Sixty-four-year-old takes bookselling business from the streets to social media

A recent report in this paper sheds light on the sanguine story of Habibur Rahman, a book vendor who came to Dhaka from Narsingdi in 1988. Missing out on the opportunity to attain literacy himself and unable to educate his sons due to the hardships of life, Habibur Rahman resorted to find solace in his bookselling business which brought the joy of books to readers. He started selling books on the street in front of High Court and at Sadarghat but was shunned by many who showed nothing but disrespect towards him. The 64-year-old later settled at the University of Dhaka (DU) campus and has been enlightening many young loyal customers, who were welcoming, for the past 16 years. Many students even assisted him financially during his difficult times.  

As the pandemic struck, Habibur's business took a blow—from selling books worth BDT 3,000 per day to barely making BDT 500 now—and it became extremely difficult for him to continue with such meagre income. Upon being advised by a regular customer, and with the help of his son, the father-son duo took an innovative approach and decided to conduct the 32-year-old business digitally through social media by opening a page titled, Book Destiny. Much to their delight, the response was overwhelming and continues to garner traction amongst DU's online student communities. Book Destiny has already delivered books to Farmgate, Khilgaon, Lalmatia, Mirpur, Moghbazar and Mohammadpur and intends to deliver outside Dhaka in the near future.

Despite the abundance in sales made online, Habibur's humble efforts bring him back to his endearing salespoint—on the footpath at Shahbagh—where he continues to set up shop. He feels strongly about the physical interaction he makes with his treasured customers. We have seen many startups skyrocketing to become billion-dollar businesses, all because of the opportunities made available on the digital platform. While Book Destiny may not be on par in terms of such magnitude, it deserves praise for being so committed to its customer-base. We believe book lovers should support such a cause and help spread the message. Such innovative ideas can easily be adopted by other booksellers too. Apart from books, there are a plethora of items available online that make our daily lives easier. As the economic crisis continues, with the help of online marketing, especially during this pandemic, it will be an innovative approach for vendors to deliver those products at our doorsteps, benefitting both parties.