“…..Shamasta jibantai geometry( the entire life is about geometry).”
In the 1970s, this line had been penned by the legendary Satyajit Ray. He had expressed this thought through the voice of Prodosh C. Mitter, one of his best created characters. Prodosh C. Mitter , alias Feluda, has remained the favourite private investigator of Bengalis for more than three decades. Just like everyone else, he is my favourite too. He might be called the Bengali Sherlock Holmes.
Feluda continues to rule our hearts even today. He was introduced to the world in the book , ‘Feludar goyendagiri’(Feluda’s investigations). After that, Satyajit Ray wrote 37 more Feluda adventures. Among them, the most famous ones are ‘Shonar Kella’( Golden Fort), ‘Joy Baba Felunath’, ‘Gangtok-e Gondogol’( Trouble in Gangtok), ‘Jata Kanda Kathmandu-te’( All happenings at Kathmandu), ‘Badshahi Aangti’( Badshahi Ring) and ‘Kailashe Kelenkari’(Mishaps at Kailash). In all these stories, Feluda’s intelligenge, bravery, skill of disguising himself and his general knowledge has impressed us and has made us love him and respect him from the bottom of our hearts. The way Feluda keeps his mind cool even in the worst situations deserves special mention. Along with his cousin Topshe and his friend Lalmohan Ganguly( popularly known as Jatayu), Feluda has traveled from Jaisalmer to Varanasi to Bombay. He even traveled to London once.
Feluda films are also a real treat. Satyajit Ray himself directed two Feluda movies (based on the stories ‘Shonar Kella’ and ‘Joy Baba Felunath’) which entertained and continues to entertain everyone from 9 to 90. In these two movies, Soumitra Chatterjee excellently portrayed the role of Feluda and Santosh Dutta ‘s Jatayu will remain unmatched as long as humanity exists. After that, Satyajit Ray’s son Sandip Ray directed a few Feluda telefilms on the small screen. Then, in 2003, Feluda once again came alive on the big screen with the movie ‘Bombaiyer Bombete’(Mumbai’s miscreants). Sabyasachi Chakraborty as Feluda was very impressive too. Parambrata Chatterjee played the role of Topshe and gave a quite satisfactory performance. But, Bibhu Bhattacharya as Jatayu was not that good. As I said before, nobody can make us laugh as Santosh Dutta did.
Now, in 2007, Feluda is back once more on the big screen with ‘Kailashe Kelenkari’. And, on the auspicious occasion of Christmas, I’ll be watching it with my parents . I’m really excited. The cast is the same as ‘Bombaiyer Bombete’.
Merry Christmas to all of you!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Memories
Here I go again! I will again be talking about my school life, but just couldn’t help it this time. Day after tomorrow, I’ll be spending the last normal working day at school with my present group of friends. After that, we’ll be returning to school to sit for the Selection exam in January and the ICSE exam in February. And, after the exams, all of us will never study together in the same school. Different people obviously have different targets. I have always said that my friends did not share all secrets with me. There were certain things, which they never felt like sharing with me. Sometimes, I felt really lonely. Yet, during the last 12 years that I have spent with them, many such moments have also come when I have enjoyed myself a lot with them. Those memories will remain some of the most cherished ones of my life. So, after 12 years, I am feeling very nostalgic.
Our class (i.e, the present Class 10 C) was always the best class of the entire school. It was the best-behaved class of the school even if it was academically average. The teachers used to praise us so much. By the time we were in Class 7, we had begun to set an example for the entire school. And, Class 7 was so much fun! Our classroom was on the terrace. So, we could play everyday. Besides, someone discovered this very exciting game called hand cricket. There was a stage in Class 7 when, in the absence of teachers in the class, everyone used to play this game. Big matches were held. Class 7 was academically quite easy. So, we had a great time. Also, we had the best Class Teacher, Mrs. Shaluk Banerjee. Shaluk Ma’am is the perfect teacher. She is such a teacher who is there in every student’s dreams. And, she is so beautiful! She has been taking our English classes since Class 6.
