“Yummy, juicy and sweet,” Fatema Tuj Johra said as she munched on a piece of sweet put on a visual display at a stall as part of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy’s five-day sweet fair.

The high school teacher was caught off guard when she learned of the sweet fair going on at the Shilpakala Academy, a destination known chiefly for cultural performances.

The view of different colored sweets and the accompanying enticing smells have pleased Fatema and many other visitors.

“I didn’t even know that Bangladesh has so many types of sweets,” an amazed Fatema said.

Starting Wednesday, the fair features traditional sweets from different parts of the country. It will run from 3pm-9 pm everyday till Sunday.

Another visitor Ahsan Piyal said, “Gradually, our traditional sweets are disappearing, especially for those of us who live in the city. It feels really good to come here and see and taste all these rural sweets. Thanks to Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy for organising such a unique event, and for working to preserve our traditional food items.”

During the opening ceremony, Shilpakala Academy Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky said that the fair would not only display sweets from all 64 districts of the country but also allow visitors to taste them.

The fair would be organised every year from now as part of the initiatives of the Shilpakala Academy to discover and promote the elements of national pride and glory spread across the country, Lucky added.

“From Panchagarh to Cox’s Bazar, every city has its own history. We want to preserve the significance of history,” he said.

“Through the sweets fair, I believe it is possible to identify and show respect to the sweet makers. Many of our sweets have already received GI (geographical indication) recognition. We will work on getting the GI recognition for other deserving sweets.”

While visiting the fair on Thursday, this correspondent saw that sweet makers from various districts of the country were showcasing various types of sweets in their stalls. Visitors were seen coming and tasting the sweets with excitement.

Shompa, a representative of the Cumilla stall, said, “Among the items of our stall, there are Yogurt, Rashgulla, Chamcham, Matribhandar Rashmalai, Chhanamukhi, Chhana Angoori, and others.”

“We are getting a good response from visitors. People are coming to our stall, trying various sweets and praising them,” she added.

Md Zahurul Islam of Magura stall said, “There are items like Magura’s Kheer Sandesh, Kheer Chamcham, Shada Mishti, Kalojam, and Chhana Jilapi, totaling 11 types of sweets in our stall.”

Visitors have welcomed the efforts of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy to promote the different cultural traditions of the country.