Kolkata: Friends and admirers of P Thankappan Nair — one of the best chroniclers of Kolkata — gathered at Abanindra Sabhagar, Charukala Parshadon Wednesday to remember him through anecdotes, stories and his works. The ‘barefoot historian of Calcutta’ recently passed away at his home in Kerala at the age of 91. The event in Kolkata was organized by the Society for Preservation, Calcutta.
Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar shared a friendship of over two decades with Nair. “In 1979, I met P T Nair at professor Nisith Ray’s chamber at Theatre Road during an academic gathering . We soon became friends as both of us did not have any formal degrees amidst the academics,” said Sircar, adding that Nair used to always walk through the streets.
When Nair started writing in English, he did not gain much attention in the Bengali society, at least for 10 years, Sircar said. “P T had some good qualities, among them one was his perseverance and dedication. He used to spend hours copying archival materials and would get disturbed on being interrupted. It was difficult to find him as he hardly stayed at his home and returned home late. We used to tell some people at his para to tell him that we had come to meet him. Later, we used to go to the National Library to meet him as he went there every day,” shared Sircar.
Dalia Roy, who wrote four books under the guidance of P T Nair,had met Nair in 1993 . . “From 1993 to 2018, till he left Kolkata, Nair sir was my mentor, friend, guide and de facto father. He wanted me to pursue research on Fort William and Maidan. I have been able to write the book and had also sent him a copy in 2021,” said Roy. “At the National Library, he used to keep an eye on people who would not handle brittle books properly,” said journalist Indrajit Choudhury.
A tribute by Brian Paul Bach was read out. Another event was organized by Purono Kolkatar Golpo Society (PKGS) recently at Town Hall, where all his books are kept. “We screened a film which had Nair’s parting words as he was leaving the city,” said Swarnali Chattopadhyay of PKGS.