P. Thankappan Nair
Parameswaran Thankappan Nair or P. Thankappan Nair (born 30 April 1933), as he is better-known, is an independent researcher, historian and Malayali author based in Calcutta, India, who has written extensively on Calcutta's history in the English language. He has published 61 books, with 62nd book titled "Gandhiji in Kolkata" to be published soon. Personal life. PT was born in Manjapra near Kalady, Kerala in Changanattuveettil. Career and research on Calcutta. After passing his matriculation in Alwaye, Kerala, he arrived in Calcutta in September 1955 in the Madras Mail. He earned a BA and LLB  at the University of Calcutta, and had started out as a typist at a salary of Rs 125. As the subject of the city was largely unexplored, he chose to write on the city, and spent the next five decades researching and writing on it as a hobby. As an outsider, his work dealt extensively with perspectives overlooked by institutional, and nationalist historians in India. In so doing he has extensively examined British social life in Calcutta, the history of Calcutta High Court, the city's taverns and hotels, and the city's south Indian diaspora. TP was the owner  of large collection of rare books. It was told that the Oxford Library at the University of Oxford sent him a blank cheque for buying those books on behalf of the library. But he chose to donate it to the Calcutta Town Hall Society. He was honoured by Burdwan University with a D.Litt. degree. In 1991 he announced the 300th anniversary of Calcutta city through his research. Often known as the "barefoot historian of Calcutta", he still uses his 1964 Remington typewriter and lives at 82C, Kansari Road, Bhavanipur, South Kolkata.