DHAKA: Countless young readers accompanied by their guardians gathered at the Bangla Academy compound to enjoy the kid hours of Ekushey Book Fair on Saturday.
 
The presence of an army of innocent children transformed the fair ground. Thousands of young book lovers eyed the books while their parents kept an eye of them lest they were lost in the milling crowd.
 
The organisers of the book fair set aside five hours from 10 am for kids. As many stalls did not open on the dot, the waiting children played in the garden to their heart`s content and made new friends.   

They did not have to wait for too long, though. The stalls opened around 11:00am. Some children arrived from schools accompanied by their teachers.  The maths teacher of Mirpur Cosmo School and College, Barkatullah Tipu, said: “We brought 73 students to the fair to familiarize them with our culture and improve their general knowledge."
 
“Students should know what`s happening around them. Such outings boost their sense of social responsibility,” he added.
 
One of the students, Nafiz, said that he loved detective novels. He bought a book written by Dr Zafar Iqbal at the fair.
 
Around 200 new books were on sale at the fair yesterday. Friday witnessed a huge turnout due to Pahela Falgun and Valentine’s Day.
 
Besides kids’ hours, the fair is attracting a lot of visitors and doing brisk business. A cultural function will be held at the fair premises in the evening.

BDST: 1720 HRS, FEB 15, 2014