Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional Indian Bengali detective created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Known for referring to himself as a Satyanweshi ("truth-seeker"), Bakshi is characterized by his sharp observation, logical reasoning, and proficiency in forensic science, which he applies to solve complex murder cases, primarily set in Calcutta.
His first appearance was in the story Pother Kanta (1932),[1] where he demonstrates his deductive skills, but his formal introduction occurs in Satyanweshi (1934), a murder mystery involving cocaine trafficking. Byomkesh adopts the alias Atul Chandra Mitra in this story, where he meets Ajit Bandyopadhyay, who becomes his close companion and the narrator of the Byomkesh stories.
The character's name has since become synonymous with intelligence and keen observation in Bengali vernacular. The Byomkesh Bakshi stories have been adapted into various media, including films, television series, and audio dramas. Notable portrayals of the detective include those by Uttam Kumar, Rajit Kapur, and Abir Chatterjee. The stories continue to have a significant influence on Indian detective fiction, contributing to the development of the genre.[2][3]
Character
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's most well known fictional character Byomkesh Bakshi first appeared as a character in the story Satyanweshi (The Inquisitor). The story is set in 1932 in the Chinabazar area of Kolkata where a 'non-government detective' Byomkesh Bakshi, owing to the permission from the police commissioner, starts living in a mess in that area under the pseudonym of Atul Chandra Mitra to probe a series of murders.
Most of the stories are written from Ajit Kumar Banerjee's perspective, who meets Byomkesh in the mess at Chinabazar. Byomkesh later asks Ajit to live with him at his three-story rented house at Harrison Road as his assistant and chronicler. The only other person in his household is his attendant Putiram.
In the beginning of the stories, Byomkesh Bakshi is described as "a man of twenty-three or twenty-four years of age who looked well educated." Byomkesh is a Hindu and wears mostly a white shirt/kurta with a white dhoti, occasionally draping a shawl. He does not live in luxury but possesses numerous books. He travels frequently, and does not own a gun and does not consider himself to be an "expensive helper". He habitually smokes and drinks tea with milk. He is fluent in Bengali, Hindi, and English. Byomkesh does not like being called a detective, and thinks the word 'investigator' even worse. Thus, he fashions a new name for himself which he inscribes on a brass plate in front of his house. The plaque read "Byomkesh Bakshi: Satyanweshi" (The Inquisitor).
Family
Unlike other lead characters in similar detective fictional stories, Byomkesh Bakshi marries, ages, and also contemplates material things such as buying a car. Later, he also decides to buy land in Keyatala in South Kolkata and shifts to his new home. Byomkesh meets Satyabati, his future wife and the accused Sukumar's sister, in 'Arthamanartham'. The story 'Adim Ripu' provides some information about Byomkesh's early childhood. His father Mahadev Bakshi was a mathematics teacher at a school and practised Sankhya philosophy at home while his mother was the daughter of a Vaishnavite. When Byomkesh was seventeen years old, his parents died of tuberculosis. Later, Byomkesh passed University with scholarship. During the Second World War and after India's independence, Byomkesh, Satyabati and Ajit live in the mess house of Harrison Road. Byomkesh gradually ages through the series, and has a son called Khoka (Little Boy) in the series.
The Byomkesh Bakshi Anthology
From 1932 until his death in 1970, Saradindu Bandopadhyay wrote 32 Byomkesh Bakshi stories. Initially, Byomkesh's close friend and chronicler, Ajit Kumar Banerjee, serves as both companion and occasional investigator in Byomkesh's absence, as seen in stories like Makorshar Rosh and Shoilo Rahasya. While early tales use traditional Bengali, the language transitions to a more conversational style in later works. Notably, in later stories such as Room Nombor Dui, Chhlonar Chhondo, Shajarur Kanta, Benisonghaar, and Lohar Biskut, Ajit is absent as he focuses on his publication business.
The stories vary widely in their depiction of crime—from complex drug networks, as in Satyanweshi, to domestic mysteries like Arthamanartham and Makorshar Rosh. Though Bandopadhyay ceased writing Byomkesh stories between 1938 and 1951 while working in Bombay's film industry, public demand led him to resume with Chitrachor (Picture Imperfect) in 1951. His last story, Bishupal Badh (The Killing of Bishupal), was left incomplete upon his passing in 1970.[4][5]
The stories have been adapted into several television series, radio programs, audio dramas, films, and video games.
Chiriyakhana (1967) is an Indian Bengali-language crime thriller film based on the story of the same name, directed by Satyajit Ray and written by Bandyopadhyay and Ray, it starred Uttam Kumar as Byomkesh Bakshi.
The 1993–97 Byomkesh Bakshi television series, created by Basu Chatterjee, and starring Rajit Kapur as Byomkesh Bakshi, and K.K. Raina as Ajit respectively, became one of the most critically acclaimed and celebrated adaptation of the character.[6] These television series are cast by Doordarshan.
There have been 20 Byomkesh Bakshi films, with Abir Chatterjee portraying the detective in seven of them.
The Satyanweshi audio drama series, created by actor Aneesh See Yay, adapted twenty-two Byomkesh Bakshi novels and produced eight original audio dramas in Malayalam.[7]
Byomkesh was also referenced in The Big Bang Theory Season 7, Episode 18, where Sherlock Holmes is humorously dubbed the "English Byomkesh Bakshi."
Anupam Roy refers to Byomkesh Bakshi in his song "Kolkata", for the Bengali film Praktan.
Radio Mirchi’s Sunday Suspense has adapted several Byomkesh stories, including Satyanweshi, Pather Kanta, and Durgo Rahasya, with RJ Mir initially voicing Byomkesh, later replaced by Gaurav Chakrabarty following Mir's departure.[8]
Roy, Pinaki. The Manichean Investigators: A Postcolonial and Cultural Rereading of the Sherlock Holmes and Byomkesh Bakshi Stories. New Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2008.
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