Feluda
Created by Satyajit Ray (1921-92)

PRADOSH CHANDRA MITTER, more commonly known as FELUDA is a thirty-something private eye created by the well known Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The character made his debut in 1965 in the popular Bengali children’s magazine Sandesh that Ray edited, beloved by both children and adults, appearing regularly in novellas and short stories until the author's death in the 1990s.  Usually, a Feluda story would appear in the special Puja (an Indian festival) edition of that magazine, or Desh a magazine published by the printing house for Ray’s novels and story collections.  Ray also wrote other stories for children.
Feluda is a private detective living at 27, Rajani Sen Road, a middle class suburb in Southern Calcutta.  Playing Watson to Feluda's Sherlock Holmes was his younger teenage cousin, Topshe, and the two were usually accompanied on their cases by their older friend, pulp writer Lalmohan Ganguli, who offered some comic relief, as well as occasional logistical support.  A nice post-modern touch was provided by references to Ganguli’s own detective creation, Prakhar Rudra, whose name phonetically resembled Feluda’s Bengali name.  Ganguli used his nom-de-plume ‘Jatayu’ (a mythical bird in the Indian epic, Ramayana) for his literary output.  His works would be very popular with the young children in Feluda’s stories, much to the latter’s disdain, which would sometimes find a release through cutting comments on various geographical or historical inaccuracies in Ganguli’s stories.  Rudra’s adventures would even shared the same alliterative titles in Bengali (eg. ‘Shaharay Shihoron’, or ‘Shivers In The Sahara’) as Feluda’s early stories.
Although the influenced of Doyle's Holmes is obvious, the stories were aimed at children, and therefore went easy on the sex (in fact, there were hardly any female characters other than aunts and grandmothers) and violence (usually the threat of his raised Colt revolver would disarm villains).
Nevertheless, Ray had a real knack for savvy and innovative plotting, which may explain why Feluda was adored, and his depictions of an ever-changing India offer an intriguing and heartfelt commentary on that country and virtually defined almost two generations of Bengalis.  The stories were written in easy to understand ‘spoken’ Bengali (as opposed to the more elaborate version of the ‘good’ Bengali literature), and crammed with knowledge, much of it courtesy Feluda himself and his paternal uncle Sidhu who had a habit of storing newspaper cuttings in scrapbooks. There is much speculation that Feluda’s character was modeled on Ray himself, as he shares Ray’s love for trivia, tall physique and even a tendency for smoking heavily (Feluda smokes the Charminar brand).  Ray, am accomplished graphic artist, designed the book jackets and provided the illustrations inside.
Feluda’s only principal villain would be the rich and crooked businessman Maganlal Meghraj, who has appeared in ‘Joy Baba Felunath’ and ‘Joto Kando Kathmandu’.
Other than being one of the most well-known Indian literary creations, the books are bloody good, and not to be missed. And for those whose Bengali isn't quite up to snuff, many of Feluda's books have also been translated into English and published by Penguin Books. As well, there have been features films (including two directed by Ray, as well as a couple directed by his son, Sandip Ray, himself a noted director), TV adaptations, radio shows and even a comic strip.  Ray’s directed feature Sonar Kella (1974), the first screen appearance of Feluda, is arguably the most popular Bengali children’s movie ever. 

Stories

1. Feludar Goendagiri (1965) ফেলুদার গোয়েন্দাগিরি
2. Badshahi Angti (1966) বাদশাহী আংটি
3. Kailash Choudhury-r Pathor (1967) কৈলাস চৌধুরীর পাথর
4. Sheyal Debota Rahasya (1969) শেয়াল দেবতা রহস্য
5. Gangtoke Gondogol (1970) গ্যাংটকে গন্ডগোল
6. Sonar Kella (1971) সোনার কেল্লা
7. Baksho Rahasya (1972) বাক্স রহস্য
8. Samaddarer Chabi (1973) সমাদ্দারের চাবি
9. Kailashe Kelenkari (1973) কৈলাসে কেলেংকারী
10. Royal Bengal Rahasya (1974) রয়েল বেঙ্গল রহস্য
11. Joi Baba Felunath (1975) জয়বাবা ফেলুনাথ
12. Ghutghutiyar Ghotona (1975) ঘুরঘুটিয়ার ঘটনা
13. Bombaiyer Bombete (1976) বোম্বাইয়ের বোম্বেটে
14. Gosainpur Sargaram (1976) গোঁসাইপুর সরগরম
15. Gorosthane Shabdhan! (1977) গোরস্থানে সাবধান!
16. Chinnamastar Abhishaap (1978) ছিন্নমস্তার অভিশাপ
17. Hatyapuri (1979) হত্যাপুরী
18. Golokdham Rahasya (1980) গোলকধাম রহস্য
19. Joto Kando Katmandute (1980)
20. Napoleoner Chithi (1981) নেপোলিয়নের চিঠি
21. Tintorettor Jishu (1982) টিনটোরেটোর যীশু
22. Ambar Sen Antardhan (1983) অম্বর সেন অন্তর্ধান রহস্য
23. Jahangirer Swarnomudra (1983) জাহাঙ্গীরের স্বর্ণমুদ্রা
24. Eibar Kando Kedarnathe (1983) এবার কান্ড কেদারনাথে
25. Bosepukure Khunkharapi (1985) বোসপুকুরে খুনখারাপি
26. Darjeeling Jomjomat (1985) দার্জিলিং জমজমাট
27. Bhuswarga Bhoyonkor (1987) ভূস্বর্গ ভয়ঙ্কর
28. Indrajal Rahasya (1987) ইন্দ্রজাল রহস্য
29. Apsara Theatrer Mamla (1987) অপ্সরা থিয়েটারের মামলা
30. Sakuntalar Kanthahaar (1988)
31. Dr. Munshir Diary (1989) ডাঃ মুনসীর ডায়রি
32. Golapi Mukta Rahasya (1989) গোলাপী মুক্তা রহস্য
33. Londone Feluda (1989) লন্ডনে ফেলুদা
34. Noyon Rahasya (1990) নয়ন রহস্য
35. Robertsoner Ruby (1991) রবার্টসনের রুবি