Feluda

Let me confess it – till a month back, I had never read any of Satyajit Ray’s books or watched his movies. From whatever little I knew, he was primarily a film-maker, who touched esoteric subjects in his films and books, which he wrote occasionally, both of them primarily to be enjoyed by bhadra-lok. It happens, you know, with great people – the myth overrides the man and his works. And then average-brained persons like me can not muster enough courage to take a plunge.

But thank God to the marketing guys, for once. As I walked in to the Crossword book-shop last Sunday, a neatly packaged “Feluda” omnibus almost called out to me. And putting aside my prejudices, I picked it up. If I am allowed to say so, I haven’t regretted it since.

For the umpteenth time I have realized you do not need great-sounding works or complex plots to tell a good story. Ray’s simple and spontaneous prose flows easily and reaches out to your heart and his plots and characters are from among everyday people like you and me. I am not over with it yet and till now, the whole experience has been a bit like one’s forgotten, innocent childhood, which one cherishes all his life.

I am sure as soon as I finish with “Feluda”, I would set out to find another good book from his repertoire. Any suggestions?