Magic of the Golden Fortress

[Disclaimer: The following piece is a memoir of my experience and observation of the book/film Sonar Kella by Satyajit Ray. Please note that, it includes some of the detailed plot discussions and spoilers regarding the mystery of the novel.]

Sonar Kella, the name evokes a host of childhood memories, not only for me but I am sure, for a lot of my friends too. That’s why, when I first decided to express my admiration for this wonderful novel and the brilliant movie I thought of sharing one of my personal stories from childhood. Well, it is a funny story and as you know, more often than not a funny story is at someone expenses. In this case that someone is me.

The year was around 1990. I was in the first or second standard in school. There used to be a writer named Ananda Bagchi who wrote adventure stories for children. Now, one day in school, one of my friends praised a lot about an adventure book by Ananda Bagchi. The name of the book was ‘Sonar Biscuit’. It was basically a story of three school friends going to North Bengal in holidays and then discovering the secret of a gang of smugglers, smuggling golden biscuits, and helped police to solve the crime in the process. He also let me read a couple of pages of that book and I was kind of hooked.

I was the youngest member of my local club library. So that day, I went there in the afternoon and asked the librarian, “Uncle, can you find me the book ‘Sonar Biscuit’?”

He searched for sometime, could not find it and then got another book from the rack and asked me, “I can’t find ‘Sonar Biscuit’, but this one is called ‘Sonar Kella’? Are you going to take this one?”

And I promptly said, “No uncle. Please find me ‘Sonar Biscuit’ and not ‘Sonar Kella’! I don’t want to read this one!!”

Well, you have to consider the fact that, I was just seven. Seven, at which age Harry Belfonte asked his father ‘about the stories of man and woman, man to man’! Some friends of mine may also call this one as the first recorded incident of me making a Taux Pass (Tapo’s version of Faux Pass) but yeah, I do accept the fact that I was little foolish at that time. Anyhow, the fact of the matter is that I got my first Pheluda book pretty soon after that incident and then keep reading all of them all the time.

Now, I sometimes think, why is Sonar Kella such a popular book in Pheluda series? Is it because this is the first Pheluda story which Ray decided to convert to a film? Or is it because of the grand entry of Mr. Jatayu, especially in the film accompanied by a porter and his famous red suitcase? Or because of its background in historical Rajasthan? Or is it because, Mukul’s story of previous birth was really interesting and new to people? (I know Sharadindu has written quite few stories on previous births, but those were mostly for adults and not for youngsters)

What I always felt is that, the key to Sonar Kella’s popularity is the fact this is an out and out childrens’ book. Obviously the main theme of the book is solving the mystery of Sonar Kella but that’s not the only theme. The funny bits involving Jatayu, the bits of history, the stern, aloof presence of Mukul, the adventure of camel ride and a chilling villain in Mandar Bose - all these factors together have created such a mood, as a child I sometimes found this book too intimidating. There were times when I read this novel and then for next few days kept thinking about Pheluda’s Personality, Sidhujyatha’s list of trivia, Lalmohanbabu’s description of camels using their stomach as source of water and the man disguised in a red shawl.

The plot of this book was as good as any other Pheluda stories. I liked how the mystery was constructed through various incidents in Kolkata and Rajasthan, with help of new characters like Jatayu and Mandar Bose. I still remember how I started guessing who could be that man whom Mukul met just outside the Circuit House which followed by the mystifying comment of Dr. Hazra that this man can be someone from Mukul’s current birth or the previous birth. The readers also got a chance to put their brain into work, trying to solve this puzzle:

And yes, the climax inside the Golden fortress merits a mention. I found it a perfect finish of this book after the incidents of previous twenty odd pages. Pheluda and group chased Mukul and Dr. Hazra, their journey was hampered thanks to Mandar Bose and board pins and glass pieces, they chased a train on camels, they spent a whole evening in the semi dark Ramdeora station with bandits and then threw Mandar Bose away from a running train. And all these events finally culminated when the fake Dr. Hazra got attacked by a peacock and was promptly hold by inspector Rathod, friend of the original Dr. Hajra.

(Could this be Mukul's Home? Or is this Giridhari's?)

