Byomkesh Bakshi Stories

by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Sumit Kaul (Reading)

Saradindu Bandyopadyay's immortal detective Byomkesh Bakshi has enjoyed immense popularity for several decades. From being a household name in the Calcutta of 1930s, when he first created, to a popular face on TV in the 1990s, Byomkesh, along with his friend-cum-foil Ajit, is perhaps the best loved of India's literary detectives. 

This collection brings together three of his classic whodunnits. From a murder in a boardinghouse with too many suspects to a mystery with a supernatural twist, and then busting a black-marketeering ring in rural Bengal, these stories take the super sleuth to different locales on his quest for truth and bring out his ingenuity and astuteness. 

Translated into English for the first time, the breathless pace and thrilling plots of these action-packed adventures will win Byomkesh a new generation of admirers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Detective, India, Crime, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (Bengali: শরদিন্দু বন্দোপাধ্যায়; 30 March 1899 – 22 September 1970) was a well-known literary figure of Bengal. He was also actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. His most famous creation is the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi.
He wrote different forms of prose: novels, short stories, plays and screenplays. However, his forte was short stories and novels. He wrote historical fiction like Kaler Mandira, GourMollar (initially named as Mouri Nodir Teere), Tumi Sandhyar Megh, Tungabhadrar Teere (all novels), Chuya-Chandan, Maru O Sangha (later made into a Hindi film named Trishangni) and stories of the unnatural with the recurring character Baroda. Besides, he wrote many songs and poems.

Awards: 'Rabindra Puraskar' in 1967 for the novel 'Tungabhadrar Tirey'. 'Sarat Smriti Purashkar' in 1967 by Calcutta University.

Reviews

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven Byomkesh Bakshi stories have been translated in this collection by Monimala Dhar. The stories in this collection include:

The Deadly Diamond
The Hidden Heirloom
The Avenger
The Man in a Red Coat
The Phantom Client
Quicksand
Room Number Two

The translation could have been better. There are quite a few grammatical errors and, on several occasions, it is a literal translation, which loses the essence of the original writing. Nevertheless, since these stories have never been translated in English, this collection is the only option for a non-Bengali reader. The stories selected offer great variety in thrill and chase. Byomkesh triumphs as truth seeker offering glimpses into his brilliance and deep knowledge of human nature. His companion in the chase, Ajit adds to the overall charm of these timeless stories.

[Srikant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had bought this book to relive those moments I had spent glued to Doordarshan and watching Rajit Kapoor enacting the role of Byomkesh Bakshi.There are very few English translation of Byomkesh bakshi stories available. I had already read Sreejata Guha “Picture Imperfect & other Byomkesh Bakshi stories” and wanted to catch a few more stories.

I felt slightly disappointed with this translation. The writing is oversimplified, to an extent that it fails to capture the tempo & suspense of the original TV serial. I also believe that stories were quite condensed and didn’t capture the details.

If you haven’t read any of Byomkesh Bakhsi stories in English, then my suggestion will be to read “Picture Imperfect and other Byomkesh Bakshi stories” first and then if you want more then you can come back to this book. For records both these books have a different set of stories.

[Shruti Buddhavarapu · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS IS NOT THE BOOK I READ BUT GOODREADS DOESN'T HAVE THE ONE I READ ON IT FOR NOW AND SO I SHALL REPLACE ONE SET OF BYOMKESH BAKSHI STORIES WITH ANOTHER BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE MY 2012 BOOK READING CHALLENGE DAMNIT!!!!!

[Suhasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating collection of mystery short stories starring our very own Sherlock Holmes.
Enhanced by the perfect narration by Sumit Kaul.

[Arijit Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

a true classic . portrayed the old school charm of the city of joy in unbelievable way . and a source of inspiration for other Bengali goyendas (detective) .

[Girish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a face to Byomkesh Bakshi thank to this very vague mental image of the serial on DD once upon a time. I don't think it was a good thing really given how wannabe the book sounded.

The Indian mold of Sherlock Holmes and Watson was a bit underwhelming to me. I especially found it irritating that the detective called himself the the "Truth seeker". But not all is lost since the book had a mix of stories that were puzzling and some of the mysteries appetizing.

