Imbued with Ekushey spirit, people from all strata of life thronged the book fair yesterday.

Even the tight security and long queues at the venue gates did not dampen their spirits.

Book sales also shot up yesterday, as people who came to pay their respects at Central Shaheed Minar dropped by to buy books.

The Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan premises of the fair were crowded since 9:00am, and the crowd kept on increasing as the day rolled on. Many were seen buying books for their children and for themselves.

Families should teach children about the Language Movement and also the martyrs, who laid down their lives for the recognition of Bangla as a state language, said Hasina Akhter, a housewife. “We need to inspire our children to speak in Bangla,” she stressed.

While, Mohammad Asaduazzaman, a private service holder, said the history of the 1952 Language Movement and the sacrifice made by the martyrs should be spread among the young generation.

Children browsing through books at a stall on the premises of Suhrawardy Udyan at the Ekushey book fair yesterday. A huge number of visitors poured into the fair on Language Martyrs' Day. Photo: Prabir Das

Beauty Begum, another visitor, however, said the practice of speaking Bangla correctly and properly starts at home. “Many guardians hesitate to encourage their children learning their academic lessons in Bangla. Learning other languages is important but it's urgent to show respect to our mother language first.”

Talking to this correspondent, some publishing houses admitted that they do not publish books specifically for learning Bangla as few want to buy those.

Meanwhile, “Shrestha Rohosso Uponnash”, a collection of three novels -- Bidesh Jatra, Mrittuchumboon and Ghatok by writer Rakib Hasan was launched by Daily Star Books yesterday.

Lyricist Shahidullah Farazi, Prof Shoaib Gibran, author Mohit Kamal and Emran Mahfuz were present.