Sonar Kella

Maybe this book (or maybe Joy Baba Felunath, actually both came in a single gift package from my parents) was my first introduction to Feluda but this time as I read it on the eve of my proposed holiday to Rajasthan, the excitement was of a new type. Not only did I choose this book just to savour the adventure but also to have a glimpse of Rajasthan in Satyajit Ray’s eyes so that I can match it during my travel. Probably Jaisalmer and its Fort were made famous to the average Bengali by Ray only after publishing this book. And also he must be the only person in India to successfully christen an age old Fort to a new name that his imaginative brain provided observing the golden texture of the same. To tell about the story will do injustice to the millions and millions of Feluda fans who surely will never forget this story though it may not be a favourite one for them. One can never forget the adventure following the little Mukul’s tales of his previous life and precious stones. Then there was the failed attempt to kidnap Mukul and thereafter begins the race between Feluda and the miscreants. In this, several suspicious characters are introduced and it is upto Feluda to undo the mask of decency from the face of the villains. This novel is not only famous for its storyline and its later filming but in this story Ray introduced the character of Lalmohan Ganguly aka Jatayu, the thriller novelist and thus was struck a lifelong friendship between Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu. Just one point to further note is that in the sketches of this book Lalmohan is far from chubby and only after the filming of Sonar Kella and Santosh Dutta’s renowned performance as Jatayu in it did Ray modify his sketch to make Lalmohan’s figure more to correspond that of Santosh Dutta. The climax of the story is inside the Fort and while reading this those who have viewed the movie surely could never resist comparing it from the movie version.