AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA-

THROUGH THE EYES OF FIVE

BUSINESS STUDENTS
A REPORT ON THE BUSINESS ASPECT OF AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA
AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA-
THROUGH THE EYES OF FIVE
BUSINESS STUDENTS
A REPORT ON THE BUSINESS ASPECT OF AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA

Submitted to
Mosta Gausul Hoque PMP
Adjunct Faculty
Institute of Business Administration
University of Dhaka

Submitted by
Group-10
Farhan Uddin Ahmed (ZR-10)
MD Kamrul Islam (ZR-46)
Md Riasat Hossain (ZR-60)
Md. Rafid Ibrahim Hasan (ZR-72)
Afi Noor (ZR-90)
Section: B
BBA-26
Institute of Business Administration
University of Dhaka

Date of Submission: February 22, 2020

 Institute of Business Administration
University of Dhaka
Dhaka – 1000

February 22, 2020

Mosta Gausul Hoque PMP

Adjunct Faculty
Institute of Business Administration
University of Dhaka

Dear Sir:

Subject: Submission of report titled “AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA- THROUGH THE
EYES OF FIVE BUSINESS STUDENTS”

Here is the report titled “AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA- THROUGH THE EYES OF FIVE
BUSINESS STUDENTS” as instructed by you for the partial fulfillment of credit for the course
“G102: Bangladesh Studies.”

We would like to thank you, our esteemed faculty, in giving us the privilege and scope of writing
this report. This has been a great learning experience for us, which will help us in the corporate
world. We sincerely hope that we were able to fulfill the course requirements effectively through
the submission of this report. We hope that you will accept our report and that it will reach your
level of expectations.

Please note that this report has been prepared under your supervision. Under no
circumstances will this report be shared or republished without your authorization.

Sincerely,

Farhan Uddin Ahmed (ZR-10) Md Riasat Hossain (ZR-60)

MD Kamrul Islam (ZR-46) Md. Rafid Ibrahim Hasan (ZR-72)

Afi Noor (ZR-90)

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 Acknowledgements

This project would not have been possible without the support of many people. First and foremost,
we wish to express our gratitude to our instructor, Mosta Gausul Hoque PMP who was abundantly
helpful and offered us invaluable assistance, support and guidance. We would also like to convey
thanks to publishers, volunteers and visitors for providing us valuable insights. Finally, we wish
to express our love and gratitude to our beloved families, friends and other batchmates; for their
understanding & endless love, through the duration of our work.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iv
Chapter-1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Objective ............................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Scope ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 2
1.4 Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 3
Chapter-2: Historical Background .................................................................................................. 3
2.1 Bangla Academy ................................................................................................................... 4
2.1.1 History............................................................................................................................ 4
2.1.2 Activities ........................................................................................................................ 5
2.2 Ekushey Boi Mela ................................................................................................................. 6
Chapter-3: Findings ........................................................................................................................ 7
3.1 Observations during our visit ................................................................................................ 7
3.2 Business aspects of the fair ................................................................................................... 8
3.3 Book fairs across the globe ................................................................................................. 10
3.3.1 Antarjatik Kolkata Boimela ......................................................................................... 11
3.3.2 Frankfurt Book Fair ..................................................................................................... 11
3.3.3 London Book Fair ........................................................................................................ 12
Chapter 4: Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 12
4.1 Positive Aspects of the fair ................................................................................................. 12
4.2 Main problems of the fair ................................................................................................... 13
Chapter-5: Recommendations....................................................................................................... 14
Chapter-6: Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 14
References ..................................................................................................................................... 15
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Appendix-A: Questionnaire ...................................................................................................... 16

List of figures
Figure-1: Breakdown of Amar Ekushey Boi Mela from 2014 to 2019…………………………...6
Figure-2: Total sales of books (in BDT crores) during Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2013 to 2018...13

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 Executive Summary
The report on ‘Amar Ekushey Boi Mela’ is based on the field visit of Batch 26th of IBA, University
of Dhaka on the premises of Bangla Academy and Suhrawardi Udyan. This is a small attempt to
capture the festivities surrounding the annual event and a daring approach to pitch some ideas to
make the event better.

