Prof. Aloke Kumar

To walk into KUMARS, survey the books on display and ask Kumar's advice was to enter a new world of bibliograph. The shop became the haunt of an unlikely mixture of luminaries.

Vasant Chowdhury, the well-known Bengali Film actor was offered the role of the 19th. Century, educator, Raja Rammohan Roy. Essentially a humanist and religious reformer, he left the service of the East India Company, to devote his time to the service of his people. Profoundly influenced by European liberalism, Ram Mohan came to the conclusion that radical reform was necessary in the religion of Hinduism and in the social practices of the Hindus. He founded the Brahmo Samaj at Calcutta in 1828, which was initially known as the "Brahmo Sabha."

Jean Riboud, the French billionaire and industrialist, who married the maternal niece of Somendranath Tagore was one such visitor. Riboud was introduced to Kumar, by R.P.Gupta, not to forget that many of the people who found their way to this quaint address was introduced by him.

Kumar formalized its literary scene by initiating regular readings in the bookshop, something of an innovation at the time. Visiting Americans, from old travel heroes like Peter Fleming to British Army Colonel like O.L.J.Milligan read there; so too did the Calcutta writers Kamal Majumder and R.P.Gupta, the eminent Anglophile , reconteur and a person who could regale everyone with amusing trivia.

Asok Mitra , popularly known as the 'father of Indian Census', frequented KUMARS for books on a number of subjects. His passion was agro –economy, a subject not held in respect in earlier days. I remember Asok babu, once coming to my father and requesting for the complete Annals of Rural Bengal by Hunter. He said he does not have the money to pay for it but would like to borrow it for his study.

I saw Raghubir Singh for the first time when he came to our house to meet my father. He was introduced by Shatul Kaku (R.P.Gupta), as the most promising photographer. Raghubir Singh as I saw him was a man of few words. He sat in one place with his camera hanging from his neck, like a pistol ready for shooting. He took in the environment and the scene of my father’s large library, without a word.

Another of my father’s very close ‘book-friend’ was Colonel O.L.J.Milligan. Oliver Leslie James Milligan was born in England, the second son of Major General Leslie James Lamont Milligan . He was in the British Army and as far as I could recall he was educated in Edinburgh, Scotland and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Prof. Ordhendra Coomar Gangoly popularly known as O. C. Ganguly refered to KUMARS for his monumental work RUPAM. Rupam was an illustrated quarterly journal of Oriental art. And illustrated it was. Every page had litho prints of original paintings. Many of them of rare miniatures. It fell upon Kumar to trace them out. And that was no mean task.

I was holidaying in Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh with my family. It was raining and so we took shelter in a nearby building. As the gates were open we peered in. It was semi-dark, with a oil lamp burning at a distance. Since we had nothing to do but wait for the rain to stop , we went inside. To our surprise it lead to a vault full of books and Thankas.

Nikhil Sarkar popularly known as ‘Sree Panth’ never came to KUMARS. Yet he knew the person and the library like the back of his hand. He was doing a book on Wajid Ali Shah. He needed extensive materials for research. He knew exactly where to get and what to get. R.P.Gupta, who was near to Kumar, was also a very close to Nikhil Sarkar.

I remember seeing Bansi Chandragupta, in my father’s library, resembling Sagina Mahato in the film by the same name. A half sleeved shirt worn over a dhoti with wide black strapped slippers, ruffled hair with a pocket full of papers with small notes. A man, who hardly spoke, bent over paintings of Raja Ravi Verma Oleographs and prints of Balthazar Solvyns.

Nakul Sarkar, as I remember him, was a gaunt man, burned to the skin under the sun, barefooted with a rare bird in his shoulder. He visited Kumar once a year when he came down from his home in the forest. He was an officer of the Indian Forest Service and was posted somewhere in North Bengal, at the foot of the Himalayas.

Kumar was often compared with Borges. By none other that a man of letters, R.P.Gupta. Gupta himself was a bibliophile and spent all his spare time with books. Gupta in his book ‘Stan Kal Patra’, literally translated meaning, Time Manner Place or A place in time, gave an instance of Kumar’s involvement with books.

In Calcutta, the Daniells, Thomas and his nephew Williams were well known. Subho Tagore, particularly promoted them. He had a large collection of their work and they became the main characters in the center of the stage. The Victoria Memorial also housed The Daniells and there were frequent exhibition of their works. The Daniells were a household word.That Kumar was to add the large elephantine folio to the collection of the Memorial, at a much latter date, is another story.

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To walk into KUMARS, survey the books on display.... was to enter a new world of bibliograph.

Vasant Chowdhury, the well-known Bengali Film actor was offered the role of Raja Rammohan Roy.....

Jean Riboud, the French billionaire and industrialist ....was one such visitor

Peter Fleming, the travel heroe and others participated in reading session...

Asok Mitra frequented Kumars for books on varied subjects

Raghubir Singh was the Daniell of the Twentieth Century to capture India in its many splendour

O L J Milligan - an Officer and a Bibliophile

Prof. Ordhendra Coomar Gangoly refered to KUMARS

His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Kumars after coming to India

Nikhil Sarkar popularly known, as ‘Sree Panth’ never visited KUMARS

Bansi Chandragupta studied details from Oleographs of Raja Ravi Verma

Nakul Sarkar, the birdman cometh…

Jorge Luis Borges and Nirmal Chandra Kumar

Kumar introduced Francois Balthazar Solvyns to Calcutta

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