Nilkhet () is a neighbourhood in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, the capital city of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It is located between

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

to the east,

Mirpur Road Mirpur Road is a long north–south road connecting the northern part of Mirpur and Dhaka University campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh. One of the major roads in the Bangladeshi capital, Mirpur road runs through Shyamoli, Mohammadpur, and Dhanmondi ...

and New Market to the west, and

Elephant Road New Elephant Road is a business hub of Dhaka city. It is especially well known for its shops selling carpets, floor coverings, computers, computer accessories, shoes, ceramics, garments, show pieces, watches, and food. It was previously known as L ...

to the north. The name ''Nilkhet'' (''nil'': blue or

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

, ''khet'': field) implies that the area may have been used for indigo cultivation in earlier times. Street shop of second hand books

However, Nilkhet has a completely different identity today. The market has long been the center of the

second-hand Used goods, also known as secondhand goods, are any item of personal property that have been previously owned by someone else and are offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender. Used goods may ...

book trade in Dhaka. It contains several dozen shops that deal in used books and magazines, especially English-language material published in the West. The Nilkhet is regularly patronized by the city's English-language readers, who go there in search of foreign books, journals and comics that are either unavailable elsewhere or only available new at a prohibitive price. Thousands of people regularly visit Nilkhet book stores to find out their daily necessary books. Nilkhet High School

Because of its proximity to

Dhaka Medical College Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1946, the college houses a medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on its campus. History Site during ...

and

BUET The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology () commonly known by its acronym BUET, is a public technological research university in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Founded in 1876 as the Dacca Survey School and gaining univer ...

, as well as several major colleges such as

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

, Eden College,

Dhaka City College Dhaka City College () also known as DCC, is one of the oldest private colleges in Bangladesh. It is located at Qudrat-i-Khuda Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It offers Honors and Masters degree programs as well as higher secondary education ( HSC). T ...

and the College of Home Economics, the Nilkhet market has also become a major source of academic material for every student of Bangladesh as it is the biggest book market in Bangladesh.

Textbooks A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

of all levels (from primary to tertiary) and for all disciplines may be purchased at Nilkhet. It also has many shops that provide auxiliary services for students, such as

photocopying A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers ...

word-processing A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word ...

, and

book-binding Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers alon ...

. "Photocopying at Nilkhet" is a common rite of passage for nearly all students of nearby universities during their undergraduate and postgraduate years.

References

External links

* Neighbourhoods in Dhaka {{Dhaka-geo-stub