When it comes to detective stories, novels, television shows and movies, Sherlock Holmes is the first fictional character that comes to mind. Written by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes remains the most celebrated detective character across the world.
Byomkesh Bakshi- India’s very own Sherlock Holmes
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay however gave India its own Sherlock Holmes- Byomkesh Bakshi. Bandyopadhyay is therefore the brains behind ‘Satyanweshi’ Byomkesh Bakshi.
Byomkesh Bakshi is immensely popular in the Indian film and television industry. Several Bengali and Hindi movies/ TV shows have been produced on stories surrounding Byomkesh Bakshi.
Meet Shardindu Bandyopadhyay
Born in Jaunpur, Bandyopadhyay studied law in Patna.
However, destiny had something different planned for the extraordinary author. He didn’t end up as a practising advocate and devoted all his time to writing.
Shardindu Bandyopadhyay excelled in novels and short stories. However, he also wrote some poems, plays and songs. Ultimately, Byomkesh Bakshi, Boroda, and Sadashib became some of his most famous fictional characters.
Bandyopadhyay also had a long stint with Bollywood. In 1938, he moved to Mumbai and worked there for the next 15 years. However, in 1952, Bandyopadhyay left the industry and moved to Pune. Thereafter, Shardindu Bandyopadhyay devoted the rest of his life to writing.
Bandyopadhyay passed away in 1970 and the Sadashib series, a children’s adventure, on which the prolific writer was working at the time, therefore, came to an abrupt ending.
However, the Byomkesh Bakshi series authored by Shardindu Bandyopadhyay remains his most popular work to date.
What makes Byomkesh Bakshi so popular?
Byomkesh Bakshi’s stories started in 1932. Throughout his writing career, Shardindu Bandyopadhyay would go on to write 32 Byomkesh Bakshi stories.
In these stories, Shardindu Bandyopadhyay portrayed himself as Ajit Bandyopadhyay, the narrator of the story who is also a companion of Byomkesh Bakshi.
In most of the stories, Byomkesh Bakshi investigates intricate and Ajit accompanies him. There are a few stories in which Ajit also carries out an investigation in Byomkesh’s absence.
So, what makes these stories so impressive? Well, Shardindu Bandyopadhyay drafted them in a highly unique and interesting manner.
Byomkesh Bakshi describes himself as ‘Satyanweshi’ which loosely translates into ‘truth-seeker’. This is what differentiates Byomkesh from Western detective characters, who work as engaged professionals.
And then, the idea of narrating stories through the character of Ajit Bandyopadhyay is quite unique and continues to impress even today.
Moreover, the plots and stories are quite intricate. It keeps you engrossed as you go through the story. To put it succinctly, the level of mystery is quite impressive.
Finally, the skills used in solving the cases and finding the truth are quite impressive. Modern-day detective stories tend to be more about the use of technology, forensic reports and call records.
However, Byomkesh Bakshi captured the true essence of what a detective story means. There is a good mix of intelligence, instinct and logical reasoning on display.
This is what makes Byomkesh Bakshi different, interesting and popular. And it is really a sign of what made Shardindu Bandyopadhyay a great writer.
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay gave intricate details of the Great Calcutta Killings in his Byomkesh novel Adim Ripu. Also, his historical fiction works accurately depict the aftermath of Islamic invaders. His writings are a ‘satyanweshan’ indeed.