Interviews
| Kumars antiquarianThe Metro tunnel hitting an aquifer, a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater, and the whole area of Bowbazar slowly crumbling, raises the ghost of a creek which has been lying dormant for centuries.
The city, then Calcutta, had been home to some of the first bookshops in India dealing with antiquarian material. Cambray, and Thacker and Spink came first, and just when they were sizing down, Kumars sprang up in the mid-1940s to keep antiquarian bookselling alive.
Nirmal Kumar was probably the first Indian bookseller to publish a rare books catalogue in the best tradition of bespoke antiquarians around the world.
The splendour that reflected in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last independent ruler of the kingdom of Awadh--present-day Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh--is a tale of myth and legends. While some of this glory can still be witnessed in what the Nawabs of Awadh left behind, a brilliant audio-visual depiction of the grandeur can be felt watching “Shatranj ke Khilari”, the multilingual feature film auteur Satyajit Ray made.
Prof. Aloke Kumar gifts the first edition of Jawaharlal Nehru's masterpiece 'The Discovery of India' to Congress Chief, Sonia Gandhi.
A well-known historian, looking for a rare book on Tibet, got in touch with antiquarians, she knew. The quest began in Calcutta and ended in an obscure corner of Ireland. The Kumars are proud to have succeeded in the mission. It brings not only money but a lot of thrill too.