The study primarily focuses on the modality of ‘Amar Ekushey Boi Mela’ from a business
perspective to make it better than it is as of now. Key observations, identified issues and a brief
comparison with other book fairs across the global map has been provided in the report. Despite
the earnest attempt to present an all-encompassing thorough report, it was limited due to time
constraint and lack of data. In addition, as the report is based mostly on observation and interviews,
there is a possibility that some of the data or information presented in the study, may be perceived
differently by other individuals.

The report is a culmination of primary and secondary data. Most of the report is based on first hand
observation in the field trip. An interview that helped in gaining insight also served as source for
primary data. Newspaper cutting and other articles also helped us in making this report as
comprehensive as it is.

‘Amar Ekushey Boi Mela’ is an indirect result of the Language Movement of 1952. Bengalis of
then East Pakistan gave up their lives in order to establish Bangla as one of the state languages of
Pakistan. The movement gave birth to the sense of nationalism among the Bengalis which paved
the way for current Bangladesh. The formation of Bangla Academy was also a result of the
language movement. And it was in post-independent Bangladesh, that the precursor to Ekushey
Boi Mela was held in Bangla Academy.

Finally, a recommendation part has been added with a view to make the ‘Amar Ekushey Boi Mela’
a more appealing event both to local and foreign visitors. Hopefully, this report will serve the
purpose of turning ‘Amar Ekushey Boi Mela’ from a national phenomenon to an international
sensation – making Bangladesh a cosmopolitan country for the month of February each year.

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 Chapter-1: Introduction
This is a report prepared for the course “G201: Bangladesh Studies.” We went on a field trip along
with our Course Instructor to the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2020- the longest duration book fair
held in the world (Williams, 2018). We visited the fair premises and made observations in the
perspectives of business school students. This report highlights the important observations we
made throughout the trip, the problems we identified and recommended suggestions.

1.1 Objective
The main aim of this report is to understand the annual Amar Ekushey Boi Mela in the perspective
of business school students. With that in mind, we have made the following objectives:

● Highlight key observations done during the field trip

● Compare Ekushey Boi Mela with other book fairs held across the globe
● Identify problems faced by different stakeholders to the fair
● Recommend possible strategies to solve the problems

1.2 Scope
As mentioned before, the aim of this report is to provide an understanding of the fair. The
understanding of the fair is based upon the current conditions of the annual event. No study on the
evolution of the commercial aspects will be done. Although a general history will be mentioned in
the next chapter, this is just to give a context to the readers.

The findings and analysis will be done based upon the methodologies that are discussed in the next
section. Most of the findings and analyses are done based on observation of the fair at Bangla
Academy premises. No recommendations will be made that will be obtained outside the
methodologies that have been used in preparing the report.

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The whole report is divided into four chapters. The second chapter gives the readers a background
of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair. The third chapter shows the readers some observations that we
made during our visit to the fair premises. The fourth chapter informs of problems that we have
identified using the methodologies. We will also analyze the problems in this chapter. The fifth
chapter recommends possible business solutions for the problems we identified in the previous
chapter. Finally, the sixth chapter gives a conclusion.

1.3 Methodology
Comprehending the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in a business perspective is the main aim of this
report. The aim requires us to take a comprehensive view of the entire event process. As such, we
have decided to adopt mixed methods research design for this study. We decided on using both
quantitative research strategies (such as close ended interviews and structured observations) and
qualitative ones (such as narrative research).

We visited the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on February 15th 2020. We reached there at 11.30 pm.
We first visited the Bangla Academy premise of the book fair. After visiting the various stalls
there, we went to the Suhrawardy Uddyan portion of the fair. Our visit lasted for about 4 hours.
We concluded our visit at 4.30 pm.

Our main approach to this study has been abductive in nature. We first gathered through our
observations when we visited Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. We conducted interviews with stall
owners, publishers, officials and visitors. Appendix-A contains the questionnaire we used during
the interview process.

After gathering data from our observation, we gathered information from various secondary
sources. This mainly includes newspaper articles. Even, we used social media to understand
visitor’s sentiments concerning the fair.Using a combination of these primary and secondary data,
we then went for analysis and recommendation. Our analysis and recommendation is based on
previous studies and reports.

