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Published : 27 Feb 2026, 04:42 PM
A giant tiger puppet burst onto the stage, sending young Maisha reaching for her phone to capture the moment. She had earlier competed in a drawing contest at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy before joining her parents at the Shishu Chattar in Suhrawardy Udyan on Friday.
There, Kakatarua Puppet Theatre staged an interactive show featuring its popular characters.
By noon, more than a hundred children and guardians had gathered at the children’s corner. Puppet friends Opu and Dipu took to the stage, weaving stories with educational messages. As they signed off, a giant “Bagh Mama” (tiger uncle) bounded in, prompting laughter and applause.
The oversized tiger danced off the stage and into the crowd, where children eagerly reached out to touch it and posed for photographs.
Prosanna Parijat, who came from Azimpur with his father, said he was “very happy” to be at the fair.
Shamim Hasan from Mohammadpur attended with his two children.
“My children really enjoyed the puppet show,” he told bdnews24.com, adding that the open-air venue felt warm under the midday sun.
This year’s fair theme is “Bohumatrik Bangladesh” or “Multidimensional Bangladesh”. As in previous years, the fair is being held across the Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan premises.
The children’s corner has been relocated beside the open stage in Suhrawardy Udyan. A total of 63 institutions have set up 107 units in the section this year.
The fair opened at 11am on Friday and will run until 9pm. Children’s hour was observed from 11am to 1pm.
Earlier in the morning, a children’s drawing competition was held at 9:30am, followed by the preliminary round of a recitation contest at 10:30am on the main stage.
The month-long book fair will continue until Mar 15. On weekdays, it opens at 2pm and closes at 9pm, while on holidays it runs from 11am to 9pm. Entry closes at 8:30pm.
Daily seminars are held from 3pm to 4pm, followed by cultural programmes. Competitions in drawing, recitation and music are also being organised as part of the Ekushey celebrations.
Food stalls line the boundary near the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh. Bangla Academy and participating publishers are offering books at a 25 percent commission, while government institutions are selling at their fixed rates. Arrangements have also been made for launching new titles at Suhrawardy Udyan.