In recent times I have spent lots of time by cursing and discussing the number of slipups made in Sandip Ray’s version of Pheluda movies. Yes, the list is pretty long and for me one of biggest follies of the new Pheluda movies is that there’s no mystery! From the very first scene, you know who the criminal is and then basically wait for Sabyasachi (who in ‘Kailashe Kelenkari’ looked like a middle aged man with…umm… to quote Chandrabindu ‘…modhyikhane chhotto ekti Bhnuri’) to finally announce that. In one such discussion someone told me, even Satyajit used to do the same, right? In Sonar Kella, you knew that it was Mandar Bose and fake Dr. Hazra, who were the bad men. And yes I agree, but then, although the audience knew who is the criminal in first half an hour of the movie still they have to wait to find how the mystery of Sonar Kella got solved? Did Mukul actually fulfill his dream of being in his Sonar Kella? And that made the movie such a wonderful watch.

Also, we have to think about Satyajit Ray’s treatment and directional skills, which to put mildly, were way better than his son. Sandip Ray fans (and yes, I am sure such people do exist. If Himesh Reshmiya can have a fan base then Mr. Ray also surely can. Yeah, those fans may be from Tuvalu or Guyana and know nothing about Pheluda but they can still like Sandip Ray’s Facebook page thinking that talks about some electromagnetic or photonic spectrum impacting the Ozone layer) have to agree that the script of those movies are the weakest part. Nothing new in those, it’s like converting the entire conversation from the book to a script.

But, if I start writing about the script of Sonar Kella I think I can continue for next twenty pages. It was Satyajit Ray at his best, so witty, so humorous, so subtle but at the same time simple enough to make a ten year old follow the story. From Jatayu’s Hindi to Mandar Bose’s lullabies it was an awesome experience. Some legendary dialogues have truly become a part of urban Bengali dialects! “Chokhe chhani noe, pete panita ektu beshi porechhe!”, “Hajar hajar doctor Hajra!”, “Knata ki era bechhe khae?”, “Hyena to China-e moshai!” the list is just too long. I will just mention another one which I noted in my latest viewing of Sonar Kella.

Just after the second puncture in their way to Jayasalmer, Pheluda (Soumitra Chatterjee) was sitting with a train timetable in hand, Jatayu (Santosh Dutta) came to him.

Jatayu: “Kirtita kar kichhu bujhhte parlen? Sara prithibir joto rokomer knach somosto niye ekhane joro korechhe!”

Pheluda: “Taholei bujhhun kirtita kar?”

Jatayu: “Anya!”

So subtle and so wonderful! I realized the advantage of watching the tenth time watched movie for the eleventh time after capturing this gem!

Now, let’s get into the characters. Who is your favorite? Santosh Dutta as Lalmohan or Kamu Mukherjee as Mandar Bose? Because for me it is one tough choice. I absolutely love Santosh Dutta with his antics in train, in the car and on the camel. But still Kamu Mukherjee just blew me away. His Card printed shirt, his magic tricks to Mukul, his duplication of camels in Nahargar everything was so real. Scenes involving both of these wonderful actors are just too good and keep you spellbound.

And yes I liked Pheluda’s subtle one liners too. Soumitra Chatterjee’s controlled, intellectual and intelligent portrayal of Pheluda was just the right foil along with all the madness from Jatayu and Mandar Bose. And obviously there were Ajay Banerjee as Barman, Kushal Chakravarti as Mukul and Shailen Mukherjee as Dr. Hemanga Hajra. I specially like Harindranath Chattopadhyay’s Sidhujyatha who exclaims, “Jeete raho bachcha!” after Pheluda answers all his questions.

I watched the movie and read the book in two consecutive days before writing this piece, and if you ask me, I would say I did not like it much. The book and the movie are so different despite being on the same story that it’s very difficult to compile those two and make it one single entity. I know that, I may again watch/read ‘Sonar Kella’ in next six months’ time and I will ensure that I do either of them and not both.

A lovely book, a legendary film and a part of my childhood- that is what I call Magic of the Golden Fortress.

The Mystery Begins

[Disclaimer: The following piece is a memoir of my experience and observation of the book Badshahi Angti by Satyajit Ray. Please note that, it includes some of the detailed plot discussions and spoilers regarding the mystery of the novel.]

Every story in life has a beginning. Sometimes it is awesome. Like Sourav Ganguly scoring a hundred on his test debut in the hallowed ground of Lords. Sometimes it’s not so good. Amitabh Bachchan starting his film career with ‘Saat Hindustani’ can be an example. And then there are times when the beginning is plain ugly. Like RCB’s IPL experience, that started with a 140 runs thrashing by KKR.