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1.4 Limitations
This study is based on observation to the book fair on a single day. As a result, our study can be
subjected to some biases. Due to not visiting, our study is limited by the lack of finding multiple
instances of our observations. Also, our interview process has some limitations as many publishers,
store owners, sellers and buyers felt reluctant to talk with us. In addition, there is a lack of
comprehensive secondary research done on the Amar Ekushey Book Mela.

Chapter-2: Historical Background

The inspiration of the Omor Ekushey Boi Mela is the events that occurred on the 21st of February,
also known as ‘Omor Ekushey’. The events served as the root of the Bengali Nationalism and
paved the way to this country’s independence. This day is commemorated for the people who laid
down their lives for their right to freedom and their language on 21st February, 1952.

The movement was initiated after a declaration of then governor of East Pakistan, Khawaja
Nazimuddin, that Urdu would be declared as the state’s language in 1952. His declaration was
jeered at by everyone who attended the event in former Suhrawardy Udyan. But his declaration
was only a restatement of a declaration made by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1948.

In protest of this and also to uphold the right to speak and write in their mother tongue, the students
of Dhaka University, Jagannath University and Dhaka Medical College led peaceful protests in
the streets of Dhaka. But the police, under the orders of the Pakistani government, opened fire on
them and mowed down the students. The likes of Salam, Rafiq, Barkat, Jabber and many more
were killed in the process.

This served a domino or ripple effect, because what followed was a series of events which
culminated into Bangla gaining the status of state language in former East Pakistan and eventually
gaining its independence and becoming Bangladesh.

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The events of the 21st February hold great significance for the nation of Bangladesh. It was a sign
of how brave the people of this country were and to what extent they were willing to go to protect
their rights and culture. This movement was the first great movement against the Pakistani rule
and acted as a catalyst for the events that followed; namely the 6-point Movement and the
Liberation War of 1971. This also led people of this country to believe that they can achieve
anything with their sheer willpower. But the greatest achievement came in the form of this day
being dubbed as the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999, giving this day
worldwide recognition.

2.1 Bangla Academy

Bangla Academy is a self-governing foundation supported by the Government of Bangladesh to
advance and sustain Bengali language, writing and culture, to create and actualize national
language strategy, and to lead Bengali research. Built in 1955, it is situated inside the grounds of
Dhaka University and Suhrawardy Udyan in Burdwan Building, in Ramna, Dhaka. Annual
Ekushey Book Fair is held at the premises of Bangla Academy.

2.1.1 History

The significance of building an association for Bengali language was first accentuated by the
Muhammad Shahidullah. Later, on 27 April 1952, after the creation of the language, the All Party
National Language Committee chose to ask for the establishment of an organization to promote
the Bengali language. Later, on April 27th, 1952, after the creation of the language, the All Party
National Language Committee chose to ask for the establishment of an organization to promote
the Bengali language. After the Front's achievement of the political race, training pastor Syed
Azizul Haque submitted the request to fulfill this assurance.

In 1955 a council was created by the administration to speed up the procedure. The board was
composed of intelligent drivers such as Muhammad Shahidullah, Qazi Motahar Hossain, S.M.
Bhattacharya, W. H. Shadani, and Muhammad Barkatullah. The institute was established on 3
December 1955, by East Bengal's chief minister, Abu Hussain Sarkar.

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2.1.2 Activities
According to its website, the following are the activities performed by Bangla Academy.

1. Every year, Bangla Academy organizes Ekushey Book Fair to commemorate the sacrifice
of language movement martyrs.

2. Growth, support and spread of the Bengali language, writing and culture in accordance
with national desires and wishes.

3. Issue, create and make available key works such as Bengali language dictionary,
composing phrases and grammar, reference books, lists of sources and reference book for
ordinary citizens.

4. Undertaking planned steps to determine the normal spelling and highlighting of Bengali
words and updating the use of Bengali language in both quantitative and subjective
science and innovation terms.

5. Translating the important works of Bengali writing in different dialects of the world to
spread the inside message and magnificence of Bengali writing in the outside world while
at the same time deciphering the main scholarly works of various dialects in Bengali.