The English translation seems a bit too simple and the different styles of narration are a bit jarring. Many of the stories you were able guess before the detective and that takes away a bit of fun. The quicksand story was truly puzzling but then convoluted.

Maybe this is one of those books that have to be read in Bengali or atleast read early on so that you don't feel all that smug.

[Gatha Lashkari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chef's Kiss!

[Anonymous · Rating 4 out of 5]

All i saw while reading was Rajit Kapur from Doordarshan show.
Unlike omniscient detectives the investigation moves on with little steps and ofcourse with basic knowledge and attentiveness which ultimately sets the jigsaw in place.

[sneha · Rating 2 out of 5]

[ I consumed the audible series for the book so reviews are based on that ]

the amount of unnecessary misogyny and sexists BS really annoyed the fck out of me. i understand it's a "product of its time" but it was really unnecessary and so forced? I wanted to like it but just couldn't. also the narration for audible original was all over the place and not a pleasant experience. what could have been a lovely series was tainted.

[Isha Pawar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, such nostalgia! It brought back old memories, reminding me of the DD show with Rajit Kapoor as Byomkesh Bakshi. I thoroughly enjoyed it. While the stories in this book, perhaps due to the translation or its age, are somewhat predictable, I still had a great time reading it.

[Prafulla Mannewar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of classic Byomkesh Bakhi stories.

[Saurabh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. It brought back so many memories from the childhood.

The suave Byomkesh and his sidekick Ajit babu (easy to draw parallels with Sherlock and Watson, but more likeable in my opinion).

Collection of short and simple detective stories set in the bygone era of India and immersed in the culture and traditions from back in the days. An era that was characterized by simple, easy going people who paused to smell the roses, who enjoyed their evening newspapers with ladles of tea and who spent ample time with their family or meeting friends. An era that will likely not return, and I can only feel blessed to have been part of it.

[Nivedita Dhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow!! What a captivating read. 7 stories with seven dimensions of suspense. Each story has got their different kinds of impeccable attention. Loved this book. Always a fan of Byomkesh Bakshi. No need to say I wouldn’t fall in love with this book as well. Unputdownable and unimpeachable! Give it a read.

[Vismay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories with minor plot-twists. Byomkesh Bakshi is called Sherlock Holmes of Bengal - after reading this book - I can definitely vouch for the fact that he is from Bengal. But to compare him to Sherlock Holmes is to stretch the truth, on a massive scale. Another hyped up character from the East of the country.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: in the 1930s, detective Byomkesh Bakshi made his entry into Bengali fiction. This book contains seven of his entertaining adventures.

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

The translation leaves a lot to be desired but nonetheless...it's Byomkesh and I'll still give it 4 stars. I have a weak spot. But I'd like to see more of these stories translated by Arunava Sinha.

[Shaarad Dalvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heard the audio book. The stories are interesting, though a couple of them had somewhat predictable endings.

[Sadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not it. The stories are predictable and that's the last thing you need in a mystery.

[Rosalin Nanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here comes my favorite genre!!😇
This book was originally written in Bengali and translated to English by Monimala Dhar. The book consists of 7 short stories and all are absolutely page turner!I found all the short tales so enthralling and full of suspense.
My favorite story was "The Phantam Client", because of spooky touch😁!!

It's all about, the renowned detective, Byomkesh Bakshi(The truth seeker) along with his companion, Ajit Bandhopadhyay, goes on solving cases.

A short interesting read. Translation is smooth as silk. Beginner friendly!
Good collection of Classic Byomkesh Bakshi stories.
Would highly recommend who loves detective series!!🤗

[Rahmanuddin Shaik · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are outdated and follow the same template for each case.

[Aditya Sathe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sharadindu had written more than 30 stories but Monimala Dhar has translated only 7 of them in this book. I listened to the audio version of the book which was narrated wonderfully by Sumit Kaul. All the stories from the book are fantastic and give a full satisfaction of reading a crime fiction. However, a particular story has stuck with me. Story titled ‘The Avenger’ is translated from the original story with a title Achin Pakhi.

