This man spent Rs 3.36 lakh at Kolkata Book Fair. 'I have 14,000 books'

Buying books is also Debarata Chattopadhyay's favourite activity while travelling. (Representational image: Unsplash)

A teacher from West Bengal's Chakdah made headlines after he reportedly bought books worth more than Rs 3 lakh from the Kolkata Book Fair. "Yes, it's true. This year, I spent Rs 3.36 lakh to buy books from the International Kolkata Book Fair," Debarata Chattopadhyay told Calcutta Times.

"I visited the fair eight times along with my students to buy books and honestly, I don't really know exactly how many books I may have bought," he added.

This, however, is not the first time that the professor of English Literature splurged on books. He is a regular at College Street -- an area famous for its collection of books both new and old -- and looks forward to shopping at the book fair after saving money for it the entire year. Buying books is also his favourite activity while travelling.

"Spending hours in College Street amongst books is my favourite thing to do," Chattopadhyay told the publication. "Publishers from Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and other metro cities are my friends, and they help me to get hold of new, rare books, and discover new authors."

But for someone who loves reading and buying books all the time, how many does he really own?

"I have 14,000 books in my house in Chakda and Ranaghat worth about Rs 1 crore rupees," Chattopadhyay said. "I have a room in my house which is full of books and there one can come and read books, take notes."

Speaking about the kind of books he likes to read, the professor told Calcutta Times, "From science, literature, history, politics, philosophy, music, novels, short stories, to books on spirituality, self-improvement, I read and buy all kinds of books. I love to read encyclopedias, so I keep buying them too."

When asked about what he intends to do with his collection, Chattopadhyay said he is investing in a property in Chakdah to open a library. "The whole idea is to encourage a reading habit among youngsters, which is missing nowadays," he added.

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