Friday, May 28, 2010

Feluda & Co

The double Feluda stories back to back were 1st introduced by Satyajit Ray in this book where the sleuth battled the evil brains both in and out of the city.

The collection starts with Bombaier Bombete, a title that was so aptly chosen by the master story teller that hints at both the place of Feluda's adventure and the origin of the bandits. Actually the case comes while Feluda and Topshe accompany Lalmohanbabu to Bombay when one of his novels, "Bombaier Bombete", was selected for a Bollywood release by Jatayu's acquintance turned hindi film director Pulak Ghoshal. But curious events start from the beginning when the author was requested to deliver a small packet to a stranger at Bombay airport by some Sanyal, a self proclaimed Bengali film director. Though the trio didn't have an inkling of any mystery till then but a murder at the premises, where the packet bearer of Bombay airport was seen, triggered of a set of intriguing sequences. Jatayu's reference came up during police enquiry and Sanyal's presence was felt at several places where Feluda & Co. roamed about in the metropolitan. Thus Feluda was automatically involved in the investigation not only to save his friend but also to stop a suspected smuggling. A high paced finish in the backdrop of a shooting site and the writer’s unique style of descriptive narrations would have been a great combination but for some misprints that is slightly irritating at places.

The other one of the collection, G(n)osaipur Saragaram, is a favourite to me not only for its contrasting backdrop in a quite village, so very far from sophisticated amenities of the city, but also for a wittier Feluda with his fantastic insights to human psychology. The truth cleverly camouflaged by the writer at the beginning and the lifestyle of a rural population makes this class apart from other stories in the Feluda series.