Where memories come alive
There is something magical about revisiting old books. It is a journey filled with nostalgia and above all else, love.
No matter how old one gets, the books they bonded with, fought with friends for reading those first or even had to lie to parents to buy would never get old.
Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela remains a perfect opportunity for bookworms to rekindle their love for books, especially the ones they fell in love with in the first place.
And, this year's book fair is no different.
Yesterday, visitors were seen thronging the stalls at Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan looking for books for family, friends and of course for themselves. Visitors were seen revisiting novels, poetry books, world literature, autobiographies and many more.
Many of the publishing houses were showcasing the timeless pieces. One such publication is “Seba Prokashoni”. It has been almost fifty years, yet the appeal of its books has not diminished. The stall was swarmed with enthusiasts of translated classics, mystery, crime, thriller, spy and suspense novels.
Seba's evergreen series -- Tin Goyenda and Masud Rana -- are still in demand among the readers as they keep on looking for those to enrich their collections.
This correspondent met Zerin Tasnim, an expatriate in China, at the book fair yesterday, browsing through “Tin Goyenda” volumes at the stall. “Not a day went by when I didn't read Tin Goyenda. Later, I started reading Masud Rana. I used to come to the Seba stall at the fair every year,” she said.
“Since I live abroad now, it isn't possible for me to visit every year. So, I try to stack up on the books,” she added.
Similarly, publishing house “Anya Prokash” is visited by booklovers every day. The reason is simple -- to buy books written by Humayun Ahmed.
“Whenever I come to the fair, I have to buy Humayun Ahmed's books…,” said Jobaida Jashim, a private university student. Books written by Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal and Ahsan Habib were also among the popular choice.
On the other hand, for enhancing their collection of world literature and revisiting the timeless classics, book enthusiasts still flock to the stall of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro. Rafee Shams, a student of Dhaka University, told this correspondent, “I'm a huge fan of the works of Manik Bandopadhyay and Jibanananda Das. I get to buy their works in volumes at a discounted rate from the book fair.”
Many of the readers were also buying everlasting collections of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Akhteruzzaman Elias, Ahmed Sofa, Shamsur Rahman, Syed Shamsul Haq and many other brightest stars of Bangla literature.
Readers were also seen revisiting old classics at “Oboshor”, “Agami”, “Maula Brothers”, “Kothaprokash”, “Somoy Prokashon”, “Student Ways”, “Oitijjhya Publication House” and “Tamralipi Publication” among others.
Many of the publishers said there would always be readers for good books. Readers buy the books out of nostalgia while many for passing it on to the next generations, they added. Yesterday, a book titled, “Ekti Golper Golpo”, by Jamshed Nazim was launched. The book is available at the stall of Dhaka Reporters' Unity.
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