One weekend's morning on Facebook, I discovered a little piece of my childhood in a comic strip. Wondering what happened next? Yeah! That is Byomkesh Baksh in comic strips.
The Magic of Bakshi
What I've always loved about Bengali literature, and what you might all agree upon, is the fact that we do have our share of really cool detectives. From the more vintage, traditional style of Nihar Ranjan Gupta's 'Kiriti', the classic Satyajit magic of 'Feluda', the more modern touch in Sunil's 'Kakababu'- these were some characters that my mother introduced me to as a child. My teens were laden with the shenanigans of the Kishore-Musa-Robin trio and our very own take on James Bond- Masud Rana.
However, I discovered detective Byomkesh Bakshi much later; sometime in my late teens. The creator of the series, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, gave Bengal one of its first Sherlock Holmes style private investigators.
The amazing thing about Byomkesh is that the then Bengali society could actually relate to him. Byomkesh happens to be both larger than life and down to the earth, coming alive in the narrative of his loyal friend Ajit. The duo is inseparable, bringing in many parallels with Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic Sherlock-Watson duo, yet have their own unique dynamic.
The Comic Rendition: My Verdict
Coming back to the point, as in my desk on the said weekend morning, my jaw dropped open at what I saw. The same effortless crime solving of Byomkesh, the same streets of Kolkata in the 1930's, the same narrow streets, shady criminals, humble bachelor lodgings and of course, Ajit's crisp narration- all packed into comic strips!
Nostalgia got hold of me as I scrolled from panel to panel, taking in Byomkesh's calm demeanor and extraordinary problem-solving prowess. In fact, the page called 'Byomkesh Bakshi comics' did not have a lot of content, just a few panels from a story called 'Heyalir Chondho' in the Byomkesh series. The story and the art style were a hundred percent true to the vintage feel of Byomkesh. In fact, I loved it so much that I messaged the page, and got in touch with the comic artist himself!
The Project of Dreams
Behind this amazing tribute to the classic detective character is a lone comic book artist- Onkar Nath Bhattacharya. This down to the earth yet insanely talented artist started out with his Byomkesh comics five years ago. A Kolkata-based e-paper began to publish his comic strips, which they still do.
Fast forward five years, Onkar has completed two major story arcs of Byomkesh- Satyanweshi and Pother Kata which were published gradually over the years. Not only that, the first ever Byomkesh comic book is set for release this year at the Kolkata Book Fair! I was particularly pleased to find out that this comic book is being published by none other than the legendary Ananda Publishers- the original publishers of the complete Byomkesh anthology.
Onkar Nath Bhattacharya animatedly told me that his work is being well received in West Bengal; in fact, many of his fans just keep asking for more! When I asked why he chose comic illustration as a medium, he had an interesting answer. Even though there have been many live-action movies and television dramas on Byomkesh Bakshi, it always seemed that those were for a much more mature audience.
That little spark of childhood nostalgia was missing somehow. When these stories were recreated in comic form, said Onkar, it hit many readers at the right places. According to him, comic books are something we have grown up with- it's one of those only things that we have in common with the much younger audience of today.
From the amazing potential I saw in 'Heyalir Chondo', we can really expect the final comic book compilation to be nothing short of spectacular. Byomkesh's timeless style, lightning fast though process and effortless crime-busting skills are only some of the things that have been held dear for generations.
The newest addition to the legacy- Byomkesh Bakshi Comics definitely has the potential to bring back the glory days of vintage, classic Bengali crime novels for the audience of today. Hence, for a walk down the memory lane or a journey of recollection, this comic series is highly recommended!
The writer is schooling with North South University
