Byomkesh Bakshi
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Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The character has been inspired by the legendary Sherlock Holmes, but entirely Indianized by the literary genius of the author. Initially serialized in the literary magazine Basumati, the stories and novels were all eventually published in hardcover editions, the first being Byomkesher Diary.
The detective was picturized in a film (Chiriyakhana or The Zoo) by Satyajit Ray, starring Uttam Kumar in 1967. It has also been televised in Hindi by Doordarshan by Basu Chatterjee, featuring Rajit Kapoor.
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[edit] Major characters and events
Byomkesh meets his lifelong friend, Ajit in Satyanneshi, where he introduces himself as a "truth seeker" under the alias Atulchandra Mitra. Later, Byomkesh and Ajit share a flat on Harrison Street. Ajit's ambition from the start is to be a writer and he becomes moderatley successful by narrating their cases. He buys a car in the later years of World War II. Byomkesh and Ajit get many of their leads from their favorite newspaper, Dainik Kalketu. Byomkesh marries Satyabati, someone he meets while investigating the murder of Karalicharan Basu. Later, they buy a house. Puntiram is their faithful servant through most of the novels. The sympathetic police officer, Purandar Pandey, who helps out in many cases first makes his appearance in Chitrochor. During the Durgo-rahasyo case, Byomkesh's son is born. In many of the novels written after the war, Sharadindu changes from a first-person narrative to a more impersonal third-person format.
[edit] Literature Featuring Byomkesh Bakshi
[edit] Anthologized in Sharadindu Omnibus Volume I
- Satyanneshi: Byomkesh makes his first appearance and meets lifelong friend and narrator, Ajit.
- Pother kanta (also transliterated as Pather kanta). This ia a short novel featuring an innovative serial killer.
- Seemanto-heera (can also be transliterated as Sheemanto heera, Seemanta heera or Shimantohira). A story featuring the theft of a diamond.
- Makorshar rosh
- Arthamonorthom
- Chorabali
- Agnibaan
- Upasonghaar
- Roktomukhi neela
- Byomkesh o Boroda
- Chitrochor
- Durgo-rahasyo
- Chiriyakhana
[edit] Anthologized in Sharadindu Omnibus Volume II
- Adim ripu
- Banhi-patanga
- Rokter daag
- Monimondon
- Amriter mrityu
- Shaila Rahasya
- Ochin pakhi
- Kohen kobi Kalidas
- Adrishyo trikon
- Khunji khunji nari
- Adwitio
- Mognomoinak
- Dushtochokro
- Hneyalir chhondo
- Room no. 2
- Chholonar chhondo
- Shojarur kanta
- Benishonghar
- Lohar biscuit
- Bishupal bodh. Incomplete
[edit] Trivia
- The customs and manners of Calcutta during the British Raj are very well portrayed in the earlier books, from street names to the names of the shops. Interestingly, the bridge spanning the Hooghly river, was a pontoon bridge as mentioned by Byomkesh twice in Pother kanta. This was prior to the current Howrah Bridge, construction of which began three years after the publication of the first edition of the novel.
- In the foreword to the first anthologized edition of stories featuring Byomkesh, Byomkesher diary, published by Gurudas Chottopadhyay and Sons, which contained Pother kanta, Satyanneshi, Seemanto-heera and Makorshar rosh, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay wrote, "Many will be anxious to know whether these are original stories or merely transcreated from foreign novels. For the interest of the general reader, I'd like to make it known that these are completely my own creations"
- Although Pother kanta was the first novel featuring Byomkesh that Sharadindu wrote, since Satyanneshi is the novel in which the character of Byomkesh Bakshi is established, it is considered by readers to be the first in the series.
- Byomkesh learned to play chess from Ajit.
- Byomkesh learns to love poetry on reading Sukumar Ray's HaJaBaRaLa, a book given to his son by Ajit.
- Byomkesh's father was a mathematics teacher by profession.
- Byomkesh reads the personal advertisements in a newspaper as if they were the real news. In stories like Pather Kanta, cases are partially introduced through the personal advertisement section of the newspaper.
- Although most stories are penned by Ajit, somewhere through the second book of Byomkesh stories, he gives up writing Byomkesh's accounts.
