Feluda revisited

Feluda has always fascinated the Bengali. Which is surprising because, Feluda had many attributes which are as further removed from the Bengali habits as possible. Bengalis have a general tendency of going over board in anything, which is defended as the Great Bengali Emotion ("Aabeg"). But often, it takes away the "beg", that is speed in Bengali, in a greater sense of the word. The aabeg, perhaps takes away the focus in many a cases, trifle and trivia encompasses us. That way, Feluda was a great exception. He also had, what Sidhu Jetha said, doors and windows of his mind open, another trait which we once possessed, but sadly lost over the years. He also lacked the usual Bengali traits of sudden passion, the fiery response to the smallest provocation, and these helped him to track down smartest of the criminals like Maganlal Meghraj.

Perhaps, he represented all that a Bengali always wanted to be. Tall, lean and handsome, he was the embodiment of sharpness. He had deep knowledge in certain fields and working knowledge in almost all fields of general knowledge. (which is a sharp contrast from Holmes, who believed in specialization of knowledge, having deep understanding of chemistry, a branch of science, while blissfully unaware of the old scientific fact that the earth goes round the sun. Although this seems a little far fetched today.).

Another feature of Feluda is that he is not an armchair detective. Unlike, say Byomkesh Bokshi, the memorable sleuth of Sharadindu Bandyppadhyay, his stories are adventurous and often involve physical fight( Some of Byomkesh’s stories also have physical encounters, Shajarur Kata, for example, but they were exceptions and not the rule). The fact that Feluda is physically very fit helps him in his clashes with the goon. In “Bombaier Bombete”, he matches the Karate instructor cum stunt master in the mat, surprising him. He does yoga every morning. He believes a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. In Sonar Kella, he tells Mandarbabu, “Amar abar ektu shokal shokal otahar bodobhesh ache” ( I have the dubious distinction of being an early riser) . To this Mandarbabu ( the villain in the film ) says” Tai apnake eto fit dekhache”(That is why you look so fit.). Fitness is one aspect which most Bengalis ( and Indians in general) aspire, lack and admires and Feluda’s fitness makes us admire him more. Here is one final example of brain with brawn.

But apart from these two, the Bengali also aspires for another quality, the culture. Feluda embodies the Bengali love of culture, and the disdain with which hypocrisy and greed is treated. All these and everything a Bengali stands for creates the milieu which constitutes the environment where the Bengali Bhadrolok thrives. The Feluda stories mostly take place in the period of mid ‘60s to late ‘80s . and are replete with the such Bhadrolok Bengalis. Each story is a glimpse of contemporary Bengali life with light discourse in matters of varied interest. Satyajit Ray was a great reader of scientific publications, and read the Span every month. He was also a great fan of Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury (of Fahrenheit 451 fame) and his inquisitive mind often gives us a glimpse of itself through the different elements that keep surfacing through the stories. This culture and its practice made the Feluda stories intellectually stimulant and saved the Bengali from the disgraceful act of perusing a crime thriller with no food for thought.

But above all, Feluda represents the Bengali spirit. Many say he is the alter ego of Ray, which may not be entirely wrong. Ray was the last Bengali Renaissance man and his spirit can be fest many facets of Feluda’s character, his quest for the truth, his all encompassing knowledge, his willingness to learn above all his great humanity. Though Ray is with us no more, his mindchild Feluda marches right on through generations of wide eyed Bengali children. Long live Feluda.

Posted by : Ranjan