6. Introducing scholarly honors and honor and collaborations worldwide, life-term

enrollment and participation status in the field of Bengali language, literature, and culture
creation.

7. To pursue fundamental steps to remember Bengali language and to write for the schedule
of remote colleges and to spread, just as to present Bengali language, literature, culture
and epistemology in the outside world.

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2.2 Ekushey Boi Mela
Back on 21st February, 1972, Muktodhara Publishing house started a little in front of Bangla
Academy. The initiative was taken by Chittaranjan Saha, the then director of Muktodhara.
Gradually, other book publishers joined and it became the most popular book fair in Bangladesh.

Bangla Academy took over organizing this fair in 1978. In 1984, it was officially renamed as
‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’. Commonly known as ‘Boi Mela’, despite starting merely as a book
fair, in course of time, it has been involved into a national cultural festival reflecting the cultural
spirit of the modern Bengali Nation. In addition to book sales, Bangla Academy organizes literary
and cultural events every fair-day. Thousands of people gather to purchase books and spend time
with the company of books and their authors with a patriotic zeal. There is no entry fee. Publishers
of Bangladesh take year-long preparation to publish a huge number of books during this month.

Figure-1: Breakdown of Amar Ekushey Boi Mela from 2014 to 2019. Source: The Daily
Star

Generally, the book fair spans from 1 February to 28 February. It takes place in Bangla Academy
premises and in Suhrawardi Udyan. The Ministry of Culture is in control of the fair while the
Academy does the groundwork. Usually the Prime Minister inaugurates the fair. Around 300 to
400 publishing houses take part in the fair.

There is Nazrul Moncho, a corner dedicated to our National poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, a fixed place
for month-long cultural meetings, a Lekhok Kunjo, a dedicated place for writers and, a media center
for the journalists. Free WiFi service has been enabled since 2019. Nowadays it becomes harder
to accommodate the huge crowd and the increasing number of publishers.
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 Chapter-3: Findings
In this section, we highlight our observations about the fair. We also make comparisons about
different book fairs held throughout the world in order to make a comprehensive observation.

3.1 Observations during our visit

The Amar Ekushey Boimela is an annual book fair in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is hosted by Bangla
Academy. It is a platform to promote the arts, culture and tradition of Bangladesh. The book fair
goes on for the entire month of February.

This year, the book fair was hosted in two locations, namely, the grounds of Bangla Academy, and
the open field of Suhrawardy Udyan. The authorities have allotted 179 units at the Bangla
Academy ground to 126 organizations and 694 units at the Suhrawardy Udyan to 434
organizations. A total of 34 pavilions have also been allocated this year. The fair will remain open
from 3pm to 9pm from Sundays to Thursdays; and from 11am to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
The fair, dedicated to the 1952 Language Movement martyrs, will remain open from 8am to 8pm
on February 21. (Tribune Desk, 2020)

Upon entering the Bangla Academy grounds, the first step is to get through the security clearance.
There are book stalls surrounding the pathway leading to the Bardhaman Bhaban. This house is
of historical significance. It used to be the resident of the Governor of East Bengal, prior to the
independence of Bangladesh. It was also the residence of the national poet of Bangladesh Kazi
Nazrul Islam. In this building, various displays preserve the folklore and folk culture of Bengal.
There are displays of various traditional clothing of the indigenous people, musical instruments
used by local bauls, common tools and utensils used by indigenous people in their day to day
activities. Furthermore, tools of the Mughal rulers are also preserved. Weapons, machinery and
utensils from the Mughal rule are kept there. Moreover, artifacts of Nokshi Shilpo made by the
local craftsmen are stored there. Finally, there are displays of local antiques and elements of the
local peasant culture.

Next to the Bardhaman Bhaban is a stage where artists from different productions can perform
throughout the course of the fair. The rest of the Bangla Academy grounds are mainly filled with
publications related to the liberation war and the history of Bengal.

