Book Fair 3 in the Gulshan Lake Park Festival

On a warm breezy afternoon last Thursday, I walked into the Gulshan Lake Park. My destination was Book Fair 3 organised by the Gulshan Society. After entering the premises, I was walking around and saw a kid sliding down a zip line. That was a scene I was not expecting to encounter in a small cosy book fair like this. Then I saw another person, this time an adult, trying to hit the bull's eye by shooting arrows. What was happening in this Book Fair 3? I had to double-check. Did I come to the right place? Or did I stumble into some sort of basecamp?

Turned out I was indeed near the Basecamp. Those activities – zip-line, grappling hooks, archery, etc. – were part of the Gulshan Society's attempt to make the fair more inclusive and interactive. They want people from all generations to come to the fair and feel welcomed. And they have invited Basecamp, which originally has its set up in Gazipur, to be part of the fair.

"We included Basecamp in the book fair because their activities are really fun. One of our first priorities while organising the fair has been to make things interactive. And Basecamp is an expert in that," explained Shayaan Seraj, convener of Gulshan Society Lake Park and the founder of this. 

Shayaan invited Basecamp to be part of this book fair a few days before the inauguration of the fair. "We thought this can be an excellent way to get the kids out. They can do an activity and then come pick up a book with their parents. So it is a mixed kind of experience for the full family," said Shayaan. That is innovative, I thought, and might actually work.

What else did the Gulshan Society do for this fair? I was curious. The moment you enter the premises, you will be in the publishers' zone. More than 20 stalls are there at the fair. A lot of the publishing houses, including newspapers, have their stalls in rows. It was refreshing to see the stalls of The Business Standard, Dhaka Tribune and Prothom Alo. Other stalls include Bengal Boi & Publications, University Press Limited (UPL), Bookworm, Chri, Muktijuddho Jadughor, Herstory and Cholpori, Ignite Publications Limited, Boi Bichitra, ULAB Press, Nymphea Publications etc. All of these stalls are made of bamboo, wood and jute. 

I will be honest. The setting is striking, a bit out of place even, especially in contrast with the posh, high-rising buildings of Gulshan. But that does not mean it stands out as an eye soar either. What makes the rustic setting in the Gulshan Lake park work? 

Shayaan said, "From our design standpoint – the way we decorated the tree, and the theme of the stalls, banners and posters – we tried to keep things playful and safe. We tried to use eco-friendly materials for everything." Not only this, but the Gulshan Society encouraged the food stalls to use biodegradable plates and cups as well. 

The next section of the fair, the colourfully decorated banyan tree and the stage under it, also correspond to the idea of inclusivity of the book fair. The stage is set against the banyan tree with flying birds, wasps and butterflies on its branches, all reading books. The message is clear, books are for everyone and the fair is here to provide that space. 

There are live sessions every day on the stage that are drawing people to the fair not only from Gulshan and Banani but other parts of Dhaka as well. I stayed back at the fair to attend the session moderated by Dr Niaz Zaman, the winner of the 2016 Bangla Academy Literary Award in the translation category. 

The title of the session was 'When the Mango Tree Blossomed', which is also a book with thirty-three stories translated from Bangla and seventeen stories written in English. This voluminous compilation of fifty short stories from Bangladesh is a tribute to the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh in 2021. Among the participants were authors such as Abeer Hoque, Jharna Rahman, Quamrun Naher, Sultana Khan and so on.

Right before this session, there were live reading sessions. Cholpori read two stories – 'Amshoi' by Senjuti Shonima Nadi and 'Who Came from Dinosaurs' by Sayeef Mahmud. The highlight of the day also included the session featuring author Smitha Viswanath moderated by Shazia Omar. Smitha talked about her poem 'Two Years since You Left' and her upcoming novel 'Coming Home' which is to be published on 18th March 2023. 

Music is also an important part of the experience that Book Fair 3 is offering to its visitors. Jazz, chill-hop and Lo-Fi music were playing all day throughout the venue. In the afternoon Momi – a DJ who has his roots in Chottogram but currently living in Dhaka – took over the stage with mesmerising music. 

At another corner of the fair, a group of musicians dressed in baul clothes were playing traditional Bangla music. Then as the closing act of the first day of the fair, Sirocco Electronic, an experimental music group, performed their soulful tracks that seamlessly blended neosoul and cillhop to other genres like jazz, funk and deep-house. 

Towfiq, a young visitor at the fair said, "Now is the time when the youth demography uses both English and Bangla languages simultaneously. This fair is tapping into that and they are trying to make people excited and interested, which is nice."

"Dhaka is becoming a megacity. The curation of literature and music must reflect the ever-evolving fabric of our community. Contemporary is mixed with traditional and new with the experienced," said Shayaan Seraj.

Indeed, parks are one of the best places to promote social innovation and aid in the development of the local neighbourhood. Shayaan Seraj and the Gulshan Society aim to do exactly that through these events. They organised two other book fairs in 2020 and 2022, and each year, their goal is to improve the experience. The aspiration is to develop the experience and create a unique niche similar to London's Hyde Park or New York City's Central Park. 

Friday, 10 March, Schedule of Book Fair 3

The first live session of Book Fair 3 on Friday was of Sirocco. After that, a session titled 'Agunmukhar Meye' was scheduled from 11 am - 11:30 am. This was a conversation between Nurjahan Bose and Dr Lila Rashid as a tribute to women's day. 

From 11:30 am - 12 pm, Golden Aster Award-winning Shri Lankan novelist Pramudith D Rupasinghe participated in a talk. Cholpori read the stories 'Korolla Shmorolla' and 'Jhal Jhamela' by Zobaida Nowshin from 12 pm - 12:15 pm and 3 pm - 3:15 pm respectively. 

A poem recital titled 'Yet to Come' by Maniney Ibrahim and Nabiha Wasimat Khan also took place from 3:15 pm - 3:30 pm. A book discussion on 'African Adventure and in the Land of Dragons' by Ayesha Quaser with Anmana Manishita followed from 3:30 pm - 4 pm. 

Star Literature, reading of short fiction presented by The Daily Star is scheduled from 4 pm to 4:30 pm. From 4:30 pm to 5 pm, Professor Kaiser Haq and Professor Shamsad Mortuza will talk about their journey from BLB to ULAB. 

Professor Kaiser Haq and Sadaf Saaz will take part in a discussion titled 'Poetry in the Park' moderated by Sudeep Chakravarti from 5 pm. At 6 pm, The Jadu Quartet, a group of Bauls will perform live music.  

Book Fair 3 opened on 9 March 2023 and will continue till 11 March 2023 from 10 am - 6 pm.