Book Fair looks like yellow

Nowrin Akhter:
Thousands of visitors on Thursday swarmed the Amar Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan with the yellow colour of second day of Phalgun.
The visitors also added the colour of Phalgun, yellow and red in second day of the spring to the country’s biggest book fair.
Women dressed in yellow and red colour saris with floral ornaments and men in colourful Panjabis decorated the fair with the colour of spring.
Sadia Sultana Juthi, who came from Narayanganj, was of one of the visitors. Expressing her feelings, she said, “I came to visit the book fair on the occasion of Pahela Falgun. It is a special day for me. I am very happy and excited.”
Visitors started thronging the book fair as soon as soon as the entrance to Suhrawardy Udyan opens at 3:00pm.
Shaiman Islam and Sumaiya Akter Borna were found in front of Unmakta Library. Shaimon, who is a pharmacist, said, “I’ have been waiting here for about half an hour.
I come from city’s Bailey Road area. If the book fair were opened a little earlier today, it would have been more enjoyable.”
Riaj Hossain, salesman for Kathaprakash, said, “A significant number of visitors, particularly youths, has come to the fair today. But today’s sale cannot beat the weekly holiday’s sales.”
Al Amin Rahman, a resident of the Gabtali area, said that he along with his family members came to the Dhaka University area to enjoy cultural programmes of Basanta Utsab and to visit the fair.
‘Cultural programmes have decreased and it has become difficult to spend quality time with family members in today’s urban life,’ said Al Amin.
‘We have enjoyed cultural programmes and are visiting the book fair now. I will buy some new books for myself and my children,’ added Al Amin.
Publishers and booksellers expressed different experiences about the sales on the occasion.
Ananya publisher Monirul Hoque said that the fair had been gaining momentum gradually as the fair was going to step into the second half and many people visited the fair on the day.
He also said that the sale increased and it was satisfactory on the occasion.
The University Press Limited senior executive Utshob Mosaddek said that the sale was not satisfactory although there was a huge crowd on the day.