Who –
Feluda aka Prodosh Chandra Mitra
Creator –
Satyajit Ray
Novels –
Originally written in Bengali, a large number of Ray’s detective books have been translated to English and are available for purchase on various e-commerce platforms.
About the detective –
Prodosh Chandra Mitra or Prodosh C Mitter is a private investigator based out of 21, Rajani Sen Road, Kolkata. He is assisted by his cousin Tapesh Ranjan Mitra aka Topshe in all the cases. They befriend a writer Lalmohan Ganguly aka Jatayu during their adventure in Jaipur (in the book Sonar Kella) and the trio remains inseparable until the last book.
It is believed that Ray was highly influenced by the writing style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous detective character Sherlock Holmes. In multiple instances, Feluda is heard calling Sherlock his ‘guru’. Topshe is similar to the character of Dr. Watson. Even the character of Sidhu Jetha is said to be inspired by Sherlock’s elder brother Mycroft Holmes. Feluda is 6ft 2inches, fond of exercise and is often choosy about the cases he accepts. He loves his pack of Charminar cigarettes, prefers to have his evening tea with a snack made from Bengal gram called dalmut and keeps a 0.32 colt revolver for security. Feluda manages to solve most of his cases through his analytical abilities using his brains that he refers to as magajashtra and thus the books rarely have unnecessary action-packed sequences. While most of his initial cases are set in Kolkata and other parts of Bengal, we see him move to Bombay in Bombaiyyer Bombete, Kashmir in Bhuswarga Bhayankar, Hong Kong in Tintorettor Jishu and London in Golapi Mukto rahasya. The climax in this series usually involved a scene where Feluda gathered all the characters and revealed the modus operandi and thoughts of the killer before revealing the identity of the antagonist.
From books to screens –
Two of the books had been adapted to Bengali movies by Ray himself. Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath starring the Bengali veteran actor Soumitro Chatterjee. His son, the renowned filmmaker, Sandip Ray directed a few more of his stories like Royal Bengal rahasya, Bombaiyyer Bombette starring Sabyasachi Chakroborty in the lead role. Recently, he adapted one of the earlier works of Ray titled Hirer angti casting actor Abir Chatterjee (who rose to fame portraying the character Byomkesh Bakshy in movies). Very recently a web series has also made. This goes to prove that the appeal of this sharp-minded detective is evergreen.
My bookish connection with Feluda –
I grew up in a family of Bibliophiles. My Maths Professor father had one exclusive bookshelf for his academic books and the second one was shared with my mother for Bengali literature classics and contemporary Bengali novels. I was in class four my parents gifted me the first-ever detective book of my life on my birthday – Gangtoke Gondogol.
The first time that I read this book, I found it to be too complicated for a ten-year-old. It involved concepts like planchette that was unrelatable to me at that point. But Baba started buying me more of Ray’s books and eventually the first Feluda book that I ended up reading and loving was Joto Kando Kathmandute. There has been no looking back ever since. My entire childhood has been focussed on collecting the complete set of all the detective Bengali novels I loved reading and books on Feluda happen to top that list.
With time, I realized the biggest appeal of Feluda was in the fact that the stories were loved by children and adults alike. Ray’s lucid portrayal of a young Bengali detective (still running 35) cracking cases through sheer intelligence and logic makes him a favorite of all generations. If you love the old world detective fiction with a good story and great illustrations, Ray’s Feluda is a series that I would strongly urge you to read.
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© Sonia Chatterjee and soniasmusings.com, (2017-2019). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
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I have to admit I really haven’t read a lot of Feluda. I’ve heard of the character often but somehow never got around. Will go through your list and then see what Amazon has.
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Such an interesting concept Sonia, looking forward.
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Oh Feluda! I have only recently started reading the stories. I bought both the volumes of complete adventures of Feluda a few months ago, and I am loving everything about the mysteries. Definitely one of my favourite detectives too, along with Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple 🙂
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I remember reading about your father’s two book shelves in one of your previous posts during AtoZ. Honestly I’ve mostly known only Byomesh Bakshi. So this is goiNg to be interesting. Great idea!
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Ohh that’s one series I’m definitely adding to my “to read” list. I was very young when my father gifted me his prized copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Though it took me a lot of years and multiple re-reading to wrap my head around it, it ignited a love of detective novels in me. So I could really relate to this piece. I’ve always found that books are much better than their tv/movie adaptations.
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Feludaaaaa… Charminar aar Mogojastro!
Those books are still so relevant in so many ways. I love how each book taught us so many things.
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I have not read this book yet, but I am a die hard fan of Sherlock Holmes ,the science of deduction 😃and when you say that Feluda is inspired by Sherlock holmes, I would like to read it someday.
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My maternal grandfather was a bibliophile, he could read and write in multiple languages. I vividly remember he had a Satyajit Ray book with Feluda, though I don’t remember the book title or plot anymore, it was over 20 years ago. Reading this reminded me of him and I am intrigued to read the Feluda series.
