You need two things before you take a plunge into the yellowing pages of other half-remembered sleuth stories – a snack of ripe komla lebu, and the all-important question – whodunit?
Kiriti
A scene from 'Kiriti O Kalo Bhromor', starring Indraneil Sengupta as Kiriti Roy
Nihar Ranjan Gupta, the creator of Kiriti Roy was also a practising dermatologist, so it’s hardly surprising that his penned adventures tend to get under the skin. Six-and-a-half feet tall and devastatingly debonair, Kiriti might as well be our homespun 007 without the intrigues of espionage. He was wearing nerd glasses before they were cool. He is accompanied by his friend, Subrata Roy, who is to Kiriti what Hastings is to Poirot.
Kakababu
Prosenjit Chatterjee has brought Kakababu to life in several cinematic adaptations of the Bengali classic
What can I say about Sunil Gangopadhyay that hasn’t already been said by generations of readers before me? He was a titan among the Bengali Beatniks. He has breathed life and drama into his accounts of the Bengal Renaissance. As it happens, he also plays god to the world of Raja Roy Chowdhury, better known as Kakababu. It is the world of a fearless former director of the Archaeological Survey of India – an Indiana Jones on the streets of Kolkata. Kakababu may have lost a foot in an accident, but his undaunted spirit remains rebelliously whole.
Mitin Mashi
Koel Mallick as Mitin Mashi in a 2019 adaptation
I encountered Suchitra Bhattacharya for the first time on the starting credits of a Rituparno Ghosh classic called Dahan. It was much later that I discovered Bengal's very own woman sleuth, Mitin Mashi – a character birthed by the author of Dahan. It’s easier to call her Mitin Mashi because her official name is Pragyaparamita Mukherjee. She is a Mrs Marple if you will, and lives in Dhakuria. Who do you think Mitin Mashi's sidekick is? Her niece, of course.
Arjun
A still from 'Arjun: Kalimpong E Sitaharan' (2013)
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to side with the sidekick? Samaresh Majumdar shows us the point of view of a sidekick. Or rather Arjun Roy does. Arjun lives in Jalpaiguri and assists his mentor, Amal Shome, on ill-begotten adventures. Even though he is the assistant, Arjun is the one to unravel the mystery in the last chapter.
Pandab Goyenda
A still from 'Pandab Goenda', a series based on the tales of the 'Famous Five' of Bengal
It’s almost as if you’re going on an adventure with the Famous Five, if the Famous Five lived in Howrah, had Bengali names – Bablu, Bilu, Bhombal, Bachhu and Bichhu – and a one-eyed street dog (Panchu). The colourful world of the Pandab Goenda beckons from the unturned pages of old Shuktara editions. The legacy of Shasthipada Chatterjee lives and breathes in piles of Anandamela from the days of Sharodiya past.