Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2007 and Lack of Original Books

I would not say that there was lack of original books in Bangla Academy Fair 2007 but surely there was a severe lack of well researched and good quality books. In various newspaper and TV reports, we have seen this problem in the last 3 weeks. This time, we did not see too many translated books. We also did not see many books on the historical language movement. It is a pity that Language Movement is neglected in the Bangla Academy book fair. On the other hand, we have to acknowledge the reality. Most readers in Dhaka do not want to spend their money for “serious” types of books. They want something light and that is why they love to buy novels of different writers in the book fair.

Naturally, the publishers want to invest their money more on novels than original research works. I do not see any hope of changing this condition in the near future. The only way this problem can be solved is that large companies have to come forward and donate more money on research works. Well, this kind of corporate culture is yet to become popular in Bangladesh. So, for the time being, we will have to wait and pray.