Short Stories By Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
Meinard Hartmann
He was born to Tarabhushan and Bijaliprabha Bandyopadhyay at his maternal grandparents' home in Jaunpur, United Province, India on 30 March 1899. The Bandyopadhyay family's residence was at Purnia, Bihar, India, where his father worked but the family originally hailed from Baranagar, North Kolkata, West Bengal, India.[3][4] He completed his matriculation in 1915 from a school in Munger, in Bihar. He wrote his first story 'Pretpuri', a Boroda story, when he was only 15 years. After matriculation, he joined the Vidyasagar College, Kolkata. Sisir Bhaduri, the doyen of Bengali stage, was his English professor there. After completing graduation, he went on to study law in Patna. He was only thirty years old when he gave up his practice and started working as a writer. In 1928, Himangshu Roy invited him to Bombay to write screenplays. Till 1952 he wrote films, and then settled down in Pune to pursue a full-fledged career as a writer.[5]
Byomkesh Bakshi is a detective who calls himself Satyanweshi or the truth-seeker. He is known for his proficiency with observation, logical reasoning, and forensic science which he uses to solve complicated cases, usually murders.
Boroda is a ghost-chaser, obsessed with life-after death and in writer's words Bhootanweshi. Like the Mejokorta of Premendra Mitra, he has direct interactions with ghosts. He recounts his many encounters with spirits much to the chagrin of his friends. In Byomkesh O Boroda, the two characters met each other. This series of short stories provide great examples of spine-chilling atmosphere and last-minute twists. The list of stories in chronological order:-
Sadashib,[a] or Sadashib Rao, is a fictional character of a young lad starring in a series of short stories of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The protagonist of the series Sadashib is a Maratha soldier hailing from the village Dongarhpur. This character was created with the backdrop of 16th century Maharashtra when the Maratha-Adil Shah-Mughal antipathy was at its pinnacle. The conflict of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Aurangzeb provided the series with its own distinctive plot.[6][7]
As per the pretext of the series, the Mughals were residing on Daulatabad north of Maharashtra and Sultan Adil Shah was in the charge of Bijapur fort in the south. Although at the time of the story's beginning the forces of Shivaji had not yet earned the total trust of entire mass, they were on the rise to end the daily oppression of the simple villagers and the common people in the hands of the tyrant rulers. During this time Sadashib, an orphan boy of around seventeen to eighteen was growing up in his maternal uncle's house in the village Dongarhpur with his uncle and aunt who strongly despised him. One day, his maternal uncle Sakharam decides to throw him out of his home after consulting with the villages head and other elders citing the reason that he is unable to provide sustenance to his household in the time of war and crisis. Sadashiv, who has nobody in the village to turn to leaves, but his friend Kumkum, the daughter of village elder Biththal Patil, advises him to go and join Shivaji's troops. Later, Kumkum helps him escape on the ailing horse of her father. Sadashiv sets course for Puna,[b] but he encounters Shivaji's forces en route, eventually helps them unknowingly. They take him to Torna, where Shivaji was camping and he joins Shivaji's force and gets popular by the day on the merit of his young as well as cunning stature. In the passage of time, he becomes the go-to-man of Shivaji and helps to tide him over of different problems.[8][9]
When I first heard about this title I was very excited to read this book, as I love reading mystery fiction in translation, but have found it hard to find such fiction in the GAD style at times. So this collection of short stories seemed ideal (and before you all panic, it not only seemed ideal but also was ideal!). This collection contains stories from Hungary, Japan, Demark, India, Germany, Mexico, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia and France and some of them have been translated into English for the first time. Martin Edwards, as expected, writes a great overall introduction, as well as, introductions to the individual authors. It was interesting to see how collaborative a project this collection was, with help coming in from many sources including John Pugmire, who heads Locked Rooms International. It was also pleasing to see CADs magazine get a mention as well.
He was actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. The creator of the Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Sharadindu composed stories of a wide array of varieties including novels, short stories, crime, and detective stories, plays, and screenplays. Till 1952 he wrote films and then settled down in Pune to pursue a full-fledged career as a writer.
Ajit Bandyopadhyay Ajit Bandyopadhyay is a longtime friend, associate, and narrator of Byomkesh Bakshi in the Byomkesh Series by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. His characterization is a substantial throwback to Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Not much is told by the author about his background. Ajit himself says (as he is narrating Satyanweshi) that before dying his father left him a moderate fortune. After finishing his studies he decided to embrace celibacy and devote himself heart and soul to literature, with an intention of heralding a revolution in Bengali literature, which he mockingly identifies as not unlike the sublime youthful dreams people of his age often nurture, most of which are ultimately left unrealized. He meets Byomkesh for the first time in Satyanweshi and this becomes the beginning of their lifelong friendship.
Ajit may be regarded as the archetype sidekick. He accompanies Byomkesh in all his escapades; in fact he is the narrator of all but three stories. He is heavily addicted to cigarettes, just like Byomkesh. He narrates the mysteries from a layman's point of view, which enables the readers to identify with him. Often he is seen perplexed by a mystery seemingly impossible to solve until Byomkesh solves it, and he realizes how easy it really was.
