Swapan Dutta of Kolkata's College Street has a unique hobby of reviving malfunctioned clocks in different parts of the country, especially in the city of Kolkata. Known to all as 'Gharibabu' of Kolkata, Swapan Dutta is in charge of guarding all the clock towers in the city. Swapan is a fourth generation descendant of the Dutta family from Kolkata, who are famously known as the 'timekeepers' of the city.
Kolkata is home to some of the oldest clocks even dating back to the British period. More than fifty years into this profession, Ghoribabu has kept various times of history alive for generations. The Dutta family's relationship with watches spans over more than a century and a half from the time of his great grandfather.
As soon as clock towers began being built in the city, the responsibility of looking after them was awarded to Dutta's great grandfather Dharanidhar. This is how each and every clock tower of Kolkata was looked after by the Duttas. He looks after famous clocks including New Market’s ever-popular Westminster clock, the Maniktala Bazar’s German clock, the Metropolitan Building’s non-striking clock, Dharmatala Church’s quarter-chiming clock and St. James’ Church’s hourly chiming clock. Even the clock of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club is maintained by him. Dutta keeps logs of the life-expectancies of their machine-parts and accordingly his workshop prepares remedial measures to keep them chiming.
Now Swapan's eldest son has also taken over the heritage business and looks after Kolkata's heritage clocks. Swapan and his son Satyajit can tell countless tales about putting the oldest, rarest, most complex clocks in order. Whether it is the clock tower of Har Ki Pauri, Goa's Vasco clock tower, Bihar's Gidhaur Maharaja tower or the clock tower of the King's Palace in Kathmandu. The duo is also responsible for the flawless working of Punjab's Kapurthala clock tower, Shimla Malls' BSNL clock tower, and Darjeeling Mall's Bhanu Bhavan's clock tower.