The month of February carries some particular significance in our national life. It is the month of spring. It is the month of rebellion. On 21st of February in 1952 four great young souls namely Abdus Salam, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abul Barkat and Abdul Jabbar offered their lives to establish Bengali as one of the two state languages of the then Pakistan. Since then February has been the symbolic month to protest any excess of authority or corruption.

It is to pay homage to the language movement martyrs that each year Bangla Academy organizes the Ekushey Book Fair or Amar Ekushe Grantha Melā, popularly known as Ekushey Boi Mela is the national book fair of Bangladesh. It is arranged each February for the whole month. Bangla Academy took over organization of the fair in 1978. In 1984 it was named Amar Ekushey Book Fair.

Around 455 publishers will participate in this year’s fair. This year the fair will remain open from 3:00pm to 9:00pm on every working day and from 11:00am to 9:00pm on public holidays. The month-long book fair or is indeed a laudable event and a feather in the cap of culturally vibrant Bangladesh. It gives ample opportunity to all the booklovers to visit the fair again and again as per convenience. Publishers, writers, students, researchers, readers and the general visitors throng there every day to see the books, collect the catalogues, purchase the liked ones or simply  move around taking a nice cultural break.

Book fair gives us ample opportunity to see books, take in hand and have a taste without having any obligation to buy or face embarrassing question on buying. Increase in  price of books has become a menace for ordinary buyers to buy books of their choice, but the publishers say that decrease in  sale contributes more towards increase in cost. The publishers in Kolkata are very much concerned with the pocket of the booklovers and try their best to keep the price less for maximum  sale even at the cost of quality of publication. Sometimes deluxe editions are separately published for those who can afford so the poor booklovers are not deprived of cheaper paperbacks.

Long back Francis Bacon found that some books are to be tasted, some to be swallowed, while some few to be chewed on and digested.  And the selection  varies from man to man according to their diverse nature, temperament and requirement.  Naturally every book is not  to be liked  by everybody.  They will go by their own choice.

Books are undoubtedly the best companions of man and in some ways better than human companions. We do not have any responsibility to create and nurture their companionship or any compulsion to keep them happy or in good humour. Human companionship can break but our companionship with good books never breaks and can be invoked any moment at will. They are indeed the best respite to let ourselves lose in literature, philosophy, science, history etc.  We can use them out of necessity or just as a pastime or  an ideal harmless  addiction. Immortal authors like Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Goethe, Rabindranath etc never cease to give us refuge and solace in suffering and sorrow. They give us strength to transcend the limitations of mundane living with inspiration, vision, mission and direction for meaningful living. We wonder how people used to live before discovery of printing technology and publication of books.

No wonder that Persian poet Omar Khayyam desired to have a book of verse with him in his contemplated heaven. If we are unfortunately deprived of poetic sentiment  we can enjoy novels or short stories or drama. We can take passionate interest in detective books or thrillers. Serious readers seek refuge in thoughts expressed by the best minds in books. If travelling is inconvenient for us due to various reasons we can easily enjoy travelogue and see the places of interest with mental eyes with expressed details kindling our own  imagination.

Every religion is aptly expressed and codified in books. It is said that  ignorance is the curse of God and knowledge is the wing to fly to heaven.  By reading scriptures we immediately sublimate ourselves with great thoughts. It is not possible to get oral advice from greats saints but we can easily have access to the same through books.

It was apprehended that more and more use of internet and e-books will impair the requirement of traditional paper books. But the fear has been proved  to be groundless. People are fond of paper books with nice appearance,  smelling pages and soothing touch as much better companion than more  convenient electronic material. Hence the demand for books have not been reduced in spite of electronic substitute. Audio books have its utility at times, but it impedes taking own time for  thinking over a line along with reading. Hence nothing can be compared with decent  paper books with developed printing and publishing technology.

Book fairs are lavishly arranged around the world. But Ekushey Book Fair has its own charm with smell of soil mixed with smell of new books and emotional interest of the visitors who anxiously wait for the publication of books of their favourite authors and have a look at them. This human touch makes it more lively and intimate. Moreover, predominance of Bengali books and its connection with 21st February adds additional emotional significance to the occasion with love for mother language and glorious history of agitation for the same. Giving due importance to little magazines this time is praiseworthy as these occasionally carry brilliant pieces from the budding writers and nurture their formative phase.

Although Ekushey Boi Mela started merely as a book fair, it has evolved into a national cultural festival reflecting the cultural spirit of the modern Bengali nation. Apart from book sales, Bangla Academy organises literary and cultural events every day. Thousands of people assemble everyday to buy books and to have some leisurely time in the company of books and their authors with the spirit of February. 

The writer is a freelance contributor