Mumbai Book Shop Staff Recalls Manmohan Singh's Visits As RBI Chief

Once or twice a month, the then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India would walk to Mumbai’s famous Strand Book Stall in the Fort area to check out the latest arrivals. Little did the bookstore’s staff know that this soft-spoken book-lover would become the country’s prime minister.

A former staff member of Strand, which shut down a few years ago, recalled warm memories of Dr Manmohan Singh who died in Delhi on Thursday night at age 92.

Singh was the RBI governor between 1982 and 1985. Occasionally, he would visit the bookshop, a walking distance away, dressed in a ‘Band Gala’ suit or Kurta-Pyjama.

“Many of us have seen him at the store at lunchtime in those days,” said T Jagath, who worked at Strand for over two decades.

Jagath, now Chief Operating Officer of Kitab Khana bookstore, remembers Singh’s unassuming manners.

“I used to handle the management and literature section. He would ask for books on management, finance, and economy,” Jagath said.

“Sometimes I would find a book for him from the shelf,” he said, adding that Singh would call him by his name.

Sometimes, T N Shanbhag, the owner of Strand, would personally help him with books and show new arrivals.

“We used to wait for him in the afternoons as we knew he might drop in any day,” said Jagath.

India has lost a great economist and a good human being, he added.

“During my stint at Strand, I have seen seven to eight RBI governors. But Manmohan Singh was a very different personality amongst them,” said Jagath.

“Such a great man, very soft-spoken and down-to-earth; he used to treat all of us politely,” he said.

“No other political personality can match Dr Singh’s stature,” Jagath added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)