Aminul at his store. Photo: Ihtisham Kabir

I loved visiting this place when I was a schoolboy in Dhaka in the seventies. The used book market at Nilkhet, about fifty yards south of Balaka Cinema, consisted of a handful of vendors selling books and magazines along the footpath. Offering both Bangla and English books within reach of my budget, this tiny corner market exerted a strong pull on me.
Decades have passed. The market is now a giant collection of bookstores and related businesses, comprising over six hundred shops. Several markets make up the complex. The largest one, Islamia Market, sells both new and used books. Next to it, Baku Shah Market offers book-related services, including printing, photocopying, binding, making banners, etc. Two smaller markets round out the complex.
The shops closest to the footpath sell stationery and textbooks for schools and colleges. Entering the depths of the mazelike market, you see dedicated sections for medicine, law, business, arts, sciences and engineering textbooks. About twenty-five shops offer a variety of English paperbacks and magazines.
When I stopped by, it was a hot afternoon, but that did not slow the steady stream of youthful customers visiting the stores of the market, most of which are tiny (say forty or fifty square feet.)
I spoke with Md. Aminul Haque, store-owner and publisher. He sells textbooks in his store and under publishes sociology books under the Upoma Prokason brand.
I asked how long he had worked here.
“Since 1982,” he replied. “First I worked as an employee, then about ten years ago I started my own store.”
Is it a good business to be in?
“Profit margins are tight. We earn five to ten taka profit on a new book, a little higher for a used book, making up for low margins by selling high volumes.”
“Can you estimate how many books are sold every day in the entire market?” I asked.
He said their 320 bookstores sell about 250 books a day. That translated to roughly 80000 books sold here daily.
Which categories of books attracted the most customers?
“School and college books sell most, because all school and college students have to buy them. Once they enter university, they branch out into different subjects and get their books from all over the entire market.”
A customer came looking for a textbook. That's when I noticed the ladder behind Aminul. My eyes followed an employee climbing it as Aminul instructed him to get it from the topmost shelf, twenty four feet high.
Of course he knew exactly where every book was.
One reason the market has grown are the dozens of schools, colleges and universities within easy reach of Nilkhet. Their students buy textbooks and supplies here.
“What was the most expensive book you sold?” I asked.
“I remember, in the 1980s, rare engineering textbooks cost a fortune when they went out of print. Nowadays, thanks to technology and quick printing, prices are reasonable,” he replied.
Nilkhet's used book market has indeed come a long way since my adolesecence!

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