Monday, November 4, 2013

Characters of Bengal Literature


Byomkesh Bakshi (or Byomkesh Baksi) (Bengali: ব্যোমকেশ বক্সী) is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He is one of the most successful detective characters in Bengali literature. Bandyopadhyay once said that these stories can be thought as and read as social novels only.

Ajit Bandyopadhyay, also known as Ajit Banerjee or simply Ajit, is a longtime friend, associate, and narrator of Byomkesh Bakshi in the Bengali detective fiction written by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. His characterization is a substantial throwback to Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories byArthur Conan Doyle.

Satyabati or, Satyaboti (Bengali: সত্যবতী) is a fictional character from Byomkesh, a series of Bengali detective stories created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Satyabati stays in their Harrison Road residence with her husband Byomkesh Bakshi, son Khoka, Byomkesh's long-time friend Ajit Bandyopadhyay and servant Putiram. Satyabati is first introduced in Arthamanartham,[1] the fifth story in the series. Satyabati is one of the most interesting characters in the series who makes brief but meaningful appearances in most stories. In Chitrachor,[2] she is present throughout the story when Byomkesh is travelling to recuperate from his illness.
Feluda (Bengaliফেলুদা), or Prodosh Chandra Mitra, (Bengaliপ্রদোষ চন্দ্র মিত্র) who uses the Anglicised name Pradosh C. Mitter) is a fictional private investigator starring in a series of Bengali novels and short stories written by Indian Bengali film director and writer Satyajit Ray.The detective lives at 21 Rajani Sen Road, BallygungeKolkata, West Bengal, India. 
Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali children's magazine called Sandesh in 1965, under the editorialship of Satyajit Ray and Subhas Mukhopadhyay. His first adventure was Feludar Goendagiri.
Feluda is always accompanied by his cousin Tapesh (affectionately called Topshe by Feluda), who serves as the narrator of the stories. From the sixth story, Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress), the duo are joined by a popular thriller writer Jatayu (Lalmohon Ganguli).
Feluda has had been filmed at times, with the character been played by Soumitra ChatterjeeSabyasachi Chakrabarty and Shashi Kapoor. Satyajit Ray directed two Feluda movies— Sonar Kella (1974) and Joy Baba Felunath (1978). Sandip Ray made a series of telefilms and serials on Feulda's adventures. He also made few full-length Bengali films on the character.

Lalmohan Ganguly, alias Jatayu (Bengaliজটায়ু), (also spelled Jotayu) is a character in the Feludastories written by Satyajit Ray. He writes crime thrillers, but is quite weak and nervous in real life. He is fairly wealthy due to the immense sales of his books; he writes two books a year. His crime fiction stories have very interesting names, often characterised by alliterations like `Sahara-ey Shiharan', `Vancouver-er Vampire', `Honduras-e Hahakar', `Atlantic-er Atanka' etc. 
It may be noted that the names of several Feluda stories also exhibit this feature, for example 'Joto Kando Kathmandute', 'Royal Bengal Rahasya', 'Robertson-er Ruby', 'Gosaipur Sargaram', etc. The detective of Jatayu's novel, Prakhar Rudra, is a character with incredible intellect and power. Lalmohan's grandfather gave his name "Swarbogya Gongopadhyay" but Lalmohan does not use that name.





Kakababu(কাকাবাবু) is a fictional character created by Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay, that has become legendary in Indian children's literature. The series, falling under adventure genre of literature, targeted at children and teenagers, started in the autumn of 1979 with the publication of Bhoyonkor Sundorin Anandamela magazine, puja number. Since then, the series continued for 33 years on popular demand, with over 36 adventure novels in print until the death of the author in 2012. The publishers of most of Kakababu adventure books are Ananda Publishers, based in Kolkata, India.

Tenida (Bengali টেনিদা) or Teni (see Tenida for da) is a fictional native of Potoldanga in Calcutta, who appears in a number of short stories and larger works of the Bengali author Narayan Gangopadhyay
The leader of a group of four young lads who lived in the neighbourhood of Potoldanga, Tenida was depicted as the local big-mouthed airhead, who, although not blessed with academic capabilities, was admired and respected by the other three for his presence of mind, courage, and honesty as well as his vociferous appetite. 
Descriptions of Tenida's nose also make frequent appearances in the text, being described as "a large nose resembling Mount Mainak". 
The narrator of the stories is Pyalaram, who seemed to share his leader's frailty in academic exertions. The other two characters who formed an integral part of the quartet were Habul Sen, who speaks with strong East Bengali accent (Dhakai) and Kyabla, the cleverest among the four.
The short stories were extensively based in Calcutta and its suburbs, but the Charmurti traveled to Hajaribag, Duars, Darjeeling where their pleasure trip turned into a series of mysterious incidents.
March 1946 Narayan Gangopadhyay, shifted to a rented house at Patoldanga,Kolkata, where his Landlord was Shri.Probhat Mukherjee (Tenida). Narayan Gangopadyay never had a good relation with his landlord.[8] When Bishu Mukherjee approached him for stories for 'Mouchak". 
Tenida was created initially to mock his landlord in two stories "Matsya puran " & "Khattango O Pallanno". Other two characters Kybla & Habul were added subsequently and profile of Tenida was also changed.

