduced "July Corner," dedicated to showcasing literature and narratives surrounding the movement.

The colours chosen for this year's fair -- red, black, and white -- hold deep symbolism: red represents revolution, black signifies mourning, and white symbolises the eternal lamp of hope.

As in previous years, commercial publishing houses have set up their stalls at Suhrawardy Udyan, while government-run offices, autonomous bodies, and social organisations occupy spaces within the Bangla Academy premises.

During a visit, this correspondent saw crowds gathered around popular publishing houses such as Anyaprokash, UPL, Anannya Prakashan, Batighor, Agami, Kotha Prokash, and many others, eagerly browsing and purchasing their favourite books.

While some stalls were still finalising decorations, the festive spirit remained undiminished.

"I have been eagerly waiting for this day. I love reading books, especially on historical topics," said Jahangir Alam, a student at Dhaka University.

His younger brother, fifth-grader Abu Humaira, added, "I prefer horror stories -- they are more thrilling."

Atika Anowar, a private university student, said, "Even though it's just the first day, I couldn't resist coming. I've been visiting the fair since my college days."

The fair will be open daily from 3:00pm to 9:00pm, except on public holidays, and will run until February 29. On February 21, in observance of International Mother Language Day, the fair will open at 8:00am and continue until 9:00pm.

Publishers are hopeful for strong sales this year as visitors can finally enjoy the fair without restrictions.

"Our business has suffered over the past couple of years. This year, we hope to recover from those losses," said Aditya Antor, co-owner of Ittadi Grantha Prokash, speaking to The Daily Star.

MANUSCRIPT SCRUNITY

Regarding the scrutiny of manuscripts before publishing books at the book fair, Cultural Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki said, "A media report is causing misunderstanding. It cites a police official claiming that books should be submitted to Bangla Academy or the police for review before printing. This is unbelievable, this is absurd. It is nowhere near our government's policy."

He made these remarks yesterday morning while delivering the keynote speech as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of the Jatiya Kabita Utsab, held at the Central Library premises of Dhaka University.

DMP'S CLARIFICATION

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has clarified that no decision or suggestion has been made requiring police approval for manuscripts before publication at the book fair.

In a press release yesterday, the DMP said they had only requested Bangla Academy to be cautious in allowing "provocative" books at the fair.

During a security inspection at Suhrawardy Udyan on Friday, DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said, "We have asked Bangla Academy officials to ensure that no books containing provocative language or content are displayed at the fair. These should be carefully reviewed before being placed in stalls."

However, the DMP emphasised in its statement, "No decision or suggestion has been made by the police regarding the vetting or approval of books for future publication."​