India has produced several writers and researchers whose work continues to shape the understanding of history long after they are gone. One such figure was Parameswaran Thankappan Nair, fondly remembered as the “Barefoot Historian of Kolkata”. A quiet, committed scholar, Nair devoted more than five decades of his life to documenting the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata), turning an unexplored subject into a lifelong passion.
Born in Kerala in 1933, Nair moved to Kolkata in 1955 as a young man in search of work. What followed was an extraordinary journey that transformed him into one of the most respected chroniclers of the city’s past. Writing primarily in English, Nair authored 61 books, with his final work titled Gandhiji in Kolkata. Though never formally trained as a historian, his research is today considered among the most reliable sources on the city’s social and institutional history.
Who was Parameswaran Thankappan Nair?
Nair completed his matriculation from Alwaye in Kerala before relocating to Calcutta. He later earned BA and LLB degrees from the University of Calcutta and began his career as a typist, earning just Rs 125 a month. History writing started as a hobby, but soon became his life’s mission.
Known affectionately as Nair-da, Nair-babu or simply PT, he earned the title “barefoot historian” because of the way he worked walking across neighbourhoods, speaking to residents, visiting archives and documenting forgotten stories. His writings covered a wide range of subjects, including Calcutta’s streets, police force, institutions, migrant communities and social life.
Historian Suranjan Das once said that despite not being a professional historian, Nair ranked among the finest researchers on Calcutta. “He captured the soul of the city in a way very few could,” Das noted.
Some of Nair’s most widely read works include A History of Calcutta’s Streets, books on South Indians in Calcutta, the origins of the Calcutta Police, and a biography of B.S. Kesavan, the first librarian of the National Library.
Why he rejected a blank cheque from Oxford?
Nair was also known for his integrity and deep attachment to Kolkata. He owned a vast collection of rare books, many of them invaluable to historians. At one point, the Oxford Library at the University of Oxford reportedly offered him a blank cheque to acquire his collection.
Nair refused. Instead, he chose to donate the books to the Calcutta Town Hall Society, believing the collection belonged in the city he had spent his life documenting.
In 1999–2000, he also handed over more than 8,000 books to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, which paid him Rs 10 lakh. He lived modestly in a rented home in Bhowanipore and continued to work on his trusted Remington typewriter, never using a mobile phone or computer.
Nair returned to Kerala in 2018 but remained deeply connected to Kolkata, regularly following news from the city. He passed away on June 18, 2024, at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy that continues to guide historians, researchers and lovers of Kolkata’s rich past.
