Book Review: The Menagerie and other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay

Established largely in the Calcutta of the 1930s and 1940s, Bandyopadhyay's mysteries are the pioneer of numerous achievements for the detective novels. The tales are mostly narrated by Byomkesh's friend and flatmate Ajit babu, a writer by profession, though the later ones are written with an increasing use of the third person.

 

Hello from the other side!

 

When Saradindu Bandyopadhyay created his amateur Detective, Byomkesh Bakshi, in 1932, there wasn’t much of a tradition of detective fiction in Bengali writing or Indian writing for that matter. In fact, by working in a genre that was looked down upon by the high literary circle, Bandyopadhyay risked not being taken seriously as a writer. Today, however, the Byomkesh Bakshi stories are what he is best known for, and they form one of Bengali literature's most loving legacies.

 

Let's go to the review, shall we?

 

No. of Pages: 315

Publication Date: originally in the 1950s; This book by Penguin India (9 May 2006)

Genre: Classics, Detective Fiction, Bengali Literature, English Translation, Anthology, Indian Literature

Language: English

 

Review:
Byomkesh Bakshi is a Bengali Investigator who despises the word "Detective" to describe him and instead likes to call himself a "Satyanweshi" or "Truth Seeker". Byomkesh is also known to be the Indian Sherlock.

 

The Menagerie and other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries have four cases of Byomkesh that are translated in English by Sreejata Guha. I got to read this book when I was learning Indian English Literature and I then went on to write a comparative study research paper on Detective novels with this book.

 

4 mysteries are covered in the book, namely: The Menagerie (Chidiyakhana), The Jewel Case (Monimondon), The Will That Vanished (Khunji Khunji Nari) and The Quills of the Porcupine (Shajarur Kanta). The cases are not connected or are not in any order but this does not influence the entertainment value in any way. First and last ones are novella like and the other two are short stories. My favourite of them all is The Quills of the Porcupine.

 

The English translation by Sreejata Guha is skillfully done and she manages to capture the essence of Bengal in the year range of 1953 to 67. Her descriptions create a mental picture of that time when life was not as chaotic and yet criminals were just as cunning as today. For people like me who don’t understand Bengali and so can't read the original work of the author, her translation of these four cases is a blessing. Nowhere did the translation feel odd but instead merged beautifully to bring out dialogues just like they would have been in Bengali.

 

All the four cases covered in this book are among the best of Byomkesh’s career. A great addition to my book collection. I don't believe in rating books so I will just say that this book is a must-have and one that can be read and re-read any number of times. The cases are intelligent, intellectual and still as surprising in the end even after decades.

 

All in all, The Menagerie and other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay is heartily recommend to all who love mystery and suspense. Modern readers, especially those who haven't grown up with these stories should find the Byomkesh Bakshi mysteries appealing. The Menagerie is a worthy introduction to Bandyopadhyay's work. Take a ride down the history lane to the past of Bangal and accompany Byomkesh and Ajit as they tackle unconventional crimes and criminals.

 

If you want me to review any other books tell me in the comments.

  

Love, Athena.

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