Satyajit Ray visited Kumar often for books and material. When Ray, the famous filmmaker, started his research on the mutiny for his film Satranj ki Khilari (The Chess Player), he depended on Kumar for rare books on the subject. Kumar not only provided him all the relevant books, but also went out of his way to bid for a Scrap Book, in a London Auction, on Mutiny, having paper clippings and notes on the happening. According to R.P.Gupta, a close friend , Ray did not forget this gesture and also the fact that Kumar had always helped him with innumerable informations and facts, and paid him his biggest personal tribute. He based one of his characters in his story book series on Feluda, the detective, etched on Kumar. R.P comments that the character Sidhujata (Sidhu Uncle) in the Feluda series, with an encyclopaedic knowledge , immortalizes Kumar, who had a vast knowledge on many subjects. Incidentally, both Kumar and Sidhujata has been compared with another well known Bibliophile, none other than Jorge Luis Borges.
Nirmal Chandra Kumar and Satyajit Ray: Interactions
