Calcutta, Sept. 17 :    Calcutta, Sept. 17:  For foodies, the name 'Patiram' can ring Pavlovian hunger bells. But this 'little magazine stall', ensconced in the heart of Calcutta's boipara, has nothing to do with the 'mishti doi' of Putiram. What Patiram does dish out is food for thought. Mail sent to both 81, Harrison Road, or 55, College Street, reach the book store. Rarities like Jijnasha, Parichay, Sahitya O Sanskriti and Sandesh, even Kathasahitya, Anustup, Bitarkika, Korak and Anik fill this quaint little shop. But Patiram no longer offers foreign magazines, like Life or Time, which once adorned the shelves. Small stall-owners make bulk purchases of magazines at Patiram. Even individual buyers get a discount of 20 per cent. This makes it a dream destination with intellectuals, academicians and students. Yet another reason for Patiram's popularity is that browsers are never asked to leave. You can take your time to flip through periodicals and never be thrown out. Legend on College Street has it that in the 1920s, Patiram Parija, a young man from Cuttack, got a job with Ananda Bazar Patrika following 'the recommendation of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose'. Around 1925, Patiram opened up a book-stall and worked tirelessly to establish a name in selling Bengali 'literature and culture'. Patiram wanted 'to get people reading', for which he even risked displaying the most controversial magazines in his stall. The shop had been shut down by the authorities a number of times, specially during the Naxalite movement. But Patiram remained unfazed. 'It is my duty to pass on to people what has been printed,' he would often say. His sons, however, failed to keep this tradition alive and the shop changed hands even before the shop-owner's death. Bamandeb Bhattacharya, a colleague, came to the rescue when he heard that a sari shop would replace the magazine stall. Now, brothers Ashish and Tapas have become heirs to the Patiram legacy after their father Bamandeb passed away. And in spite of a changed title deed, the shop still retains the old name. To keep the reading-lamp burning bright, the stall displays a new poster every week on the benefits of reading. Painted by Ramaprasad Dutta, the posters have been up, without fail, for 950 weeks now, with only one miss during the curfew following the demolition of the Babri masjid in 1996. The book business is still going strong at Patiram. 'We are doing quite well,' smiles Tapas Bhattacharya at the store. 'Otherwise, how would we be able to devote one entire part of the shop to little magazines which hardly bring in revenue? Commercial magazines keep us alive, while by stocking little magazines, we strive to do our bit for society.'