Muktadhara Foundation organized a 3-day-long International Bangla Festival & Book Fair at the William Cullen Bryant High School of Long Island City from June 13 to 15, 2014. According to the organizer, it was their 23rd Bangla Book Fair. The fair was attended by many people, mostly of Bangladeshi origin. Some attendees were from West Bengal, a state in India, and others from Europe. Hence, it was international in nature.  The objectives of the fair 2014 were “to project the cultural heritage of Bengali to expatriate Bangladesh and West Bengal and other communities living in North America. And to build a sustainable link between the expatriate Bengalis and the land where they or their ancestors were born in the field of information exchange, literature, culture & business.”

The Bangla Festival & Book Fair brought together a diverse group of Bangla writers, readers, poets, artists, reciters, musicians, book publishers, and spectators. The event was filled with various programs, including general discussions, literary discussions, a QA session with writers, a song, dance, drama, recitation, a children’s essay competition, a youth forum, photo exhibitions, a writer’s corner, a short film, and more. Different programs were held in various parts of the venue, with some event spaces given names such as the Ali Anowar Room, Salman Khan Room, and Aminul Haque Room. There were also book stalls, clothing and jewelry stalls, food stalls, NGO stalls, and various other types of stalls. A nice souvenir was available, and a program leaflet was always on hand to pick up.

It was a festive, hectic, and inspiring event. I went there for the last two days to enjoy and observe the festival. The list of guests and programs indicates that it was a significant event. Organizing such an event successfully was undoubtedly not an easy job! A big congratulations to organizers, sponsors, attendees, participants, and all interested parties. It was better than a great festival.

I ventured to different parts of the Book Fair and enjoyed them. I, however, also expected a bit more futuristic flavor from the festival. Felt that the festival was past-oriented. Here are my two main observations (and suggestions):

1. The festival was full of programs, but there was no science or technology-related discussion of any form. Why not? Who knows! Today, our life, ‘liberty’, literature, language, and likings are inundated by so many technological innovations (Facebook, Twitter, sms, apps, robotics, VR, etc). When we are gradually moving from writing to typing, typing to touching, touching to gesturing, and gesturing to ‘thinking’ – hundreds of topics can be thought of to discuss related to science and technology. Let’s do a quick, fun exercise about possible topics: (Again, this is just for fun)
   • ‘The Face of Bangla e-books’,
   • ‘Internet and Bangla Language: Today’,
   • ‘Possibility of a Bangla Bing/Google’
   • ‘One and Unified Bangla Typewriter’,
   • ‘Publishing Top-notch Online Bangla Newspaper’,
   • ‘Bangla Language: Year 2100′,
   • ‘Self-publishing Technology and Bangla Book Publishing’,
   • ‘Moimonshingho Gitika and the Psychology of Bengali’,
   • ‘The Science of Charchapod‘,
   • ‘Neurology of Language: Bangladesh Perspective‘. 
2. Out of all the programs, I enjoyed the youth forum the most. Okay, I wouldn’t say it’s extraordinarily fancy and fantastic, but it was very dynamic, hopeful, and energetic, and it was in English. This 2-day youth program was “designed, coordinated, conducted, and presented by second-generation Bengalis“. Young Bangladeshi-Americans presented and discussed various topics about entrepreneurship, politics, the importance of volunteering, the first-generation immigrant experience, the history of Bangladesh, making films in the USA, community connection through photography, responses to domestic violence, etc. Even with a poor audio system, and hard to show their slides (due to bright light in the room), the youth presenters tried their best to make it interesting, informative, and engaging. The discussion was entirely in English, which was natural and the right thing to do. While adults debated whether the new generation of Bangladeshi-Americans should learn Bangla to be considered Bengali, in the next room, the young were busy presenting their ideas in full swing in English. Unfortunately, not enough first-generation audiences were there to listen to them! A meaningful dialogue/conversation between the first and the second generation immigrants about how to represent Bengali could have been arranged! What the new generation of Bangladeshi Americans thinks of Bengali culture remains unknown.

Other observations of the Bangla Book Fair, where things can be done differently:

• The photo exhibition of the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 on the 2nd floor was an excellent inclusion. This should have been given more highlights. I almost missed it! The photo exhibition by Pavel Rahman was also interesting and perhaps a bit nostalgic for adult-enough Bangladeshis. It could have been displayed in a corner by creating a more appropriate atmosphere.

• Organizers can utilize the internet to provide more information. A few simple spelling mistakes on the home page could be avoided where ‘New York’ became ‘Ney York’, ‘Bengali’ became ‘Benglai‘, etc. (Now, I am concerned about my mistakes!)

• The event is over now. If someone needs information about this festival (such as writings, pictures, or videos) in the coming years, how will they obtain it? Archiving the event program is an important task that can be accomplished.

• Next time, maybe a big prominent display at the venue entrance with clear directions of the room, programs, time etc. can be displayed; audio system can be improved, etc.

Lastly, looking beyond the limit is like loving the limitless – this occasion was a good practice of that. Thanks again, for organizing such a fantastic event.