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The main book fair is on the fields of Suhrawardy Udyan. The entrance is right opposite of the
Bangla Academy main gate. The entire premise has hundreds of book stalls containing both fiction
and non-fiction writings from almost every publisher in the country. The book fair gets thousands
of visitors every year. In 2018, the fair had a total sales of Tk. 70.5 crore. (Alamgir, 2019) The fair
also had a food stall where many traditional food items of Bangladesh can be found. There is
Nazrul Moncho, a corner dedicated to poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, a fixed place for month-long cultural
meetings, a Lekhok Kunjo, a dedicated place for writers and, a media center for the journalists.
Free WiFi service has been enabled since 2019.

3.2 Business aspects of the fair

In this section, we take a look at some of the business aspects of Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. While
visiting the fair, the following aspects were noticed:

● Increase of space for the fair: This year the land earmarked for the fair has been expanded
to 800,000 square feet, on which a total of 873 units have been allocated to 560
organizations (Tribune Desk, 2020) . As a result of an increase in space, there has been less
congestion of stalls and also visitors. Since Saturday is a public holiday, there was a huge
crowd. However, due to the increase in land, no such crowding was observed.

● Loan facility for buying books: This year, Non-bank Financial Institution (NBFI) IPDC
Finance Limited launched a loan project called “Subodh” (which translates to well
minded). Under this facility, visitors can take upto BDT 3,000 in loan for buying books.
The loan does not come with any interest charges. Repayment of the loan can be done in
installments within 3 months.

At the inaugural ceremony of the loan service on February 2 at the Amar Ekushey Boi
Mela, MD and CEO of IPDC Finance Ltd Mominul Islam said, "This time, IPDC has
brought the loan facility to boost the enthusiasm of booklovers and return the interest in
reading books to the present generation." (Kabir Shayok and Hossain, 2020).

8
 We visited the stall and the volunteers informed us of the process. They also told us that
many visitors, especially young people, were interested in getting the loan.

● Book store for the visually impaired: Sporsho, a braille book publication house, has set
up its stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair premises as in previous years with the aim of
satiating the book cravings of visually impaired people. The braille book publication,
Sporsho, promotes itself with the slogan: “People are blind not because they are unable to
see with their eyes, but because they do not have the knowledge to visualize life from
within.” (Shovon, 2020)

When we talked to a sales executive at the stall, she told us, “"Most people come to the
stall out of interest from different classes. As we're just beginning to make our services for
three days, we expect many more to visit the room. We have free-of-charge braille books
on behalf of Sporsho. After reading the books the readers either return it to us or give it to
someone else.”

● eBook stores: A total of four eBook stores have been set up at the Bangla Academy
premises this year. They are Muthoboi, Boitoi, Sheiboi, and Chorui Dot Com. Readers
have to download the eponymous apps from Google play store on their smartphones or
tablets, pick the books they want to buy, and pay online. They are creating an opportunity
for bookworms abroad to get a taste of the Ekushey Book Fair as they can purchase eBooks
from foreign countries (Tithila, 2020).

When we visited the stalls, we found enthusiasm among the visitors. Most of the visitors
were young people. They were driven to here by the lower prices, convenience and
environment friendliness of the technology as opposed to paper books. One student we
interviewed said, "These days people are using their cell phones for a considerable amount
of time. EBooks are a great relief to students who are on a tight budget and have little room
to store paper books in their house."

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 ● Decline in sales of “Little Mag” corner: The Little Mag corner is a space given by Bangla
Academy authorities to different publishers of liberal magazines. Even after all non-public
institution publication stalls were shifted to Suhrawardy Uddyan in 2014, the corner was
preserved in Bangla Academy corner. The number of stalls allotted to the corner has also
increased. In 2014, there were 45 stalls, in 2015 60 stalls, 85 stalls in 2016, 100 in 2017,
136 stalls in 2018 and finally, 131 in 2019 (Shovon, 2020).

Although the number of stalls has increased, sales have not. We met some publishers at the
little mag corner. According to one sales executive at Golpo Katha, a magazine publisher
at the little mag corner, "We are going through a slump in earnings this year."

● Celebration of “Mujib Borsho”: This year marks a century since the birth of the Father
of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The government has decided to
celebrate the event with “Mujib Borsho” (Year of Mujib)- a year long commemoration of
the greatest Bangalee ever lived. In light of that, Bangla Academy authorities have declared
this year’s book fair theme as the “Birth Centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.” In the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the cover
of Bangabandhu’s third book- “Amar dekha noya Chin” (The new China as I saw) (Tribune
Desk, 2020).

