Kakali Mitra, who had been secretary of the New Town Book Fair for the last four years, passed away on February 3. She was 78 and succumbed to tuberculosis.

Mitra was a retired college professor, in the field of nutrition. She was not married and lived by herself in Mahisgot, between New Town and Salt Lake. The book fair committee held a memorial service for Mitra at Swapno Bhor recently.

“The last time I met Kakali di it was at this very room, at our AGM,” said Urmila Sen, president of the committee, who was anchoring the memorial service. “She seemed uncharacteristically restless and out of breath. Little did we know she was already sick from within. But she was happy to know that our book fair would be taking place after all this year.”

Other members of the committee recalled how Mitra, cap on head, would walk all over the fairgrounds supervising affairs till the gates shut at night. Musical tributes poured in from the likes of Debasri Mukhopadhyay and Saikat Ali Molla.

Debashis Sen, chairman cum managing director of Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco), conceded that he did not know Mitra too well but that she was always conspicuous by her activity. “Here at Swapno Bhor we talk of a second innings in life and this lady was a living example of that. My request to the fair committee is to name something — a stage or stall perhaps — after her.”

Anup Matilal, curator of Rabindra Tirtha and Nazrul Tirtha, and Prasanta Majhi, the in-charge of Swapno Bhor, paid tributes too. Some spoke of the books she wrote, such as a book on nutrition called Panchatantrey Sustho Sundor Jiboner Chabikathi. One of her publishers, Gourdas Saha, of Parul Prakashani, spoke.

“Once bordi had told me that she wanted no one to mourn her demise, whenever it happened. Rather, she had hoped it would inspire us to work harder,” said Sanjay Jana, assistant secretary of the committee. “It is with her blessings that we are getting positive response from publishers for the upcoming fair despite the pandemic.”