Twice-weekly tabloid Sare 3 Diner Patrika, three and a half days鈥� newspaper, is what has drawn a number of readers to the stall of the same name in the Suhrawardy Udyan ground of Amar Ekushey book fair this year. The month-long fair ends today.
The initiative of Bengal Books has brought out nine issues in all 鈥� two in a week coming down to eight issues in four weeks of February and an added issue, planned for the last day鈥檚 publication but published two days earlier 鈥� offers the reading of a newspaper with articles written by industry people covering nine broad issues.
The issues have dealt with translations, popular literature, film, Phalgun which is the first Bengali month of the spring season, westerns, language, children鈥檚 literature, revolution and literature, and the publishing industry.
A man behind the counter has said that they do not know why the newspaper has caught on this time. Bengal Books started publishing the newspaper in the 2023 fair.
The copy of the newspaper, priced at Tk 20, is given to each of the stalls in the ground free. Many came in to buy the set while some others bought a select few. The stall have sold 50 copies a day on an average.
While most of the publishers were not happy about the sales this year, putting the aggregate sales down to a half of what it was in the 2024 fair, 176 titles reached the fair on February 27, official figures say. The day鈥檚 arrivals included 63 collections of poems, 26 novels and 23 volumes of short stories.
Gronthik Prokashan鈥檚 chief executive officer Tania Akter has said that the overall sales have significantly declined this year.
Agamee Prakashani鈥檚 chief executive officer Osman Gani has said that the sales at this year鈥檚 fair could be the lowest. Proprietors of some publishing houses have blamed the political instability for such a situation.
The closing ceremony of the fair will take place on the main stage in the Bangla Academy ground at 5:00pm. The academy鈥檚 president Abul Quasem Fazlul Haque will preside over the programme.
The cultural affairs adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki will attend as chief guest. The academy鈥檚 director general Mohammad Azam will deliver the welcome speech for the event.