Boi Mela is an open invitation to all. It's not just a mere book fair, rather it's a cultural phenomenon -- where people of all ages spend the day with their loved ones, hopping from one book stall to another.

It's a festivity where children are introduced to their parent's favourite reads amidst their own preferences and adults get to reminisce their yesteryears, when they too visited the fair to get their hands on books written by their beloved writers.

And this year's congregation of book-lovers is no different.

Rabbi Hossain, who came to the fair from Bakshibazar, said, "I thought this time the fair will not take place. But I'm glad it did. I'm collecting catalogues of different publications for now, and I'll buy books later.'' Shakib and Rasna were buying books while standing in front of Seba Prakashani. They like Masud Rana and Tin Goyenda series.

Rasna said, "Coming to the fair, for me means buying books from Seba. I've bought three volumes of Masud Rana and Tin Goyenda."

"Readers have been coming in since day one, and sales haven't been bad either.  However, we hope on Fridays and Saturdays both readership and sales will increase," said AKM Nasir Ahmed Selim, proprietor of Kakoli Prokashoni.

Almost all publishers like him are now awaiting the weekend. If the crowd increases, the sales increase - this is their expectation.

Shahadat Hossain, proprietor of Annesha Prokashoni, told The Daily Star that the fair started late again like last year.

"We usually have a good crowd and sales on Pahela Falgun and Valentine's Day. But this year, we missed out on those.  Due to which we're keeping an eye on the holidays," he said.

Amjad Hossain Kajal, manager of Oitihjya Prakashan, said people start to crowd from evening. "Sales aren't that great, but they're not bad either. It will pick up over the weekend."

According to Bangla Academy, 41 new books were published on the third day of the fair.  Among them are Nirmalendu Goon's "Ekushey February Bangabandhu Ebong Muktijuddher Kabita" (Kothaprakash) and Al Masum's "Bhasan Char Shagore Nagar" (Agami).

Meanwhile, a discussion titled "Golden Jubilee of Independence: Film and Drama of Bangladesh" was held on the main stage of the fair yesterday.