Byomkesh Bakshi ki Rahasmayi Kahaniya by Saradindu Bandhopadhyay

When Byomkesh Bakshi was released in 1993, I was impressed and super influenced. How cool it was to be this dhoti clad detective who could go around solving cases and so easily! I wanted to be him. By the time I finished schooling, I was convinced that I was born to be a Byomkesh!

Calcuttans are proud to be who they are - for their culture and language prowess; they are proud about their education system as much as they are proud of their phuchkas and roshogollas. What is difficult to explain is that a bengali is as much a bengali outside Kol as much as they are inside! And then there is this intelligent bengali detective! What more proof did one need to back up the career choice!

Much into my undergrad years, when I interned with a famous daily, and had couple of bylines to my name, I had decided I would take up journalism seriously. A newsreader was the ultimate goal. But, when politics and pleasing the colleagues became more important than being a good reporter, I had to choose to not continue on that path. My mom was very happy that she didn’t have to worry till I got home way past dinner time most evenings. I also realised that I was more of an Ajeet than I was Byomkesh!

With that little background information, when Gaatha Gunjan decided to read Byomkesh stories, I could not resist walking down memory lane :) This version of the book by Saradindu Bandhopadhyay has four stories. The first story, Satyanveshi is how Byomkesh and Ajeet meet when living in a boarding house. A fellow boarder is murdered and Byomkesh needs to get to the bottom of the story. The second story is about a man who approaches Byomkesh to solve the case of a series of murders by a gramophone pin. The third story was a simple one, which I also deduced by the time I reached the end! Murder by consuming tarantula’s poison! The last story, Vipada ka samhaar was a unique one!

Overall, Byomkesh does not disappoint. Ajeet is not a detective, but his presence, questions and after thought often have given Byomkesh a new perspective. These stories are simple but I have to confess some of the words are difficult to pronounce and Kindle does not necessarily pull up the dictionary meaning. If not for GG, I would not have taken up reading Hindi books, so thank you for the opportunity! This surely won’t be the last!