Swayang Professor Shonku

The compilations contain three of Shonku's two very interesting adventures and one story of invention that takes an unpredictable turn. Compu, among other things, serves as a reminder to the tech dependent human civilization in the same way that Asimov did in numerous occasions that shows us how smart machines may evolve in the most undesirable fashions possible when the inventors' control is taken up by the intelligence that is infused. That this aspect of the computer dominated society could have been foreseen by Ray in so early a time when the processors were just inching its way in the country, once more tells us about the visionary in him. This story is sandwiched between two full fledged adventures Munroe Dwiper Rahasya and Ekshringa Abhijan where Shonku teams up with other explorers to quest for the strangest whose charm seemed to appeal to me more than when I enjoyed in my younger days. In one the voyage is to a pirate's cove for the trail of the cure-all and the other is for the search of the most beautiful monastery, the Unicorns and the art of flying. The former is primarily a tragedy where a dangerous truth is uncovered while the rationale of the other is nicely explained more by the artist in Ray than by the scientist in the protagonist. Three of Shonku's recurring associates feature here viz., Saunders, Kroll and the most unscientific Abinashbabu who balances the wit of the story. The book is also a contrast to the series in the sense that discovery has the lion's share than inventions.