My first introduction to mystery stories was through my grandfather, who used to read a lot of story books borrowing from the local library. The book was titled Doshhu Mohan, written by Sasadhar Datta. Mohan was the Bengali version of Robinhood, and was quite famous in those days. There were 10-12 volumes in all(the exact number I cannot recollect) , each consisting of five or six novels. My grandfather read them all, and coping up with his fast pace, I also managed to read almost all of them, if not all.
The novels of Mohan were more action and thriller rather than mystery, and were not quite fit for boys of my age (I was 7-8 then), although that aspect was not able to restrain me from reading those. After the Mohan series got finished, I started reading Hemendrakumar Roy, the stories of Jayanta-Manik, which were very adventurous and full of action. The TV serial Aabar Jokher Dhan was the main source which drew me towards them.
When I was in class V or VI, I got introduced to Kiriti Roy, and after a short while, to the one and only Prodosh C Mitter. It was then that I got to know the actual taste of mystery stories, where the brain was more powerful than the muscle. I must say that I liked Feluda much better than Kiriti, the level of satisfaction on reading Feluda was much higher than that of Kiriti. The presence of Topshe and Jatayu and the characterisation of Feluda made them much more lively and attractive.
While I was swallowing Feluda and Kiriti, I had read some bengali translations of Sherlock Holmes, but did not like it. In class VIII, I got hold of the unabridged full volume of Sherlock Holmes in english from my uncle (I borrowed the book, and have not returned yet!) . That was my introduction to mystery in English literature, and the person of 221B, Baker Street completely mesmerised me. The intricate details and the way of solving the crimes from the simplest of clues astomished me to the hilt.
I got introduced to Byomkesh Bakshi much later, just after my class 10 Board exams. It is really unfortunate that I did not read Byomkesh before. But when I finally read, it was a nice experience. I got the same razor-sharp intellect and intricate logical reasoning as that in Holmes, and Byomkesh occupied my top list among the Bengali detectives, dethroning Feluda.
I had heard the name of Agatha Christie from my mother but did not quite get a chance to grab her books. The college library gave me that opportunity. During the 3 years in my college, I finished almost the entire Agatha Christie collection. No other stories had that capability of holding the mystery till the end, where you get to know the real culprit in the last page. Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot both have their own unique characteristics, and according to me, Agatha Christie is the most prolific mystery writer in English.
Recently, I read a novel by P D James, featuring her protagonist Adam Dalgliesh, a commander in Scotland Yard. I liked the novel very much, and am planning to finish the works of P D James one by one.
Through this post, I would like to pay homage to all the detectives mentioned above and also to their creators, who have been overshadowed by their own creations.
1 comment:
Awesome recollections.. to be frank I don't remember most of the facts in most of the stories I read, but what I remember is the taut suspense and thrill in finishing them at one go.
My equivalent of your Dosshu Mohan was detective Deepak Dutta, and I cannot even recall the name of the author. :)
And I was always thankful to you for the unabridged Sherlock Holmes I took from you. Now, I pass it on to your uncle as well.
Post a Comment