Pyalaram

Pyalaram, the narrator of the stories, wrote from the point of view of the writer himself. He was a timid member and suffered from a chronic stomach ailment. His unfavorite food items appear to be potol diye singhi maacher jhol (fish curry) and bashok patar rosh (the juice of the malabar nut leaf).

Kyabla

Kushal Mitra also known as Kyabla: Kyabla is supposedly the most intelligent, smart and brave among them. Clever and the top among his classmates, this handsome and dapper young man is the backbone of this group.
Habul's family hailed from East Bengal, a fact that is blatantly obvious by his strong Bangal accent characteristic of people from Eastern Bengal. Habul's parents probably lived in Bikrampur in what is now Bangladesh before moving to Calcutta.

Ghanada (Bengali: ঘনাদা) is a fictional character in Bengali literature created by Premendra Mitra primarily for children and teenagers, though readers of all ages enjoys him. The suffix "da" behind the name "Ghana" commonly means "respected elder brother" in Bengali.
Most of the short stories and novel featuring Ghanada take place at the all-male mess on No. 72, Banamali Naskar Lane in KolkataWest Bengal where the four young members of the mess ShibuShishirGour andSudhir (the narrator) try to trick or please the middle-aged Ghanada in a variety of ingenious ways to force out his stock of unique stories that range from science-fiction, action/adventure to historical conspiracies. In most of his stories, Ghanada himself is the wonderfully wise and wily hero who travels all-round the globe to tackle sinister bad-guys and international conspiracies. Apart from these four, there are two minor recurring characters, Rambhuj the cook and Banowari the all-purpose butler of the mess; also sometimes, a few temporary members has come, such as: Bapi DattaSushil Chaki and Dhanu Choudhury . As in Feluda and Tenida, female characters are generally missing in these stories.

Most of the short stories and novel featuring Ghanada take place at the all-male mess on No. 72, Banamali Naskar Lane in KolkataWest Bengal where the four young members of the mess ShibuShishirGour andSudhir (the narrator) try to trick or please the middle-aged Ghanada in a variety of ingenious ways to force out his stock of unique stories that range from science-fiction, action/adventure to historical conspiracies. In most of his stories, Ghanada himself is the wonderfully wise and wily hero who travels all-round the globe to tackle sinister bad-guys and international conspiracies. Apart from these four, there are two minor recurring characters, Rambhuj the cook and Banowari the all-purpose butler of the mess; also sometimes, a few temporary members has come, such as: Bapi DattaSushil Chaki and Dhanu Choudhury . As in Feluda and Tenida, female characters are generally missing in these stories.

Harshabardhan (Bengaliহর্ষবর্ধন) is the name of a humorous fictional character in Bengali created by Shibram Chakraborty. Harshabardhan along with his younger brother Gobardhan, his wife, and the author Shibram are the subject of a number of satirical short stories. A characteristic of these stories is acerbic wit, play on words, and a characteristic goodnaturedness on the part of the characters. Harshabardhan is a successful black-marketeer dealing in timber who was born in TezpurAssam, migrates and lives in RanaghatWest Bengal. Often to hide his ignorance on day-to-day matters, he comes up with outlandish explanations to impress his devoted younger brother and wife.

BatulBantulBatul the Great, or Bantul the Great (Bengaliবাঁটুল দি গ্রেট) is a popular Bengalicomic strip character created by Narayan Debnath. It first appeared and still appears in a children's magazine called Shuktara and is widely read, not only by children but by adults as well. It has since appeared in comic book format and as an animation series.
The hero of the story is a superman-like character, with a well-built body and enormous strength. He is so strong that he can stop a train, run through a wall breaking it to pieces, kill whales and sharks barehanded, and even bullets cannot pierce his chest. He has a great appetite and sometimes has a whale for his breakfast. Unlike other heroes, Batul does not wear any attractive attire. Rather, he is always seen clad in a pink or orange vest and a black shorts. He is the terror of dacoits and hooligans, and protects the good. Sometimes, Batul's amazing strength is the cause of his downfall. This is especially true when he is trying to operate machinery, since he usually breaks it. Another example, depicted in the panel, shows him trying to ride a bull in a rodeo, but due to his weight, the legs of the bull get embedded in the ground.

Nonte Phonte (Bengaliনন্টে-ফন্টে), also spelled as Nonte Fonte, is a Bengali comic-strip (and later comic book) creation ofNarayan Debnath which originally was serialized for the children's monthly magazine Kishore Bharati (Bengaliকিশোর ভারতী). The stories featuring in the comic strips focusses on the trivial lives of the title characters, Nonte and Phonte, along with a school-senior, Keltuda, and their Hostel Superintendent. The comics have appeared in book form and have been recreated since 2003 in colour. A popular animation series based on the characters has also been filmed.
All the characters belong to an unnamed semi-rural mofussil town in West BengalIndia. The younger characters live in a hostel of a boarding school. The teachers of the school are rarely seen but the headmaster is sometimes depicted. The superintendent and the staff of the hostel are often picturized. All of the characters have whimsical nicknames that add to the amusement of the readers.

