Miller's day out with the little ones

For children, yesterday's Shishu Prohor of this year's Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela became extra special as they were greeted by two special guests.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller and his wife Michelle Adelman visited the children's corner at Suhrawardy Udyan around noon.

This is the second time the US envoy visited the month-long fair this year. He visited the fair on the opening day.

The couple visited various book stalls and also spent time with children during the special hours dedicated to the little ones, arranged every Friday and Saturday for two hours from 11am.

At the children's corner, the ambassador and his wife were welcomed by mascots of popular characters of Sisimpur (the Bangladeshi adaptation of Sesame Street).

Meanwhile, Halum, Iqri and Tuktuki performed skits and interacted with the children, much to their excitement.

The couple also enjoyed the puppet show, took pictures with children and the Sisimpur characters and reminisced about their childhood.

“My wife and I grew up watching Sesame Street. We loved watching characters like Elmo and Cookie Monster,” said the ambassador. “It's great seeing these children growing up along with the characters and learning…,” he added.

When this correspondent asked him if he had come across any Bangladeshi literature before, Miller smiled and replied, “My Bangla is poor… I need to master Bangla so that I can truly appreciate the nuance and beauty of the language.”

Then again, the ambassador said, those who have come across the famous poets of the country know how “inherently rich in spirit” their poems are.

“There is tenderness in the poetry here that is absolutely amazing,” he said.

He said there is “power” in the poetry and in other literary pieces, which were composed revolving the country's Liberation War and the struggle for independence.

Praising the book fair, the ambassador said, “The month-long fair is amazing and inspiring and so well attended…”

On the eighth day, a total of 263 books hit the fair.