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I forgot to mention, he had a copy in Bengali. Another reason why I never read the book entire childhood.
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This reminds me, I have a collection of Feluda’s books – the English translation – which I should read soon. I’m even more fascinated by this character after reading your post!
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Thanks for sharing Sonia. I hadn’t heard of Feluda. There are so many wonderful authors who we miss out on because of our ignorance of regional literature.
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I have read only a few adventures of Feluda but I love him. Yes, the similarities can be seen between him and Sherlock Holmes. Nevertheless, the stories are exciting.
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Interesting theme! Feluda is sheer nostalgia. Loved reading it in my childhood. I think I should read it again now 🙂
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My mom is a big fan of Munshi Premchand and Satyajit ray. She has read quite a lot of books before motherhood happened. N now when she has time, her eyes don’t allow much. But i am recommending your blog to her and I am sure she will love it. Thanks for bringing up such an interesting topic. 🙂
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Feluda happens to be my better half’s favorite detective after Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps he is the Indian Sherlock! I saw the movie but I don’t think it does justice to the book.
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Hi Sonia, firstly i want to compliment you on picking up such an interesting theme. Secondly, i liked your post about Feluda. To be honest, i wasn’t aware about this creation of Satyajit Ray until a few years back when i happened to see the detective series in stores. I, immediately picked up a couple, one in comic format and the other in the novel format. Your post made me relive those moments. i still remember the title of on of the books, it was “The House of Death” .
Thanks for the interesting post and look forward to more 🙂
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Wow! Feluda sounds like a very interesting detective with exciting cases to solve. In Tamil, there was a detective by the name of Thuppariyum Sambu meaning detective Sambu who used to be my favourite. I used to enjoy the Byomkesh Bakshi series when it was shown on television. I was not aware that there were so many fictional Bengali detectives. Look forward to reading about all of them.
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1stly welcome back after a break, look forward to reading this as I love detective novels a lot, right now reading Hercule Poirot short stories. I’m already humming tidin tidin…. that detective series tune. Was a big byomkesh bakshi fan when it was showcased on TV.
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I love Feluda.Have all the volumes and also Byomkesh,Kiriti,Kikira and everyone else who ever solved a mystery.Enjoyed reading this
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awesome post. Feluda is quite a known novel character designed by Satyajit Ray. I am from the city of joy – Kolkata too and many of my friends were in love with Feluda. 🙂
Although, I haven’t read any one of them, surely buy one of them.
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A very innovative and unique series of Indian detective agents! Feluda has always been a personal favourite. Sheer Nostalgia! More power to your pen!!
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Glad to know about the famous Indian detective reads here, I like Dan Brown and such likes for thrilling adventures. Would love to pick this for a change.
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Knowing Feluda has been on my list for the longest but somehow it keeps getting postponed. I think now I am surely going to get a copy and read. Wonderful post with your personal anecdote! #thatchedroofreads
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I have read a few stories by Feluda but not many books. I will surely check more now after reading this post.
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Perfect plot for a perfect leisurely Sunday afternoon. I haven’t come to like too many thrillers by Indian authors but this might be it. Thanks for sharing this. #MyFriendAlexa #CloudandSunshineReads
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Frankly i have still not read any thing about detectives till date yours was the first. Nice idea liked your review and ideology and way of convey
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Feluda is someone i am totally unaware of . But you aroused the curiosity in me.
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I remember watching Byomesh Bakshi on Door Darshan and I loved it at that time.
Your post makes me feel that I need to read a lot of Satyajit Ray to find some more treasure.
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I remember watching Byomesh Bakshi on Door Darshan and I loved it at that time.
Your post makes me feel that I need to read a lot of Satyajit Ray to find some more treasure.
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I haven’t read any of the Feluda work, thanks to introduction of such great list of books in this genre.
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Hi Sonia, such an interesting theme you have picked up for the series… Enjoyed reading your write up… 🙂
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Hi Sonia, such an interesting theme you have picked up for the series… Enjoyed reading your write up… 🙂
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No one can deny the contribution of Bengal in literature. The best stories, the best detectives and some amazing poems…
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Loved the introduction to Feluda. I have heard about him, but really want to read one of the books featuring him. Your post reminded me that it’s time!
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This blog post makes me realize how much I am lacking in my reading skills and how much I actually need to read. So many books to read and so little time… 😦
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So many Bengalis have told me many times that Sonar Killa movie is incredibly popular. In fact, a few even visited Jaiselmer because of this reason. Ray will always be remembered for his movies which are cut from the rest.
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Feluda and Byomkesh are my favourite Bengali sleuths, who has been my constant companion in my whole life.
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Brilliant collection! I wasn’t aware that there were so many popular Indian detectives in our novels. Of course, Byomkesh Bakshi was made famous by the serial by the same name, but the others, I had no clue about.
Keep writing such informative posts. #MyFriendAlexa #DiaryOfAnInsaneWriter
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