Nonte

Nonte is immediately distinguishable 16 year old boy, wearing orange shirt, from Phonte due to his longer hair and a tuft of hair sticking out from the back of his head. Apart from that, in terms of character development, both characters are similar in appearance and mannerisms.

Phonte

Phonte is a 15 year old boy, wearing a blue shirt, shorter crew-cut hair. He is similar to Nonte in physical appearance though neither are related to each other. They seem to think alike as well.

Keltuda

Keltuda is a 19 year old tall boy, very greedy, thief, and a liar, a senior bully in Nonte and Phonte's class. He's the only student who wears trousers instead of shorts probably on account of his advanced years. In one comic strip the reader learns that he has failed the class six times and the governing body of the school wants to get rid of him. He is shown variously as having curly hair and a stubby nose and is a bit taller and stronger than Nonte and Phonte. Often he threatens and coaxes them into doing work for him but invariably gets busted. He also rats on the other students to curry favor with the superintendent and is in general quite boastful.
He is the only student who is said to be in the list of good students of Superintendent and is often insulted by the Superintendent sir.For bullying Nonte and Fonte in front of sir,he often says that Nonte and Fonte do not want sir's good health.He often conspires against them and at last he himself gets caught in sir's hands. Although, there are some stories where they all work together which is very rare and can be found in only two or three stories .
Rajarshi shonku3.jpg
Professor Shonku is a fictional scientist created by Satyajit Ray in a series of Bengali science fiction books. His full name is Trilokeshwar Shonku, and by occupation, he is an inventor. He is the son of Dr. Tripureshwar Shonku. The family name Shonku is caste-less and class-less, as seen by the norms of Bengali Hindu society.
The real name of Professor Shonku is Trilokeshwar Shonku. He lives in Giridih beside the river Usri. He has a male-servant named Prahllad and a cat named Newton living in the house. In his story "The Astronaut's Diary" (Byomjatrir diary) Ray introduced Professor Shonku, the protagonist of his science-fiction stories.
Professor Shonku's father Tripureshwar was a physician. Professor Shonku was born on June 16. His nickname is Tilu. 
Professor Shonku passed matriculation examination of the University of Calcutta at the age of 15. At the age of 16, Professor Shonku received his BSc degree with honours in two subjects, Physics and Chemistry. 
In Satyajit Ray's last finished novel of the series, Swarnaparnee, that was initially published in the Special Puja issue of Anandamela children's magazine in 1992, it was mentioned that at the age of 20, Professor Shonku took his first job as a professor of physics in Calcutta's Scottish Church College.

Tarini khuro is an aged bachelor living Benetolla Lane, at College Street in Kolkata (or what was then Calcutta).He first lived in Dhaka from there he was known to the father of the story-teller (Paltu). His full name is Tarini Charan Banerjee. He is a very efficient story-teller. He tells stories supposedly based on his long professional life. The audience is a bunch of 5 young guys.
The range of the stories are varied — from ghost stories (many of which are not horror stories though) tocomedy stories. Most of the stories portray the quick wit of Tarini khuro in the face of imminent problems/dangers whereas some stories depict how Tarini khuro had some close shaves by the stroke of luck. Tarini khuro has worked fifty six different trades, both business and service trades, in thirty-three cities all over India. This has resulted in his unending stock of stories full of strange incidents which can easily surpass two volumes of The Arabian Nights. There is a little exaggeration in his storytelling for the sake of art. He has not stayed in the same job for more than a period of one year. At the age of 64 he has settled down in a flat in Beniatola Lane inKolkata.
It may be observed here that like Premendra Mitra's Ghanada, Tarini khuro likes to tell tall tales, although unlike Ghanada, there is no way of ascertaining the veracity of these stories. Also unlike the caste-less Ghanada, Tarini is an upper caste twice born Brahmin. He has had an adventurous life and has (like his creator Ray) largely steered clear from the tremendous political (and social) upheavals that were so much visible in twentieth century India. Although Tarini is apparently born in a Bengali middle class family and is well-to-do in terms of inheritance and social networks, he seeks out occupations all over India (in other words, he does not limit himself to Bengal) for the sheer joy of doing so. And although it is clear that he does not enjoy the benefits of a pensionableservice or an annuity or insurance policy, he has to tell tales to get his afternoon tea and snacks. It is also interesting to note that his audience consists of five school children in a middle class dual income Bengali family, who do not have time to spend with their children during the afternoons or evening.
Tarini Khuro – an old mane face with spectacles in eyes and pipe in mouth

1 comment :

  1. That shot....
    Himuu is the most popular than these indian second class bangla

    ReplyDelete