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Just decades back, books used to constitute a major component of gifts, especially that given on the occasion of wedding events. As time changed, newer handy yet pricey items entered the gift lists of the middle class. Concurrently, books have continued to be pushed to a secondary place during ceremonies. Few of today's readers can imagine nowadays a unique feature of novels and other presentation-worthy books. Even in the not-too-distant a past, the second or third page of a fiction or a reading material would contain the printed word 'Upohar' (Bangla for gift) in bold type. Floral illustrations would be seen surrounding the word with a small space below for writing the name of the gift recipient and for words of greetings.
Meanwhile, with the arrival of sleek and glitzy gift items suiting festivals, books fell on hard times. The situation had declined to such a pass that the invitees attending a wedding function with books as gift would be looked down upon. Maybe, it was due to the 'worthlessness' of a book in terms of monetary value or its being out of tune with the trends of time. Few today love to receive books a presentation. The passion for reading is long gone. The tradition might still be alive in small or suburban towns --- which are far from the jet-setting way of life found in the big cities. These cities are normally filled with myriad types of entertainment and fun. But what might make an average Bangladeshi booklover speechless is the fast creeping of indifference for books into the once avid readers. After the passing away of Humayun Ahmed in 2012, his readership remained fully alive for quite some time. His publishers, too, continued bringing out his books termed 'pulp fictions' by serious readers. The Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy still witnesses long queues before the stalls of his publishers. In spite of his dominance at the book fair, the earlier frenzy centring round the popular writer's books appears to have started disappearing from the country's largest book fair.
It's difficult to comprehend the trajectory of popularity enjoyed by sough-after and pop writers and their books. In most cases, their lustre starts dimming after they leave the publication world. Humayun cannot be grouped among these writers enjoying unabated and meteoric rise until death stops them. In spite of the popular elements that constituted his plots and character-building, a classical undercurrent had continued to be present in many of his books. It is this reason why lots of serious readers also became hooked on his books.
A stunning aspect vis-à-vis the books by Humayun Ahmed comes up nowadays. The average readers do not feel delighted in having his books as gift like before. Before his death, large gift packets containing Humayun's books remained a common sight at wedding ceremonies. Can just the fact that a writer has left this temporal world deprive him of his earlier appeal? Many will disagree. As has been observed by experts in the educated people's reading habit, the case for the greater Bengal is surprisingly different from many other enlightened societies. Its reading community is chiefly ruled by impulses and brief fads. A century ago Sharatchandra et al kept the Bengalee readers mesmerised. Then the land witnessed the emergence of the era of Tarashankar, Manik, Bibhutibhushan to be followed by Sunil, Shirshendu and others. The readers of the then East Pakistan found in Syed ShamsulHuq a favourite author of theirs. And the younger generations in the independent Bangladesh discovered their friend-philosopher-guide in Humayun Ahmed. In the days of the trend of presenting people with books, serious and scholarly publications also enjoyed a dominant place. Even a couple of years ago, a number of guests invited to wedding ceremonies would be found carrying tastefully wrapped 'Snchayoita' or 'Geetabitan' (Tagore's selected poems and songs) as gifts for thenewlyweds. Many would bring Tagore's 'Galpaguchha', Nazrul's 'Sanchita' (selected poems) or Jibanananda's complete poems. If the brides and grooms happened to be passionate readers, enthusiastic guests would opt for complete works of celebrated novelists and poets. In those days, when the online search engines had yet to be widely available, many guests would bring abridged encyclopedia as gift.
Books and publication authorities as well as authors have repeatedly taken initiatives to introduce the trend of exchange of new books among the festival participants on the Bangla New year's Day. The plan failed to have anoticeable impact on the educated youths. Given the fast-overwhelming reality of online funs, especially those offered by the social media, printed books, requiring arduous reading, find themselves in a peripheral place in spiritual uplift. Although it sounds highly depressing, this is the truth. Few of the general people in the present times, the younger generation in particular, are actually serious readers. Large crowds at the Ekushey Book Fair every year do not indicate that readers in the country are on the increase.
The craze for Humayun Ahmed and his books eventually emerged as an unusual phenomenon. It would take some more years for the Humayun spell to leave the readers completely. The young readers are still under its leftover impact. However, it's also true that this phenomenally popular writer has a few content-wise and aesthetically rich publications to his credit. It is these books which will help him survive the dispassionate and harsh test of time. And these publications in all likelihood may continue to be chosen as gifts on different occasions including wedding ceremonies.
In the bygone days, East Bengal writers' novels such as 'Anwara' by Nojibor Rahman Sahityaratna and 'Obanchhito' by Akbar Hossain used to be considered two widely read books. They were indeed. Both the books sold thousands of copies in the towns and villages in Bengal's eastern part dominated by Muslim Bengalees. Unfortunately, in the critical consideration of aesthetic excellence, the writers appeared to have paled beside the mainstream authors in Bangla language. Against this backdrop, the books of the later Bengalee Muslim novelists like Abu Ishaq et al embodied the qualities of modern writers. In spite of this, the contributions of Akbar Hossain and Nojibor Rahman cannot be belittled. So is the case with the then popular novelist Bedouin Samad. Many researchers credit Samad with pioneering the modern novel's style in East Bengal. Despite his sentimentalised form and melodramatic story-telling, he was fortunate to build a sizeable readership in the educated urban middle class. The then East Bengal, later Bangladesh, had to wait for eighty more years to get its own modern novelists and short story writers.
But it is undeniable, the three writers played their respective significant roles in the making of readership in East Bengal at a time when the uninitiatedreaders could not wean themselves off the influence of 'puthees' and Mir Mosharraf Hossain's 'BishadSindhu'. 'BishadSindhu', however, was unanimously considered an all-time major work in Bangla literature.
The 'Upohar' culture related to novels as gifts for brides and their grooms reigned over social occasions for a long period of time. The trend began in Kolkata centring round the then popular writers' works. With the emergence of the Westernised writers, the trend of books being used as material and traditional wedding gifts witnessed a decline. The publishers wanted to keep the culture going. The writers opposed it, calling the trend a custom that detracts from the books' dignified place in life. Nowadays, in both Bangladesh and West Bengal few wedding gifts include books. According to behavioural scientists, a major reason which remains at work behind this exclusion of books as gift is the decline in readers. This has become a global factor. Notwithstanding the mixed positions on continuing the use of books as gift,a large number of the enlightened members of society are in favour of greeting their loved ones with books. The practice in one sense enhances the means of cleansing the mind of the excesses of the so-called modernity.