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Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective created by Bengali author
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (30 March 1899 – 22 September 1970) was an Indian Bengali language, Bengali-language writer. He was actively involved with Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. The creator of the Bengali dete ...
. A self-proclaimed "satyanweshi" (literally seeker of truth), Bakshi is known for his keen observation,
logical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, e ...
, and knowledge of
forensic science Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...
, which he uses to solve complex murder cases, mostly set in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
. His first appearance was in the story '' Pother Kanta'' (1932), 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 Uttam Kumar (born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), widely known as Mahanayak (), was an Indian film actor, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and playback singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema ...
,
Rajit Kapur Rajit Kapur (born 22 May 1963) is an Indian film and theatre actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1996 film, '' The Making of the Mahatma'' for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor. Other n ...
, and
Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
. The stories continue to have a significant influence on Indian detective fiction, contributing to the development of the genre.


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 Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
and wears mostly a white shirt/
kurta A ''kurta'' is a loose collarless shirt or tunic worn in many regions of South Asia, (subscription required) Quote: "A loose shirt or tunic worn by men and women." Quote: "Kurta: a loose shirt without a collar, worn by women and men from South ...
with a white
dhoti The dhoti is an ankle-length breechcloth, wrapped around the waist and the legs, in resemblance to the shape of trousers. The dhoti is a garment of ethnic wear for men in the Indian subcontinent. The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular p ...
, occasionally draping a
shawl A shawl (from ''shāl'') is a simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular piece of Textile, cloth, but can also be Square (geometry), square or tr ...
. 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 Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
,
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
. 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 Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
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 Samkhya or Sankhya (; ) is a dualistic orthodox school of Hindu philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' Puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit) and ''Prakṛti'' (nature or matter, including the human mind an ...
philosophy at home while his mother was the daughter of a
Vaishnavite Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...
. When Byomkesh was seventeen years old, his parents died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. Later, Byomkesh passed university with a scholarship. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and after India's independence, Byomkesh, Satyabati and Ajit live in the mess house of Harrison Road (Currently
Mahatma Gandhi Road (Kolkata) Mahatma Gandhi Road or M.G. Road, formerly known as Harrison Road, is a principal East-West thoroughfare in Kolkata (Previously known as Calcutta), the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. M.G. Road makes the boundary of North and Centr ...
). 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 Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (30 March 1899 – 22 September 1970) was an Indian Bengali-language writer. He was actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. The creator of the Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Sharadindu comp ...
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.


List of stories


In media

The stories have been adapted into several television series, radio programs, audio dramas, films, and video games. ''
Chiriyakhana ''Chiriakhana'' or ''Chiriyakhana'' () is a 1967 Indian Bengali-language crime thriller film, based on the story of the same name by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The film is directed and co-written by Satyajit Ray, starring Uttam Kumar as Byomke ...
'' (1967) is an Indian Bengali-language
crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
film based on the story of the same name, directed by
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...
and written by Bandyopadhyay and Ray, it starred
Uttam Kumar Uttam Kumar (born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), widely known as Mahanayak (), was an Indian film actor, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and playback singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema ...
as Byomkesh Bakshi. The 1993–97 Byomkesh Bakshi television series, created by
Basu Chatterjee Basu Chatterjee (10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter in Hindi Cinema. Through the 1970s and 1980s, he became associated with what came to be known as middle cinema or middle-of-the-road cinema filmmaker ...
, and starring
Rajit Kapur Rajit Kapur (born 22 May 1963) is an Indian film and theatre actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1996 film, '' The Making of the Mahatma'' for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor. Other n ...
as Byomkesh Bakshi, and
K.K. Raina K. K. Raina is an Indian film, television and theatre character actor and award-winning script writer, who is best known for his roles as ''Juror #8'' in the 1986 film ''Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'', a remake of 12 Angry Men, and Byomkesh Bakshi's as ...
as Ajit respectively, became one of the most critically acclaimed and celebrated adaptation of the character. These television series are cast by Doordarshan. There have been 20 Byomkesh Bakshi films, with
Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
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 Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
. In 2014,
Colors Bangla Colors Bangla (previously known as ETV Bangla) is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel broadcasting in Bengali language owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It primarily telecasts programs su ...
aired a TV series titled '' Byomkesh'', starring
Gaurav Chakrabarty Gaurav Chakrabarty is an Indian Bengali-language film and television actor best known for his portrayal of the character Prodipto Lahiri in the Bengali musical television series '' Gaaner Oparey'' that aired on Star Jalsha from 28 June 2010 to ...
as Byomkesh and
Ridhima Ghosh Ridhima Ghosh is an Indian Bengali-language film and television actress. She debuted on the big screen Sanghamitra Chaudhuri's ''Ratporir Rupkotha'' in 2007. She debuted on television in the Bengali television series '' Bou Kotha Kao '' in 200 ...
as Satyabati. Produced by Dag Creative Media, the series was well received by audiences. In 2015, the Bollywood film ''
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! ''Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language period mystery thriller film directed by Dibakar Banerjee, who co-produced with Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films and Dibakar Banerjee Productions. The film, which is based on th ...
'' featured
Sushant Singh Rajput Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor best known for his work in Hindi cinema. He earned acclaim for his performances in several notable films, including ''Kai Po Che!'' (2013), ''Detective Byomkesh Bakshy ...
as the lead, bringing Byomkesh to a national audience. Byomkesh was also referenced in
The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...
Season 7, Episode 18, where Sherlock Holmes is humorously dubbed the "English Byomkesh Bakshi."
Anupam Roy Anupam Roy (born 29 March 1982) is an Indian Bengali singer-songwriter, music director, composer, writer, guitarist, playback singer, engineer from Kolkata, India. He made his debut with ''Amake Amar Moto Thakte Dao'' & ''Benche Thakar Gaan'', ...
refers to Byomkesh Bakshi in his song "Kolkata", for the Bengali film ''
Praktan ''Praktan'' (Bengali: প্রাক্তন, lit. ''Former or Ex'') is a 2016 Indian Bengali Romantic film directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee and starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta. It brings back the Prose ...
''.
Radio Mirchi Radio Mirchi ("''Mirchi"'' in Hindi meaning red chilli), also known as 98.3 Mirchi, is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiarie ...
’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 Gaurav Chakrabarty is an Indian Bengali-language film and television actor best known for his portrayal of the character Prodipto Lahiri in the Bengali musical television series '' Gaaner Oparey'' that aired on Star Jalsha from 28 June 2010 to ...
following Mir's departure.


See also

*
Feluda Feluda is a fictional detective, private investigator created by Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali childre ...
*
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
* Parashor Barma *
Kiriti Roy Kiriti Roy is a fictional detective of Bengali literature created by Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta. The first story introduces him as follows: "Kiriti Roy is six and a half feet tall, fair and stout. His curled hair is mostly combed back, and the bl ...
* Roy, Pinaki. ''The Manichean Investigators: A Postcolonial and Cultural Rereading of the
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
and Byomkesh Bakshi Stories''.
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
: Sarup and Sons, 2008.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakshi, Byomkesh Indian crime novels Indian detective novels Indian film characters Fictional Bengali people Fictional Hindus Fictional Indian detectives Fictional Indian people in literature Fictional private investigators Literary characters introduced in 1932