The Autograph Seeker: Story of a theatre hidden for 150 years

A new book brings to life the whispering landmarks of Kolkata with the protagonist having a great passion of seeking autographs and managing to collect signatures of the likes of Mother Teresa, Amitabh Bachchan, Clive Lloyd and Shah Rukh Khan.

Peppered with autographs and anecdotes, "The Autograph Seeker" chronicles the India of the 80s and 90s and talks about a theatre in colonial India which was untold for the last 150 years.

The protagonist collects the signatures of individuals who define his time. The original autographs also include those of Dr Devi Shetty, Kavita Krishnamurthi, Salman Khan and Javed Akhtar.

The novel, written by Tony V Francis and published by Amaryllis, brings to life the whispering landmarks of Kolkata like the St. John's Church, South Park Street, Bhowanipure Cemetery, Princep Ghat, Auckland Hotel and the tomb stones of Henry Vivian Drozio and Job Charnock.

During the British rule in India, fate throws together a diverse cast onto the stage of the San Souci Theatre - the Kohinoor of Bengal theatre, Esther Leach; James Barry, the theatre manager facing bankruptcy; Alice Anderson, the enchanting Englishwoman estranged from her husband; and Baboo Bustomchurn Addy, the dark Bengali actor infatuated with Alice and ready to kill for her.

Yet, history has forgotten this cast with the demise of the San Souci Theatre until discovered by Tony, a schoolboy in Calcutta, who is desperate to tell their story - of an actress who accidentally burnt right in front of a shell-shocked audience.

The fictional story is set in St Xavier's Collegiate School, class of 1993. The author portrays a number of episodes in which public figures from Indian films, music, sports, art and popular culture and their autographs appear.