When Byomkesh and his writer friend Ajit were invited to a wedding in a small town near Kolkata, they met a retired police officer who had settled down in that town. Officer narrate them a story of his last case before retiring which he could not have solve. Police had apprehended few suspects carrying a body of a dead woman on a cot. On investigating, nothing wrong was revealed and they were set free. However things took a sharp turn when the main suspect got murdered by unknown person. Police couldn’t get to the bottom of this. Now after every lead has gone cold, it’s up to Satyanveshi Byomkesh to take up a case or not to find the truth behind it.

All the other stories from this collection are equally intriguing and interesting to listen.

[Śrī · Rating 3 out of 5]

Translations, as I've written before, are always tricky. It's very hard to catch the real substance of the original, and in sparse fiction like this, it's important to translate the original words into those equivalent not just in meaning but also in force and sentiment. While I think Monimala Dhar, the translator, seems to have done a decent job, there could have been more tight editing of her English. In many places, the English is typically early-twenty-first-century Indian, in a way that lacks the charm let's say, of R.K. Narayan's Indianisms.

The stories themselves were pretty cool. I don't think writing a murder or robbery mystery is very easy to do, and I think Saradindu Bandyopadhyay did a good job in making them both believable and exciting. I'm going to look for other translations of his work, though, to see if they read better than this one did.

[Somdeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This is not the book I am reading. I am reading a Bengali book named "Saradindu Amnibas" which contains all the stories of Byomkesh Bakshi. Since goodreads doesn't have the book I am forced to add this to count for my Reading Challenge)

[Anindya Saha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend Byomkesh Bakshi series to anybody and everybody who loves detective series. It's a shame I haven't come to read these before. I'd say Byomkesh is one of the finest Bengali detectives ever created, probably just behind Feluda.

[Harry b nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt like watching the serial.With Rajat kapoor infront of my eyes along with ajith babu and solving the cases.

[Ameya Joshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm at an age now where I'm always looking out for more desi nostalgia and I had big hopes from the Byomkesh Bakshi series, hoping it'd be the desi Poirot or Sherlock or Peter Wimsey equivalent. I'd really enjoyed most of the movie as well which had a really complex plot, so again expectations were of being hit with something intricate.

The stories in this anthology are well, not exactly that. They are - and how to put it nicely, because I did enjoy listening to them - a bit simplistic or reductive. I am not sure if that is because there is something lost in translation, however I am inclined to think not because it is not the mahaul or the atmosphere where they lack but the basic plot and the twist you want in a whodunnit. In a whodunnit the 'who' is more important than the 'why' to give you that WTF moment. So on that front I felt these fell short of being truly world-class. Byomkesh's enigmatic-ness also seems a bit overdone at times to make him a wannabe Sherlock. I am also not sure if it is right to judge the entire series on the basis of these 7 tales, but I'm assuming they are put in because they are a representative set.

I still enjoyed them (and they grow on you over time, so stick with it) and I think for an Indian audience, the setting and the context in itself adds a lot. I'm sure the original Bengali versions have even more of that.

On the stories specifically:
- Deadly Diamond (Roktomukhi Neela)is I think the most anti-climactic one. A very poor choice to put in an anthology and lead with especially, I dropped the book for a few weeks after this
- Hidden Heirloom (Seemanto Heera), is not a classical whodunnit. I found it a bit too long but the twist and explanation is very unique
- The Avenger (Achin Pakhi) has a interesting setting and style. I quite liked the approach and the who, the why was a bit disappointing and could have been refuted
- Man in a Red Coat (Cholonar Chhondo) is good, but again found explanation was cliched. it was very clear the red coat is a red herring - anyone who's read the classic whodunnits would find this a letdown
- Quicksand (Chorabali) is probably the best one. The one quibble here is that even in this story the 'who' is given away a bit earlier than it should have been, but it's at 75% mark
- Phantom Client (Shailo Rahasya) had a good twist but mixing supernatural stuff in a real-world setting never goes well with me. Loved the descriptions of Mahabeleshwar. Poor Ajit is made to look particularly dense by the end of it
- Room Number 2's 'why' and pulling together of threads was good but it had such an obvious and blatant giveaway in the first 10%. I felt insulted that the author is almost relying/hoping on his readers being distracted/dumb enough to not pick that up to get away with it. Never would have happened in a Christie

