Gulshan Society organises book fair

Gulshan Society has hosted the neighborhood's first book fair (boi mela), for the first time such event in the area, at Lake Park in the Gulshan area of Dhaka.

The organization arranged the event on Friday with the objective to promote reading.

The fair included books, magazines and newspapers comprising of fiction and non-fiction, in both Bangla and English, says a media release.

Shayaan Seraj, Civic Utilities Convener, said, "Today's youth is busy on their smartphones and digital screens. Our intention was to bring the bookstore experience to natural surroundings and inspire people to pick up something to read.

He said, “We were fortunate to have been able to execute the program in the historic month of February."

There were several live readings throughout the weekend. Highlights included a live reading of a book written in Braille by a blind child and a reading of Bangabandhu's Unfinished Memoirs by Ramendua Majumdar and Abdus Selim.

Children engaged with the event heavily, coloring in life-sized Bangla alphabet cutouts.

Publishers and book stores who participated in the event include Bengal Boi, UPL, Pathok Shomabesh, Charcha, CRI, Her Story, Cosmos, Bookworm, Boi Bichitra, Daily Star Books, Dhaka Tribune, Business Standard, Milkshake Collective, Ignite, Prothom Alo, Pathao, Roll Express, and Cha Chai.

The event’s planning and execution were jointly led by Gulshan Society's Barrister Shukla Sarwat Siraj and Shayaan Seraj.

Several high profile VIPs included the event including Dhaka-11 MP, AKM Rahmatullah.