He is often invited by Byomkesh to give his opinions about the case.Sometimes he gives intelligent opinions, for example in Pother Kanta he suggests that the assassin might be using an airgun, which would enable him to carry it anywhere and use it even in the middle of the road without being conspicuous. In Durgo Rohosshyo too, he delivers some startling insights into the mystery, which astonishes Byomkesh. But sometimes his navet compels hearty amusement from Byomkesh, like in Makorshar Rosh he decides that the only plausible explanation of Nandadulalbabu repeatedly intoxicating himself with Tarantula extract is that he devours those that stroll on the walls of his room. In Shaila Rohosshyo, even after the entire chain of events had taken place, he was yet to fathom that the servant was Vijay Biswas himself. In Sheemonto Heera, he unwittingly discloses the guise in which they had come to the mansion of Sir Digindranarayan Roy, though admittedly their guise had already been seen through by a manservant of Digindranarayan while they were en route by train. In Makorshar Rosh, Byomkesh asks him to try to solve the case on his behalf, citing that his involvement in another case will not give him time to do so. This leaves Ajit's friend (who came to solicit Byomkesh's help) visibly dejected. This acts as a catalyst for him, for he reasons that being with Byomkesh for quite some time, he surely has learnt a few nuggets of investigation, and thereby resolves to solve it all by himself. However after some time it becomes clear that the case is not as simple as it seems, and he concludes that he is not equal to this task, it will take the sharp faculties and uncanny detection skills of Byomkesh to solve it.
Occasionally he disagrees with Byomkesh over some issue, though most of the times he is unable to substantiate his opinion, not because he is overtly wrong, but because, as he himself unequivocally admits, his intellect is no match for his friend's. For example in Pother Kanta he refuses to accept the fact that detection banks more often on logical premises than on facts. However Byomkesh does prove his point, and he grudgingly acquiesces. But his skepticism still sustains itself in many instances, when Byomkesh relies heavily on premise. He is frequently nettled when Byomkesh withholds information from him until the opportune moment, which inevitably comes after the culprit had been caught. This feeling he shares with Byomkesh's wife Satyabati too, who calls him tortoise, alluding to his not speaking out easily. Ajit notes that Byomkesh does not like being called a tortoise, which gives him considerable pleasure. He maintains a somewhat mocking attitude towards marriage; when Byomkesh and Satyabati quarrel and then reconcile, he cannot fathom as to why they quarrel in the first place, or even more, why they patch up later. Married life according to him, is a farce.
Ajit is awed by the methods and intelligence Byomkesh often applies to solve a mystery, and this is vividly reflected in his narrations. He expertly portrays the mannerisms and traits of his friend, particularly on those not infrequent occasions when Byomkesh paces his room agitated and restless, because the epiphany is so near and yet so far. In such circumstances, Ajit, curious as he is, does not interrupt his friend's thoughts and lets him ponder. He also notes in Pother Kata that Byomkesh for all his brilliance, is somewhat queer, as evidenced by his going through only the advertisements in the newspapers instead of the main news, which he maintains is because he thinks it is the advertisements through which criminals often communicate their plans. Ajit refuses to buy this, however for that story at least it proves to be true, for it was a quaint ad that first excited Byomkesh's curiosity and it ultimately proved to be a rather important event as the story proceeded.Occasionally he punctuates the narration with his own insight and thoughts; for example in Chiriyakhana while he is hiding to keep a watch as to the night-time escapades of the residents, he reflects on the possible reasons of Damayanti Devi's actions and what might await her in the future. In Adim Ripu, when Byomkesh decides to burn all the money, stating that it will be their humble sacrifice at the altar of their beloved motherland on the day of her freedom, he finds it difficult to accept, even though his respect for Byomkesh is visibly increased.He does well to depict the internal struggle through which Byomkesh goes as he torments Ramanath to elicit the location of the diamond, stating that though he ultimately won the battle, it was by no means an easy one. He does not deem it justified and moral when Byomkesh accepts a munificent wage from the lawyer of one of the prime suspects in the murder case in Adim Ripu, saying that it is more a bribe than a wage. He maintains great attention towards the nuances, it does not escape his eyes, that the doctor seemed somewhat perplexed and ill at ease when he learned of the pregnancy of Shakuntala in Bahni Patanga, nor does he fail to notice how Vijay becomes agitated as Byomkesh interrogates Damayanti Devi in Chiriyakhana.Even though he is a celibate, he never fails to observe the physical attributes of a beautiful woman, and he goes to great length in describing them. In Chiriyakhana, he dreams about Bonolokkhi one night, which Byomkesh somehow divines. Though he initially refuses to admit, he ultimately does in the face of some humorously threateningly pressure from Byomkesh. Though this dream seems to allude to his having a crush on her, Byomkesh reveals that he had dreamt about her too, and as the mystery unfolds, we learn that these dreams were quite significantly associated with it.His narrations abound in witty humor. His descriptions of Sir Digindranarayan Roy in Sheemonto Heera or Nanibala Devi in Adim Ripu compels hearty laugh from the readers. While he lacks the uncommon skills of observation and deduction that his friend commands, his own candid observations, even if remotely actual, often throw considerable light on the matter. Thus even though he appears to be the stereotype foil to a brilliant character, closer observations suggest that this may not be the case.
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