The invisible craftsmen behind Amar Ekushey Book Fair

Thousands of visitors and book lovers throng the    month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair at the Suhrawardy Uddyan and the Bangla Academy premises every year. 

A total of 928 units were allotted to 627 publishing houses and organisations for the country’s biggest book fair. Apart from book stalls, big pavilions are allocated to big publishing houses and organisations.

However, the visitors who enjoy the month being surrounded by books, standing inside the Bangla cultural hub, could merely imagine how the situation was right before the book fair started.

The thousands craftsmen and masons who buildup the entire makeshift structure remain unseen and unnoticed. Nobody ever think about their contribution and efforts behind the arrangement of the most important cultural gathering in the country.

Interestingly a makeshift market was also set up in the book fair area to ease the book stall setting process, which has become a trend before any international fairs.  

Some of these people are carpenters, some are painters, some of them are daily labourers and some are product suppliers. They supplied products like wood, plywood board, electric wire, paint bucket and other relevant necessary products.

A calligrapher who is also a child-fiction writer, was found inside the premises, writing stall names on cocksheets.  

While talking to Views Bangladesh, surprisingly most of the unnoticed artistes said they are participating in setting up the book stalls not only for money but also for the love they feel for the fair.

“But no one knows who gave the labour behind the whole celebration. I sometimes visit the fair, especially during late of the month as we generally work for the Chhattagram book fair that usually starts after half of the month of February.

Being in the crowd while surrounded by books is a joy. But my joy goes to another level realizing that I am one of them who drenched in labour sweat to make the celebration more colourful,” said Madaripur resident Azazul Haque, a part-time painter and also an undergrad student.

Van-puller Md Abbas Mia has been working at the book fair premises for the last four days. “My daughter is a tenth-grade student and loves to visit the book fair every year.

"I usually pull a van in the Azimpur bazar area. But everyday I come here and whatever I earn here I give it to my daughter Rashida to buy books. This is the fifth time I am repeating my schedule,” he added.

However, most of the labour come here as they have expertized themselves on setting up stalls whether it is at book fair or in any international or district level commercial fairs.

But at the end of the day, they remain deprived of enjoying what they have built for celebration as they have to move on for the next fair or destination.   

Besides, these people officials and executives from the press management section of the publications were found engaged in the gigantic tasks.

Kazi Md Khokon Mia, tasked with establishing a stall (number 23) of Katha Prokashoni, said:  “I stepped into the fair premises before the fair and will enter again once the fair ends and we need to take away our stall from the given position.”  

Makeshift market in the premises

Talking to the products suppliers it has been learned that a makeshift market has been established at the fair premises for years.

The market is mainly set up only in the premises that are hosting international or book fairs like Ekushey book fair and chattagram book fair.

Nekbor Biswas, owner of Bhai Bhai S'mil, is supplying wood to set up the frame of the book stalls.

He said he has been supplying the woods since 1996, two years later his son Shariful Alam got admission in the Department of English in University of Dhaka.  

“I am a businessman and I wanted to be close to my son on those days. Potentiality of business was the secondary issue. But soon I started to love the business,” he added.

Nekbor is providing wood at a much lower price than any other person. His son studied in the campus where the book fair is organized every year. Besides, he himself has a wood supply business in Rajbari.

“No one can stand before me in terms of supplying wood at lower prices. My business became ten times bigger after the fair moved to Suhrawardy Udyan from Bangla Academy premises,” he said.  

However, the paint bucket supplier said it is not the case for them as they have just started to make the supply.

Emdad Hasan, a staff of Habib electric and hardware, said that they are the oldest to set up a temporary shop in the fair premises.

“This is the seventh time we are setting up the shop, oldest among the electronics and hardware suppliers,” he said, adding that they are seeing a moderate business this year too.

Several traders said they got attracted to the market as it can be a one-time selling point where they can get a minimum profit after the fair move to the place permanently.  

Md Liton Miah, owner of Hanufa Enterprise, said that one can find the makeshift market only in the Dhaka International fair, Ekushey Book fair and Chattagram book fair.   

However, according to Liton his business profit is less than before as the publication owners are reusing the materials they used previous year.

But he is still happy as he can make a nominal profit till now. “We do not need to give money for permission to any authority. And so minimal profit can work.”

A calligrapher  

A resident of Barisal, Saifullah Nabi was seen writing stall names and some relevant words on the cocksheets.

Writer of almost 49 published child-fiction books, Saifullah is getting ready for the fair as his fiftieth book – ‘Geyan biggeyane oshoriri rohosso’ (Supernatural mysteries in Sciences) is going to be published by Career Publications this year during the fair.

“For last 29 years, I came to Dhaka a few days before the fair started and took the work. It provides me with a sum of money that helps me stay in the capital during the fair time,” he added.  

He said this year the Bangla Academy authority holds the Stall allotment for old and newly listed publications will be done through a digitalised lottery system for stall allotment few days later. So, the publisher got less time.

And so, he has to let go of several works. He, however, observed that the way the setting up of the stalls are going, a handful ones could not be able to complete their installation.

The month-long "Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela 2024", the country's largest book fair, is going to begin on the first day of February this year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the fair on February 1 this year at 3pm. Publishers and several government agencies installed their stalls on Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan premises.