Sherlock was Britain's gift to the world, while Bengal gifted Feluda and Byomkesh

While the rest of the world swoons over Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock, two of Bengal’s renowned literary/artistic figures have gifted us with Bengal’s as well as India’s most loved detective characters- Byomkesh Bakshi and Pradosh C Mitter a.k.a Feluda. And these are one of those times when I pride in calling myself a bongo lolona (Bengali woman)

Satyanweshi Byomkesh Bakshi

Byomkesh Bakshi was the brainchild of well renowned Bengali writer, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The character first appeared in 1932 in the story called Satyanweshi. On the other hand Feluda was created by the world famous Oscar winning film maker, Satyajit Ray. Feluda first appeared in Feludar Goyendagiri (Danger in Darjeeling) in 1965. Both of these characters have their own versions of Dr. Watson. Ajit is his friend and the chronicler of Byomkesh’s adventures, just like Dr. Watson used to do for Sherlock. Topshe is the young cousin/ assistant to Feluda.

Prodosh C. Mitter aka Feluda

It is a known fact that Satyajit Ray was inspired by Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. While Byomkesh himself shares quite a few similarities with Sherlock. Ajit is a counterpart of Dr. Watson. Byomkesh used to live alone in a rented place at Harrison Road and he later invited Ajit to share the place with him, much like the 221B Baker Street place shared by Sherlock and Dr. Watson. Quite interestingly Satyajit Ray too had assigned an address to Feluda; 21, Rajani Sen Road.

The famous consulting detective has been portrayed on the silver screen by innumerable actors and one might actually lose count of all of them. From Basil Rathbone to Benedict Cumberbatch each one of the Sherlocks came with their own charm. Similar is the case with Byomkesh Bakshi and Feluda. From Uttam Kumar to Jisshu Sengupta, India has seen it’s share of Byomkesh. Rajit Kapur still happens to be the favourite Byomkesh for many people. Satyajit Ray on the other hand preferred his Feluda to be unique. No wonder only Soumitra Chatterjee had the privilege to play this iconic sleuth under Satyajit Ray's direction. When Mr. Ray passed on the baton to his son Sandip Ray, viewers became familiar with Sabyasachi Chakroborty as the beloved Feluda. In the recent days actors Abir Chatterjee and Parambrata Chatterjee are trying to fit into the shoes of Feluda.

Rumor has it, another Oscar winning film maker Danny Boyle is all set on making Feluda in London. Orlando Bloom is expected to play Feluda and Dev Patel, Topshe. All we can wish is that the rest of the world enjoys what India has been enjoying for a very long time!