Nikhil Sarkar was the Associate Editor of the Bengali daily Anadabazar Patrika.
Nikhil Sarkar popularly known as ‘Sree Panth’ refered to Kumar for the many reference to his writings and books. When he was doing his research for his book on Wajid Ali Shah he took the help of Kumar, he needed extensive materials for research. He knew exactly where to get and what to get. Nikhil Sarkar loved Calcutta. And it is this love that drew him near to Kumar. He kept a tab of the man and his library and borrowed books on Calcutta from Kumar. When he heard that Kumar had picked up a rare book of William Hodges on Calcutta which had rare hand coloured aquatint of Calcutta scenes, he requested Kumar to make some arrangements for the book to reach him at his office and he published the story in Calcutta Notebook which he edited. Nikhil Sarkar was very close to R.P.Gupta. They talked endlessly over phone on books. Much of the discussion that Sarkar had with RP over the week appeared in this notebook. Stories of rare books and prints, visit of writers and artists, news and views of the book world. It is therefore not surprising that he knew the library well and commanded a rare insight. It is therefore not a coincidence that the drawings by Ganesh Pyne, accompanying his book on Wajid Ali goes back to the sketches from Rajput Drawings, which was so lovingly reproduced in a book titled, Rajput Paintings by none other than Ananda Coomaraswamy, of which only 100 copies were printed by the Oriental Society in London, and was a part of the collection of Kumars.