Satyajit Ray knew a few things about auspicious beginnings, his journey of life started with losing his father when he was two and half years old. He started his movie direction career at the age of 34 with one of the greatest documentation of human life and emotions, ‘Pather Panchali’, in 1955 which brought him lots of fame and let the cinema lovers of the world meet with a genius. And then, in 1966, Pheluda started his journey through novels as a detective in Badshahi Angti.

I first read Badshahi Angti at a pretty young age and absolutely loved it. Lucknow, Bhulbhulaiya in Bara Imambara, Residency, Banbiharibabu’s private zoo of ferocious animals and the climax in Lakshman Jhula, all of it actually blown me away.

I have read this book in next twenty or so years many a times. Not only had I loved it more and more, I have actually realized some very special characteristics of this book, compared to other Pheluda adventures.

Have you ever thought which kind of normal day job Pheluda would do? Well remember, according to this story he was working for last two years. I wonder whether it was a government job, or may be in some of those marwary private firms of 60s, where he might be working as a sales or marketing guy. Or should I dare assume that, he was in a bank, doing a very basic level of analytics! If you ask me, I would assume him to be in a management kind of role with his wonderful ability to read human minds and act accordingly.

Also here, Pheluda is a young man. He talks about his college days and spin bowling and more importantly people do not give him the importance which he started gaining from the very first page of the future books. But, yet his wit and sharpness was as good as ever.

He finally cracked the clue of ‘spy’ which was Piyarilal’s last words. With his detection power and great mind he did create one of the great moments of Pheluda stories when he described Topse about how he identified and memorized the entire plan of Bhulbhulaiya and hence used one of the chambers there to hide the ring of great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

And not only Pheluda, Topse was just a kid in this story, who does not know about Residency, tried to read Pheluda’s notes written in Greek font, did not get it why Pheluda was receiving threat letters and forgot to take his hanky at the climax. But this young Topse suddenly became a hero when accidentally finds the ring inside Pheluda’s matchbox.

Bonbihari Sarkar was the first proper villain in the Pheluda series. He was an intriguing man with a polished look (thin mustache and pointed beard), knowledge about various historical events and a collection which includes a rattle snake and a black widow spider from Africa among others. And yes he was an intelligent man too. He used his strong man Ganesh Guha to follow Pheluda at places, instructed him to act as if Guha his leaving his job and also was smart enough to put the tape recorder below Topse’s cot in the dharamshala, anticipating a conversation between him and Pheluda regarding the ring. And that’s why I found it a little dumb for him to behave as if he does not recognize Mahabir as he should have realized that this move of his would bring suspicion on him atleast from Mahabir. But taking the duo to that jungle and left Pheluda and Topse with a rattle snake in the same room was a scary business by a smart man.

Now, one thing has happened with me pretty frequently. Whenever I have been to a new place I try to connect that place with any great book I have read. It happened in Jayasalmer when I asked a shopkeeper the time of sun rise to see the golden fortress at its best. This story did not end well though, the shopkeeper asked me the reason and then told me that, although Bengalis are coming here all the time but this place is actually hyped.

Similarly, when I and some of my other friends decided to visit Lucknow on the 31^st December of 2005, my first thought was that I am now going to visit the land of Pheluda’s first exploit. Ray was a keen observer and a great story-teller. And that’s why he had this ability to draw a very lively picture of any place he was describing. I went to Lucknow more than 35 years after this book and yes the roads were different, lots of government buses and autos along with the tangas but those historical places were exactly as I dreamt of after reading this book again and again.

I have already said that Pheluda was a young detective in this one. Hence he did not have his Colt 32 revolver which would become one of his most trusted companies in the future adventures.

Instead his choice of weapon (except his Magajastra) was something which we mostly associate with those teen-age detectives who get into trouble while following a suspicious man with beard and sunglasses while coming back from school. Feluda called it ‘Churnikrta Bramhastra’ which was nothing but black pepper powder. But obviously it had a pretty good effect on the villains and I was happy.

Badshahi Angti is definitely not the best Pheluda work by Ray but this book was a very potent foundation of a great series. A series which was carried on for next 20 years with 18 more publications and with times which is converted into a life long legend for most of the literary minded Bengalis.

Adventure in one’s own backyard

[Disclaimer: The following piece is a memoir of my experience and observation of the book Gorosthane Sabdhaan! by Satyajit Ray. Please note that, it includes some of the detailed plot discussions and spoilers regarding the mystery of the novel.]

