It seems as if Shankha Ghosh’s House is presently deserted because he must have gone out for an evening walk and will be back anytime soon to ask for a glass of water or a cup of tea.
This house on the outskirts of Salt Lake City looks exactly as it was left by its only occupants, Shankha Ghosh and his wife Pratima in 2021 when they both died almost simultaneously; except that it has more books. When she breathed her last breath, he had hundreds of books all around him such that the house could not accommodate any more and he relocated to Rajarhat (and subsequently New Town) just for storage purposes.
Now his house is crammed with books again – all lifetime collection at one place — so that it has become a museum opening its doors to the fans and researchers every Tuesday and Thursday evening, who may have access to nearly 20 thousand books written by this late artiste bought on his own or presented.
“Every book that came home stayed back. It was not easy for an author fighting against the odds to publish a whole book,” said Mr. Ghosh’s daughter Sravanti Bhowmik.
Despite having much more prose than poetry, which volumes were recognized for their great impact in advocating against inequality and promoting social consciousness; he however remained famous as a poet. Born in 1932 in what is now Bangladesh, he arrived in Kolkata after Partition – poverty-stricken – but later became well known due to his works: Sahitya Akademi award, Padma Bhushan, Jnanpith etc.
He also wrote about Partition and Tagore — rare editions of Rabindranath related books are visible on most shelves. There is even one case dedicated to Mr. Ghosh’s handwriting poems together with his spectacles plus other small things used daily; another one shows some awards given.
“I never knew when; at what time or in what chair he used to write. The thought would come to his mind and he would immediately put it down on paper; sometimes on a piece of torn paper, sometimes in the middle of a crowded room. When lines were building up inside his head but not turning out the way he wanted them to, he went for long walks. He loved walking, walking for miles,” said Ms. Bhowmik, who used to teach at Surendranath College for Women. She and her sister, Semanti Ghosh are both daughters of Sankha Ghosh.
He was 89 years old when he died on April 21st 2021 although this came as a shock because nothing was wrong with him until Covid snatched him away from us. His wife passed away eight days later. Suddenly there were only books and magazines in the house: they had gone missing from their human abode.
When Mr. Shankha Ghosh died, it was obvious that no book should leave his house and that’s why after his death Jadavpur University, where he once taught, got over 10 thousand magazines which he had collected during the years. This created some space for books stored in a rented flat. April this year saw some additional shelves being put up therefore on 21st April this year the library was started.
There’s one thing you cannot fail to notice if you visit: nearly every book that Mr. Ghosh had bought throughout his writing career has ‘Eva’ inscribed on them – in his own script- and a date is written next to it as well. Even the custodian of the memorial, who knew there were indeed 19,887 books kept there including those in the kitchen and washroom had absolutely no clue about Eva. It was Ms Bhowmik who let everyone know that Eva used to be her mom’s nickname’. The books Shankha Ghosh bought were given as presents to his wife every time he bought them. At least they were together again not longer than eight days afterwards.
