It’s one of the oldest bookstores in India and has witnessed two World Wars!
This 1886 Heritage Bookstore Takes Online Orders & Will Deliver Books To Your Doorstep
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Witnessing History
Next time you are around College Street, look out for the distinctive pale blue doors of Das Gupta & Company Private Limited. Started in 1886 by Girish Chandra Dasgupta, it’s one of the oldest book stores in India. The current owner {and great grandson of the founder}Aurobindo Dasgupta says that the store has witnessed two World Wars!
Their clientele includes Sukumar Ray, Amartya Sen, Amalesh Tripathy, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Jagadish Chandra Bose and Meghnad Saha. In fact, you may just come across Amartya Sen browsing the stacked shelves here.
A Varied Collection
Almost every inch of the store is packed with wooden bookcases {which are also stacked inch-by-inch with books}. You will find Aurobindo Dasgupta, along with others, pottering around locating and digging out the ones the customers ask for. Even if you fail to find a book which you are looking for, they will order and get it for you. You can get a 10% to 15% of discount on each book.
Dasgupta says the daily footfall is close to 300 to 400! They have a good stock of academic books {this is College Street, after all} and books from Harper Collins, Penguin and Hachette. They have a section on rare and old books as well.
Anything Else?
They also have an option for online orders. E-mail them at boiwala.dasgupta@gmail.com and they will get the books delivered to your home. Oh, and look out for the many documentaries that have been made on them, including one by the BBC.