While visiting the fair premises, we observed many of the stalls placed banners celebrating
the birth centenary of Bangabandhu. We also saw these stalls placing the books written by
and about Bangabandhu on the front.

3.3 Book fairs across the globe

In order to understand the Amar Ekushey Book Fair comprehensively as business graduates, we
have decided to compare the fair with three of the most famous book fairs across the globe.

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3.3.1 Antarjatik Kolkata Boimela
Held in Kolkata, the International Kolkata Book Fair (old name: Calcutta Book Fair in English),
and formally Antarjatik Kolkata Boimela or Antarjatik Kolkata Pustakmela in romanized Bengali
is one of the largest book fairs in the world taking place during winter. This winter fair is one of a
kind in the sense that this fair is not for wholesalers. So, this book fair can’t be called a trade fair
since it is mainly for the general public. Kolkata Boimela is the world’s biggest non-trade fair,
and it ranks first in terms of number of visitors. After the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London
Book Fair, Kolkata book fair comes next as the largest annual conglomeration of books. Numerous
Kolkatans find the book reasonable a characteristic piece of Kolkata, and occasions of individuals
who regularly visit the fair during its period are common. In a fair season, the book fair offers an
ordinary carnival involvement — for picnickers, artist lyricists, and sellers of candy floss. With an
all-out footfall of over 20 lacs+ people, it is the largest fair book in the world by attendance.

3.3.2 Frankfurt Book Fair

The Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM) is the world's largest fair exchange for books, brought together
in terms of both the amount of selling organizations spoken to, and the number of guests spoken
to. It is known as the most important book fair for worldwide trading and agreements on the globe.
Mid-October, the five-day annual event takes place at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in
Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The first three days are strictly limited to qualified visitors; on the
weekend, the general public attends the fair. In order to negotiate international publishing rights
and license fees, several thousand exhibitors representing book publishing, entertainment and
technology companies, as well as content providers from all over the world gather. The fair is
managed by Frankfurter Buchmesse GmbH, a subsidiary of the Association for German Publishers
and Booksellers. In 2017 more than 7,300 exhibitors from over 100 countries and over 286,000
visitors participated. Every year, Frankfurter Buchmesse provides the city of Frankfurt with
innovative technologies and world literature, turning it into a regional center for the media and
publishing industry.

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3.3.3 London Book Fair

The London Book Fair (LBF) is an enormous book-distributing public expo held every year in
London, England, generally in April. LBF is a worldwide commercial center for rights exchange
and the deal and circulation of creative works across print, sound, TV, film and computerized
channels. The 50th occasion will occur in 2020. The London Book Fair Market Focus program
exhibits one specific nation or district of note every year, with the goal of putting the focus on
distributing exchange joins with this domain, its distributing industry and the open doors for
leading business with the remainder of the world.

Chapter 4: Analysis
In this chapter, we analyze the various positive and negative aspects of Amar Ekushey Book
Fair.

4.1 Positive Aspects of the fair

The positive thing about the fair is that it is in a huge field. There is plenty of space between the
stalls for the visitors to walk around. There are provisions for foods and beverages. The culture
and historical value of the fair is a huge attractive charm for the people of all walks of life. As
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said when inaugurating this year’s fair, “Ekushey Book Fair is now
not only a centre for selling and purchasing of books, it is also a fair of the hearts of the Bangalis.”

The book fair provides ample opportunities for book publishers to make huge sales. Most of the
world’s book fairs are held for a maximum of one or two weeks. However, the Amar Ekushey Boi
Mela occurs throughout the whole month. This duration gives book publishers, authors and sellers
a huge amount of time to make profits.

Infact, the sales of books during the Ekushey Boi Mela have increased over the year. As the graph
below shows, the sales of books have increased from BDT 10.147 crore in 2013 to BDT 80 crore
in 2018. This amounts to USD 9.6 million in sales.