A green second-hand Ambassador, a 125 years old diary, the world’s second oldest photo shop, the misprinted visiting cards and midnight…Midnight in the Graveyard…

Gorosthane Sabdhaan! was first published as a book in May, 1978. A Pheluda adventure in Satyajit Ray’s matchless writing style. I first read it somewhere in my early teens and from that day onwards I’ve been compelled to read it again and again. An enthralling book, written in the backdrop of Ray’s own city. Calcutta in the 70s had featured in Ray’s movies time and time again. Be it Mahanagar, be it Pratidwandi or be it Jana Aranya. But, amongst his novels Calcutta has a lone appearance in this book.
The story starts with Jatayu (the famous Bengali thriller writer Lal Mohan Ganguly) entering Rajani Sen Road in his new second-hand ambassador with a peculiar horn and colour, which reminds Pheluda of Tamil movies! They want to have a ride in the new car and what would be the more appropriate place than St John’s Church to see Job Charnock’s tomb, especially since the latest hobby of Pheluda is old Calcutta. And the journey begins for the reader as well. A roller coster ride of 80 odd pages, filled with mystery, unexpected turn of events and thrill.
I have always felt Ray was a big fan of history,especially that of the Nawbabs of Lucknow. That’s why they have been repeatedly referenced in his writing and films. How can one forget Badshahi Angti, Which announces the arrival of Bengali’s most favorite detective (My dear reader, I know what you are thinking but Byomkesh was Satyanweshi, not a detective), Shankutalar Kanthaha, Pheluda’s second visit to Awodh, Satranj ki Khilari, based on the life of Nawbab Wazir Ali Shah. Even Pheluda’s favorite Gajhal , 'Jab Chhod Chale Lakhnou Nagari’ is composed by a Lucknow Nawbab.
Although Gorosthane Sabdhaan! is completely based in Calcutta, the story of the Nawbabs forms a backdrop. In the early nineteenth century Sadat Ali was the Nawbab of Lucknow and Thomas Godwin was a young fellow from Great Britain and they met. Tom was the best chef in Sadat’s kitchen. Sadat was really impressed on Tom and rewarded him with one precious gift after another. But for Tom the most precious of them all was his first reward, which Charlotte Godwin, Thomas’s daughter had described in her dairy as “Father’s precious Perigal repeater “.
Now, if you are thinking what the hell this Perigal repeater is then for your information repeater can mean a watch or a gun, even Sidhujyatha is not sure!
This book is not only describes history of Nawabs, it is also a story of Calcutta, a story of Park St. a story of Blue Fox, a story of Oxford Book shop and last but not least the Park St. Graveyard, the Gorosthan. Park St. cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Calcutta, is described in such a lucid but detailed manner by Topshe that you always feel like you are with them. Whether it’s the description of the tombs in the daytime or the description of the graveyard in the night, Topshe is always in his narrative best. There is only one small flaw in this book. The French revolution started in 1789 and not 1791 as mentioned by Topshe. But I am sure; Topshe was trying to act smart and didn’t consult with Pheluda there.
And then come the characters. A very silky polished watch collector, who can go to any limit to add a new watch in his collection, a historian who keeps the cuttings of 150 years old newspaper in his purse, an aged Anglo Indian man, living in the small dark flats in Repon lane. Different Characters, different shades and different mysteries hidden in them. It’s an absorbing experience for the reader.
I will not tell you the story, but when all these history, all these places and all these characters come together they creates Gorosthane Sabdhaan! My favorite Pheluda adventure, full of suspense, uncertainty, surprises and the twist in the tale.
And Ray’s stories are never single dimensional, along with the history it has some subtle funny moments thanks to Jatayu .“U-up down gulie fellen naki?” is one of my most favorite Jatayu one liners.
One of the most interesting features of Ray’s writing is his ability to add trivia in between all the happenings of his story and you never feel bored or you never think that somebody is teaching you in the school. Here also he comes up with the discussion of how the words from other language have mixed with the Bengali language and that was pretty interesting.
Seems that, Ray was not very happy of rechristening of the roads and monuments of Calcutta, and so Feluda mentions the old names Suren Banerjee Road and Topshe starts writing Octur …before changing it to Shahid Meenar.
All in all a great adventure and an awesome book. A must read for all Pheluda fanatics. It’s very difficult to compare among different Pheluda books but I had the distinct feeling that this one was the best one of the lot. I guess that’s because of the most important character of this book, CALCUTTA, the city of life, the city of joy.
And I will still be reading this one again and again and again…