When I decided to write about the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela, I thought it’s one of my favorite things ever and there is so much I want to write about Boi Mela, I could probably write on and on. I have been visiting Boi Mela since childhood, nagging adult family members until someone agreed to take me.
Boi Mela has an illustrious history, stretching all the way back to 1972.
On 21st February, commemorating the martyrs of 1952, Chitranjan Saha laid down a mat under a tree at Bangla Academy, displaying 33 publications from his publication house called Muktodhara Prokashoni.
“In 1975, four to five stalls were built by different publishers and books were being sold, although unofficially. The number of book lovers visiting these stalls was growing gradually year by year,” said Jahar Lal Saha, the current director of Muktodhara Prokashoni. This was followed by the first book fair being officially held in 1984.
There are so many memories related to Boi Mela and so many incidents that it is quite difficult to put them to words. It’s a place where not only many people go to peruse the variety of new and old books in circulation, but also where most publishers hope to make most of their annual sales.
“I wouldn’t say that the Boi Mela gets more response from readers than the rest of the year combined, but roughly 50 percent of our annual turnover comes from the month of February,” says Farid Ahmed, publisher of Shomoy Prokashoni and president of the Academic and Creative Publishers’ Association of Bangladesh.
With 770 stalls, this year’s Boi Mela might be the biggest book fair yet.
With 460 stalls, Bangla Academy estimated that the book fair wracked up 70 crore BDT in sales in 2018.
However, the singular focus on releasing books in February does raise the question whether quantity is being valued over quality.
Of course, millennial culture dictates that every notable event must be catalogued and become a source for impromptu hangouts.
“To me, this fair is a place where I can meet up with my friends,” said Mushfiqa Mayisha, who had come to visit the fair with her fellow classmates from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College.
“Whenever we want to meet up for a gathering, our families impose a lot of restrictions on us. But they allowed us to come to the book fair. It feels great.”
For the first few days, the Boi Mela is not crowded. People just hang around and buy old books because new books normally don’t get published this early. Before the Boi Mela starts, there is speculation about the new arrangements because more or less every time, the organizers claim that the Mela is getting a makeover.
This year’s makeover includes adjoining the pond surrounding the Glass Tower in Suhrawardy Udyan and the Mela compound. People get to sit on the stone benches facing the pond, enjoying the scenery in front.
The stalls near the pond are pretty picturesque and comfortable because of the breeze blowing around.
Like the previous few years, the main Mela is on the Suhrawardy Udyan premises. The stalls inside Bangla Academy are of various ministries, cultural academies and magazines. Every year, the publishers, barring a few decorate the stalls anew. This time’s no different. Annaprakash, for instance has Humayun Ahmed watching over the Mela from a balcony.
The placard of Humayun Ahmed, standing on a makeshift balcony is one of the main attractions of the Mela in terms of design and photography. The Batighar stall looks like an extension of their Dhaka outlet which is like a mini Lalbagh.
There is the Shishu Chattar, an enclosed area for stalls which sell only children’s’ books which has a separate gate. Cartoonist Mehedi Haque decorated the gate splendidly with drawings of characters from children’s’ books. Although Shishu Chattar has a play zone, I have seen more children interested in buying books than playing on multiple occasions. Every Friday morning, the Mela opens its gates only for children.
Despite the children having a separate time slot allotted for them every weekend, the Shishu Chattar is filled with more people compared to the rest of the Mela on normal days.
Children unlike adults don’t roam around the Mela with a serious demeanor. Their excitement is reflected on their little faces and the enthusiasm with which do their book shopping is contagious.
The other day, a boy came looking for Motu Patlu books only to find Motu Patlu books are banned in the mela. He was pretty disappointed but I am sure he’ll have found more amusing books to read.
The rhythm of the otherwise smoothly running Boi Mela was disrupted due to the torrential rain on the early morning of 18th February. The publishers had to spent the next couple of days drying the rain-soaked books. This obstacle was overcome quickly enough. Few extremely kind people even offered to buy the wet books. The second time the Mela faced a low point this year was on 21st February when the horrific incident at Chawkbazar occurred, taking several lives.
Thousands of books have been published in this year’s Boi Mela and it will reach staggering numbers by the time the Mela is over.
Best sellers from established writers are a regular part of the Boi Mela. So is a new science fiction from Muhammad Zafar Iqbal every February. Two of the most talked about new books include ‘August Abchaya’ by Mashrur Arefin and ‘Rabindranath Ekhane Kokhono Ashenni’ by Mohammed Nazim Uddin.
Tamrolipi released books written by social media celebrities such as Ayman Sadiq, Sadman Sadik, Solaiman Shukhon, Tashfikal Sami, Shamir Mostazid, etc. Don’t misunderstand when I say ‘social media celebrities’. They are successful at what they do and they are in fact the most famous Bangladeshis on the internet. Their books are trending on the bestseller’s list.
Most of the workforce working through the fair is made up of students. “Being surrounded by books is indeed enjoyable. Alongside handling the visitors I myself can read a few in spare times,” said Miftu Mou, a final year student at Dhaka University, who is working as a salesperson for the Priyomukh stall in her spare time. The salary these students can vary from 5,000 to 12,000 BDT depending on the stalls.
There is almost a week to go for this year’s Mela to end. Experts are expecting record-breaking sales this year. Ekushey Boi Mela might not be the prettiest, cleanest or the most well organized but no other fair in the world can beat it in terms of what it stands for.