Built 20 years ago, Bookworm still stands as the go-to destination for Dhaka’s bibliophiles. It remains a quiet oasis among the overflowing traffic and human chaos of Old Airport Road in Tejgaon.
I was struck by the neat footpath, and clean, poster-free boundary walls. Two funny penguins sit outside with their beaks wide open, and it took me a moment to realise they are wastepaper bins. They serve as something of a landmark for the shop, and their amusing presence hints at the charms to be found inside.
There is a lingering feeling of the past in the shop. It emanates a sense of well-being that any book lover would appreciate. The glass panes give the outsider a view of books piled high, orderly shelved and displayed for curious eyes.
I spoke with Amina Rahman, who currently manages the store, about the story behind this haven for bookworms.
Prologue
Bookworm was first conceptualised at the dining table, Amina said.
“In 1993, My late father-in-law Captain Taher Quddus was discussing it at the dining table with my sister-in-law Zarah and her husband Farhan. The Air Force was happy to lease us the location.
“Our objective was to create a shop that catered to book lovers, and was browser-friendly. So we set about giving the new shop the independence and liberty that customers wanted while browsing through books.”
Introduction
“The British Council in New Delhi noticed us in 1994, and invited us to the Delhi Book Fair,” Amina said. “The following year they were instrumental in taking us to the Frankfurt Book Fair and introducing us to Random House, Harper Collins, Penguin, Hodder Headline, Walker books, Dorling Kindersley, Faber and Faber and Bloomsbury in the UK.
“Through them we learned the ropes of the business. ‘The UK years,’ as we called it back then, were a lesson learned.
“Bookworm soon realized that Dhaka’s taste [favoured] Asian writers, and we switched back to sourcing from India, price being a serious issue.”
Dedication
Bookworm was launched with the intention of enriching the book culture of Dhaka, and it soon attained a strong customer base that has remained loyal to the little store for the last two decades. This sense of loyalty acted as an anchor for Bookworm in times of hardship.
“We have personal relationships with most of our customers and a warm sense of kinship born from the love of books. They have been instrumental in our success,” Amina explains.
Chapters
Bookworm has managed to stay around in the book business far longer than its competitors. This can be attributed to their belief in quality and diversity. The bookshop stores delightful surprises on its shelves. They bring in a wide range of books – a mix of what their customers demand, and an attempt at introducing new writers and books to Dhaka’s readers.
“I visited Bookworm’s stall at the recent Hay Fest, and I loved it. They had books I had never heard of before, and original copies of books I had been searching for. It has great variety for one little bookshop,” says Yaameen Al-Muttaqui, a school graduate and book enthusiast.
“I think Bookworm is excellent fortwo reasons,” said Shihab Nayeem Ahmed, a recent college graduate said, after discovering Bookworm’s collection for the first time at the Hay Festival in November. “Firstly, it gives Bangladeshi writers a greater opportunity, and secondly, the fact that individuals get royalties and encouragement to write more, which the presence of pirated copies doesn’t allow.”
Epilogue
The store plans to expand its scope from a simple book store to a place where literary minds can come and explore.
Amina shared their plans. “A bookshop should have a relaxing effect, a place where you can sit down and browse through all the books you want. We want this place to act as a platform for readers and writers to come together more frequently as well.”
Bookworm also hopes to open a second-hand book section, where customers with thinner wallets can find used books in good condition without having to scour the alleys of Nilkhet.
Bookworm started twenty years ago as a symbol of Taher Quddus’ love of books. It enriched Dhaka’s literary culture, and many have fallen in love with the little shop in the Twins Peak Complex.
The store intends to continue doing what it does best: Celebrate books. Because what business could inspire more passion than bringing books, the sum of human experience, to the minds who long to devour them?