Jaynarayan Prasad/Kolkata

Meeting Professor Sheikh Maqbool Islam is like sitting in the cool shade of a Banyan tree. In my first meeting with this Kolkata academic in his mid-fifties,  my feeling was akin to that of a traveler who finds shade on the banks of a cool river in the middle of his journey on a hot day.

Professor Sheikh Maqbool, Bengali language professor of St. Paul's College of Kolkata is an expert on Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, the ancient scripture of Hindus as well as the Holy book in Islam the Quran, and of the Christians the Bible.

Besides he is an expert on Bhagwan Jagannath of Puri (Odisha), who is the reigning deity of the Eastern States.

Prof Islam feels he is a born Sufi as he is the son of Sheikh Sajad Ali, a Sufi, and his mother Hazra Khatun. However, growing up he never imagined that one day he would write as many as 65 books.

Professor Sheikh Maqbool Islam in his study

Prof Sheikh Maqbool Islam's mother tongue is Bengali but he knows Hindi, Hindustani, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, and English languages.

saints and scholars visited our house.”

“In the village, we had many Sufis and a large number of Vaishnav people. So when I was four and a half years old, I gradually started getting influenced by both. At this age, I also came to know about Shri Jagannath Bhagwan of Puri (Odisha).”

He says, “As I grew up, my mind opened up. I started knowing a little bit about all religions and cultures. “It felt as if I was finding the path to freedom from illusion.”

Prof Islam was born in the Sabsit village of Bagnan town of Howrah district, which is two and a half hours from Kolkata.

Prof Sheikh Manzoor Islam with Lord jaganath and other deities in his study

He came to the city (Calcutta) in 1985 holding the hands of his father.“I have been living near Howrah station since 1985. I studied all through in Calcutta.”

The author of 65 book, Prof Sheikh Maqbool Islam says he has Surdas (the 16th-century devotional poet who was blind)), Tulsidas,(Author of the epic Ramcharitramans, the story of Lord Ram in the Awadhi language) and Meerabai (the 16th century Saint who is known for her devotion to Lord Krishna close to in his heart.

Some of his most widely read books include 'Gita-Quran Comparative Study', 'Tattva Chinta of Folk Culture', and research subject 'Lok Sangeet Vigyan' .

He holds a D.Litt in 'India-Odia Cultural Relations' from Utkal University of Odisha in the year 2015, then PhD in 'Comparative Study of Bangla-Odia Folk Literature'.

Professor Sheikh Maqbool Islam has also been a 'Senior Research Fellow' at the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. It is the largest center of oriental studies in our country.

Professor Sheikh Maqbool Islam in his study

Since 1997, he has been working as an Associate Professor at Calcutta's oldest St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College. He teaches Bengali language and literature in this college, which was established in 1865.

Professor Sheikh Maqbool Islam believes that the fight over religion is meaningless. The main reason for this is the lack of culture.

He says, “It is very important to have a culture to create brotherhood. It needs to be understood properly, otherwise we will keep fighting.”

Prof Sheikh Maqbool Islam, who has traveled to the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, has received many awards.

He was awarded Odisha's highest honour 'Navakalevara Award' in the year 2015 for his research work on Lord Jagannath.

Prof Islam was given this award by Puri's Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.

Prof Sheikh Manzoor Islam with the author

He says, “He has a total of 14 books on Jagannath.' Among these books, 'Shri Jagannath: Bengali Manas and Lokayat Jeevan' is the most popular. Professor Sheikh Maqbool Islam has also done research work on Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Sri Chaitanya.

Professor Islam is doing a new research on the spread of Vaishnavism in South Asia and South East Asia

He considers Jagannath, Sri Chaitanya, Tulsidas, and Guru Granth Sahib as his idols, and is currently researching 'How did Sri Jagannath and our Vaishnavism reach South Asia and South East Asia?'

These countries include the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Singapore and Japan. He says, “I have been to some of these countries. Some are still left. I have been engaged in research for a long time.”

Prof Sheikh Maqbool Islam eats vegetarian food. Leaving his library with countless books, I remembered the following lines of Iqbal Sajid:

Suraj Hoon, Zindgi ki ramak choor jauga; Mein Doob bhi gaya tou shafak chod jaonga 

(I am the Sun, I will leave behind the joy of life. Even if I set, I will leave behind the dawn)