The bookstore of Das Gupta & Company on College Street has a special place in modern history as part of cultural and academic life of Kolkata. The 137-year-old bookstore has been honoured by the Heritage Foundation with a blue plaque for the services it rendered on the Kolkatans.
Established in 1886, the book store has survived the digital age. At a time many bookstores were forced to down shutters due to the onslaught of online vending, Das Gupta not only stood ground fighting the vagaries of times but thriving.
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Situated opposite Presidency College (now a university) the book store was established by Girish Chandra Dasgupta. His great grandson Arabinda Dasgupta is the current owner.
Das Gupta is located on College Street, the biggest boi para in the country. Book lovers from across the globe make it a point to visit the bookstore to buy books. One finds here wooden book cases stacked in rows inch to inch. The book store is surrounded by heritage institutions like Calcutta University, Presidency College, Hindu School and Hare School.
Over the years, the book store attracted students, teachers, scholars and academicians. The bookstore’s long and illustrious journey fascinated booklovers of all hues, including Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Asutosh Mookerjee, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Satyen Bose, Meghnad Saha, SN Dasgupta, Humayun Kabir, Taraknath Sen, Susobhan Sarkar, Amalesh Tripathy, Satyajit Ray, Amartya Sen. The list is unending.
Disclosing his future plans, Mr Das Gupta said a project has been undertaken to convert the bookstore’s top floor into a 100-seater free reading room and library. The library will remain open from 11 am to 6 pm on all days except Sundays and public holidays. He hoped that this new venture will be appreciated by the students, research scholars, academicians and teachers.
