Feluda

I've been reading some mystery short stories by an Indian author, Satyajit Ray. Anybody who has a soft spot for Bengal and all things Bengali the way I do,should definitely grab this book called "Feluda". Of course, you can also read it if you like the occasional nice,clean and pleasant mystery which doesn't scandalize or overpower you.

Its inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The main character Feluda is a huge fan of Holmes and keeps saying "Sherlock Holmes showed us the way". It still has original tales of mystery though.

The main character Pradosh Mitter a.k.a. Feluda assisted by his young cousin Topshe solve mysteries in various cities of India and sometimes abroad as well.They are joined later by a novelist Lalmohan Ganguli whose every twitch and turn provides comic relief.We have our Moriarty in Maganlal Meghraj and Mycroft Holmes in Feluda's uncle.It does borrow a teensy bit from Sherlock Holmes as far as the characters are concerned.

The stories mostly start in Calcutta.Its set in the good old days when most things used to cost around a rupee and you didn't have to bother your head considering a lot of options for anything.It has short and nice descriptions of places which the trio visit while solving mysteries.

I loved the simple narrative and the fact that it proves that mysteries can be written and become successful too without heavy doses of drugs, sex, violence and illicit relations. I don't mean to say that there are no murders in the stories. The books were aimed at young readers and all the stories keep the sensitivity of that age in mind. I wish I knew about this one when I was 13 or 14, I'd probably have given up Tinkle earlier than I did and maybe,just maybe passed on the Godfather for later too! The stories were only written in Bengali. They were later translated into the English version that I've read.

Feluda's character is quite different from Holmes's. He isn't unemotional which I liked about him and he's intelligent too. It was easier to understand and relate to cause his behaviour sounded so Indian :p.Another difference between Holmes and Feluda is that there is a lot more humour in Feluda.
There isn't a lot of detail about Topshe but he is the good,faithful sidekick. All the humour comes from Lalmohan Ganguli and his mannerisms. Throughout the book, he's writing various adventure novels. The stories he writes are unintentionally funny and have a lot of mistakes which Feluda keeps correcting. Its not the kind of humour that makes you fall off your chair laughing but it is pleasant and does make you smile.

I haven't seen any of Satyajit Ray's movies but will definitely try catching one. It would be nice to read the Bengali version of Feluda but I have lost touch with the language since I left West Bengal.I'm proud that I can still summon an occasional Bengali poem from memory :D

There's one joke that I read last night and must put it down here. It was so cute.
Our threesome are in Hong Kong following a criminal in a Hong Kong taxi.Topshe looks at the meter and says "What the meter showed in Hong Kong dollars was the equivalent of a 100 rupees but we had no choice but to pay".

Indians! I fell asleep grinning on this one.

P.S. I have only one silly little wish. I wish there had been some descriptions of Bengali food!! I miss Sandesh,luchi,toor dal,and rasgullas :( Ah...Stop shaking your head and ignore the post script!