On re-reading this, it seems like a litany of complaints so it's not all bad! As I said, it was fun but it wasn't great. I'd highly recommend these for a YA or teenager audience who haven't consumed as much international whodunnits on the page or screen. They are also very clean stories without gore and sex, so a good introduction to this genre and that period in time. The quaint sexism and judgementalism of that age made me smile - I have a feeling that Sharadindu might just get #cancelled in the woke-a-lympics if a remake is in the works :-)

[Jesse Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled on these stories, delighted to find a Bengali analog to Hercule Poirot -- Byomkesh Bakshi, "the truth seeker." "The Deadly Diamond" was a fantastic opener, tale of a caper involving upper and working-class Bengalis. "The Hidden Heirloom" reveals that Byomkesh is a private detective, although he clearly has experience in law enforcement in India. "The Avenger" takes us into the declining aristocracy of Calcutta. "The Man in the Red Coat" has the police asking Byomkesh for help in another curious case of revenge and profit-scheming in West Bengal.

"The Phantom Client" features motifs of the supernatural, a spooky setting up in Mahabaleshwar, a hill station and tourist region not far from Bombay, and a playful epistolary format, Byomkesh relating most of the action through ironically unliterary letters. I think this is my favorite one. "Quicksand" thrills my boyish heart, with its rare use of quicksand as a murder weapon. "Room Number Two" takes place in a hotel for the upper middle classes, and seems most suited to a Wes Anderson treatment.

The rough style of the translation and thick accent of the Audible.com reader, Sumit Kaul, only add to this special experience of British-style mystery stories set in old colonial India. Hopefully it does not offend postcolonial sensibilities too much to admire the style and plot of these little gems. Author Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay was entirely unfamiliar to me, but I remember before, when watching the films of Satyajit Ray, learning that Bengali arts and literature is a rich and rewarding field unto itself. This is a tiny peek at that world, hidden all too well from Anglophone readership.

[Eraneh Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the stories of Byomkesh Bakshi was an adventure that kept me hooked with its mysteries and had me on the edge of my seat. My curiosity and mind were constantly at work, trying to uncover the killer before the story revealed it. Most of the stories were quite short except the second last one named quicksand which had the most number of pages. Byomkesh Bakshi noticed the smallest of things happening and with the help of the surroundings, people's testimony and the publicly available documents was invested totally in finding the killer by weaving a story and finding the conclusion because of such way of writing stories the readers might find themselves working alongside Byomkesh Bakshi and might also be able to find the killer before it is revealed. Although you will find it quite interesting to read a story in this book which wasn't of murder rather theft where the thief himself revealed that he did steal the item away, and the problem here wasn't in finding the thief but getting the stolen item from the thief as the thief was a close relative of the person who invited Byomkesh Bakshi to get his item back. If you want to read a engaging detective story this book will be perfect for you!

[Shraavya Malli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book on Audible. Sumit Kaul has done a marvellous job of giving voice to the characters. Each of them is distinctive and emoted well. The translation could have been slightly better.

Byomkesh Bakshi, the truth-seeker, believes in logic and does not rest until he gets to the bottom of any matter. But the stories in this compilation often break character. For example, in 'The Phantom Client', he believes that a spirit wanted him to investigate a case. Also, the murderers are never caught in the end. I like mysteries with enough clues that enable the reader to solve the mystery too. But I found some plot convenience here. In 'The Deadly Diamond', it is told that some men can create a pocket in their throats. This seems too far fetched. Overall, it's nice to read stories based in India. I wish the action and suspense were a bit better.

[Sujay Malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

An endearing affable man who calls himself a seeker of truth and not a detective, is the stuff of legends and not unknown to anyone who grew up in the 90s. I'll keep the review short and simply say that this is a treat which one must savour.

It is said that a translation can sometimes be no match to the original. I dare say that it may be true but who knows? I cannot read Bengali and cannot help but feel how it would be to read the original unadulterated version by Saradindu Bandopadhyay. I do feel the narrative lacked the flow in the certain places and seemed a bit drab. But that's about the only glitch in an otherwise captivating read. It's a quick read which contains 7 stories and it will keep you engrossed while it lasts.