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 Figure-2: Total sales of books (in BDT crores) during Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2013 to 2018.
Source: The New Publishing Standard

4.2 Main problems of the fair

The main problem with the book fair is that it is under the open sky. The entire fair is exposed to
the elements of nature. Severe heat from the Sun is a detriment to the fair visitors. Furthermore,
there is limited space to sit down and relax at the fair. Another problem is that there is only one
entrance and exit to the fair. This can cause a huge hassle when traffic is high in the fair. Moreover,
there are no markers to point to the various places of interest in the fair. In addition, there is no
map or overlay of the fair. This makes it very hard for the visitors to navigate around the premises.
There are no personnel to guide and assist the visitors. Moreover, there is no provision for
entertainment for children.

Apart from the newly initiated book loan option of IPDC, visitors to the book fair mainly two
payment options- cash or through bKash. Some big publication houses have credit card payment
facilities. However, the number of paying through credit cards is few. In addition, although bKash
is the largest mobile financial service in the country, there are other mobile payment options
including Nagad, Rocket, iPay etc. Such services are absent in the fair.

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 Chapter-5: Recommendations
Taking the problems into consideration, some recommendations are provided here which may
alleviate the existing condition of the book fair -
● Set-up small water stations and lemonade stands all around the fair so people suffering
from the heat or dehydration can quench their thirst

● Arrange a couple more entry and exit points so the high traffic does not end up being a
hassle for the general people

● Set-up enough number of signs and designations around the fair, especially in the
crossroad sections so people can navigate by themselves and don’t have to face any sort
of struggles to get where they want

● Maintain a group of volunteers and station them all around the fair so they can aid the
visitors who may require assistance

● Since not everyone is a client of Bkash, invite other mobile banking and loan services to
the fair so that everyone may avail these services

Chapter-6: Conclusion
Amar Ekushey Boi Mela is an integral part and parcel of the cultural life of Bangladeshi people.
Recent developments have shown how it is incorporating new technology such as e-books and
cashless payments to bring novelty in the publishing market. However, problems persist.
Moreover, as our discussion on global book fairs have shown, Amar Ekushey Boi Mela has a
long way to go in order to achieve global standards. Thus, authorities concerned and businesses
should take a proactive role to help attain this landmark event an international recognition. This
will enable awareness of our culture and may improve tourism and foreing relationships between
other nations and us.

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 References
Alamgir, M., 2019. Ekushey book fair growing in all aspects. [Online]
Available at: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2020/02/02/pm-opens-ekushey-
book-fair-2020 [Accessed 20 February 2020].
Available at: https://www.thedailystar.net/city/ekushey-book-fair-2019-bigger-than-ever-
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Bangla Academy. (2020, February 15). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangla_Academy

Frankfurt Book Fair. (2019, December 21). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Book_Fair

Kabir Shayok, S. and Hossain, M. (2020). IPDC’s new loan generating interest in books without
interest!. United News of Bangladesh (UNB). [online] Available at:
http://unb.com.bd/category/special/ipdcs-new-loan-generating-interest-in-books-without-
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata_Book_Fair

Shovon, F. (2020). Little mag corner experiences slump. Dhaka Tribune. [online] Available at:
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Tithila, K. (2020). eBooks for readers on the go. Dhaka Tribune. [online] Available at:
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2020/02/06/ebooks-for-readers-on-the-go
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Tribune Desk (2020). PM vows to take Bangladesh’s art, culture on world stage. Dhaka Tribune.
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Tribune Desk, 2020. PM vows to take Bangladesh’s art, culture on world stage. [Online]
Williams, M. (2018). Bangladesh Amar Ekushey Boi Mela sells $9.6 million of books in 28 day
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 Appendix

Appendix-A: Questionnaire
Questionnaire for book vendors:
1. How many customers are you getting per day?
2. How many customers actually buy the books?
3. Are the organizers cooperating during any issue?
4. Are you satisfied with the book fair?
5. What other facilities would you like?
6. Are you doing any marketing to boost sales?

Questionnaire for fair visitors:

1. Did you enjoy the fair?
2. Do you have any complaints?
3. How many books did you buy?
4. How was the atmosphere of the fair?
5. Did you expect anything more?

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