In 1955, Parameswaran Thankappan Nair had taken a train from his Kerala’s Alwye station and went to Madras. But not feeling quite comfortable there, he took the next train available – Howrah Mail, and landed in Howrah. Taking a tram from Howrah, he crossed the Howrah bridge and landed in the city that was to be his home for the next six decades.
Nair found a job in the city, and in his spare time he began to unearth the hidden gems of Kolkata. He completed his BA and LLB in Kolkata, got an honorary DLitt from Burdwan University, and was senior research professor in Asiatic Society. His research on Kolkata includes the history of the Calcutta High Court, the South Indian Diaspora, British social life in the city, history of the Kolkata Police and so on.
On Thursday, he left his Kolkata home for Kerala. His family – based in Kerala – had asked him to return due to his age, but Nair had been firm for so long. Only recently, he changed his mind and decided to go back. The 85-year-old took a flight back to Kerala on Thursday morning.
His tiny rented flat on the ground floor of Kansaripara Lane off Harish Mukherjee Lane was full of students, heritage enthusiasts and friends.
Nair has handed over his collection of 1,700 rare books to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to help future researchers. Currently, it is in the custody of a student who will sort it and send it to the KMC authorities. Earlier too, he had given 3,000 books from his collection to the civic body library.
The city bid a tearful goodbye to Nair, who promised to visit soon.
