Baatighar

Baatighar (Bengali: বাতিঘর, literally "lighthouse") is a Bangladeshi book retailer and publishing house that operates both physical bookshops and an online bookstore. It began in 2005 as a small 100-square-foot bookshop at Cheragi Mor in Chattogram and has since grown into one of the country's most recognizable bookselling brands, with branches in four divisional cities: Chattogram, Dhaka, Sylhet and Rajshahi. The company describes itself as simultaneously a bookseller and a publisher. Baatighar's physical stores are notable for their elaborate, architecturally themed interiors designed by national-award-winning artist Shahinur Rahman. The Chattogram flagship, located on the ground floor of the Chattogram Press Club building, is designed to resemble a seagoing ship, with wooden deck flooring, circular porthole windows and hanging ropes. The Dhaka flagship at the World Literature Centre (Bishwo Shahitto Kendro) building on Bangla Motor is themed around Mughal history and architecture, with a stage modelled on the Pari Bibi mausoleum, counters resembling the Diwan-i-Aam, and walls painted with motifs inspired by the Taj Mahal. The Sylhet store draws on local motifs such as the Surma river bridge, Ali Amjad's Clock and tea-garden imagery. As a publisher, Baatighar began publishing around 2009 and has since released more than 150 titles spanning history, literature, fine arts, interviews and journals. As a retailer, it carries a large catalogue; by 2023 its stores held roughly one hundred thousand books from about 2,500 publishers. The company has participated in the Amar Ekushey Book Fair organised by the Bangla Academy since 2016 and has won multiple awards for its stall decoration. Baatighar's online store at baatighar.com sells Bengali and foreign-language books, children's and young-adult titles, and its own publications, typically offering discounts on listed titles. The brand has expanded steadily: a second branch opened in Dhaka in December 2017, followed by outlets in Sylhet in 2019 and Rajshahi in 2023, and by 2023 it operated six branches across the four cities. Baatighar remains a privately held Bangladeshi company.

Baatighar began on 17 June 2005 as a 100-square-foot bookshop at Cheragi Pahar in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Despite its small size, the shop quickly gained popularity among local readers. Around 2009 the business also emerged as a publishing house, and it has since published more than 150 books on subjects including history, literature, fine arts, interviews and journals. After about seven years at its original location, Baatighar moved to a much larger space on the ground floor of the Chattogram Press Club building in Jamal Khan. The new bookshop, spanning more than 3,000 square feet, was designed by national-award-winning artist Shahinur Rahman in the shape of a seagoing ship. Its interior features soft yellow lighting, wooden deck flooring, circular porthole windows and ship-like hanging ropes, creating the impression of boarding an ancient vessel filled with books from near and far. The store relocated to this address in 2021 according to Bengali Wikipedia. In December 2017 Baatighar opened its second branch, in Dhaka, on the eighth floor of the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (World Literature Centre) building on Bangla Motor. Also designed by Shahinur Rahman, the Dhaka store is themed around the history and architecture of the Mughal Empire: a stage modelled on Pari Bibi's mausoleum, counters resembling the Diwan-i-Aam, a representation of the southern entrance of Lalbagh Fort beside the counter, book displays shaped like royal parasols carried on elephants, and walls painted with fine coloured motifs inspired by the Taj Mahal. The Dhaka branch became a lively meeting place for readers, poets, writers and artists. Two further Dhaka sales points followed: one in Banglabazar in 2019 and one at Aziz Super Market in Shahbagh in 2022. Baatighar also opened a branch in Sylhet in 2019, with a spacious bookshop designed by Shahinur Rahman that incorporates local motifs such as the Surma river's Lohashetu (iron bridge), Ali Amjad's Clock and tea-leaf collection baskets. In 2023 a branch opened in Rajshahi. By 2023 the company operated six branches across Chattogram, Dhaka, Sylhet and Rajshahi, and its stores held roughly one hundred thousand books from about 2,500 publishers. Baatighar has taken part in the Amar Ekushey Book Fair organised by the Bangla Academy since 2016, and has been awarded multiple times for its stall decoration at the fair. The company also runs an online bookstore at baatighar.com, selling Bengali and foreign-language titles, children's and young-adult books, and its own publications, typically at a discount.

• 2023

  A branch opens in Rajshahi; by this year Baatighar operates six branches and holds about 100,000 books from some 2,500 publishers.

• 2022

  A sales point opens at Aziz Super Market, Shahbagh, Dhaka.

• 2021

  Chattogram flagship relocates to the ground floor of the Chattogram Press Club building.

• 2019

  Branches open in Sylhet and in Dhaka's Banglabazar.

• 2017

  Second branch opens in Dhaka in December, at the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro building.

• 2016

  Baatighar begins participating in the Amar Ekushey Book Fair organised by the Bangla Academy.

• 2009

  Baatighar emerges as a publishing house.

• 2005

  Baatighar opens as a 100-square-foot bookshop at Cheragi Pahar, Chattogram, on 17 June.

A design-led Bangladeshi bookshop chain and publisher offering a wide catalogue of Bengali and foreign books through architecturally themed physical stores and an online bookstore.

• Bengali literature

• Foreign-language books

• Children's and young-adult books

• History, fine arts, interviews and journals

• Baatighar's own published titles

1. 1Baatighar - Your Online Bookstorebaatighar.com
2. 2Baatighar - About Usbaatighar.com
3. 3Baatighar - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4বাতিঘর (প্রকাশনী) - Wikipediabn.wikipedia.org