Class 8 was also quite fun. An exhibition was held just before the Christmas vacation and we had a great time preparing for it. But, things started deteriorating from Class 9. Our class was suddenly flooded with couples! So many boys and girls became fond of each other overnight and started proposing to each other. I suddenly began to notice certain students talking very seriously about something and stopping as soon as they realized that I was trying to participate too. At first, I used to feel very bad. But, once I understood what their topics of discussion were, I made no attempts to interrupt their animated discussions. I was least interested in numerous rumors which ere being created day by day. It’s not as though they would never talk to me. I still managed to remain on very good terms with Sritama and Mekhala. They still used to think that I was a very good friend.
The situation worsened further in Class 10. Our class completely lost its reputation of being the best class of the school. We had obviously lost a lot of reputation in Class 9, but in Class 10 it became horrible. But, my relationship with some other friends improved. Soorma, Sukanya, Gourav and Arittra became friendlier with me. Sritama and Mekhala were, of course, always there. But, the teachers have become fed up of Class 10 C. “This class is really horrible”, says our present Class Teacher, Mrs. Mita Das. The teachers will be really happy when Thursday ‘ s classes are over. They’ll finally be able to bid goodbye to Class 10 C. Some students will come back in Class 11, but this batch will never be there.
Yet, we are a bit sad. Yesterday, we had our last feast together. We have been having these feasts since Class 4. They’re awfully fun. At the end of 12 years, I feel I must mention the names of a few people who have made my school life really colorful. Its not that all of them have always done the good things, but by doing the bad things also, they have been a source of entertainment. They are (apart from my parents) Chandralekha Didi( my only home teacher till Class 8), Sritama, Mekhala, Soorma, Sukanya, Arittra, Gourav, Tathagata, Bejoy( for being good friends), Aloy( for making us laugh so much), Shaluk Ma’am, Mita Banerjee Ma’am (Chemistry tuition teacher), Debarati (her mother actually, for cooking tasty dishes for us) and Krishanu( for being such a tough competitor and increasing my desire to occupy the position of the topper of the class).
Our class (i.e, the present Class 10 C) was always the best class of the entire school. It was the best-behaved class of the school even if it was academically average. The teachers used to praise us so much. By the time we were in Class 7, we had begun to set an example for the entire school. And, Class 7 was so much fun! Our classroom was on the terrace. So, we could play everyday. Besides, someone discovered this very exciting game called hand cricket. There was a stage in Class 7 when, in the absence of teachers in the class, everyone used to play this game. Big matches were held. Class 7 was academically quite easy. So, we had a great time. Also, we had the best Class Teacher, Mrs. Shaluk Banerjee. Shaluk Ma’am is the perfect teacher. She is such a teacher who is there in every student’s dreams. And, she is so beautiful! She has been taking our English classes since Class 6.
Class 8 was also quite fun. An exhibition was held just before the Christmas vacation and we had a great time preparing for it. But, things started deteriorating from Class 9. Our class was suddenly flooded with couples! So many boys and girls became fond of each other overnight and started proposing to each other. I suddenly began to notice certain students talking very seriously about something and stopping as soon as they realized that I was trying to participate too. At first, I used to feel very bad. But, once I understood what their topics of discussion were, I made no attempts to interrupt their animated discussions. I was least interested in numerous rumors which ere being created day by day. It’s not as though they would never talk to me. I still managed to remain on very good terms with Sritama and Mekhala. They still used to think that I was a very good friend.
The situation worsened further in Class 10. Our class completely lost its reputation of being the best class of the school. We had obviously lost a lot of reputation in Class 9, but in Class 10 it became horrible. But, my relationship with some other friends improved. Soorma, Sukanya, Gourav and Arittra became friendlier with me. Sritama and Mekhala were, of course, always there. But, the teachers have become fed up of Class 10 C. “This class is really horrible”, says our present Class Teacher, Mrs. Mita Das. The teachers will be really happy when Thursday ‘ s classes are over. They’ll finally be able to bid goodbye to Class 10 C. Some students will come back in Class 11, but this batch will never be there.
Yet, we are a bit sad. Yesterday, we had our last feast together. We have been having these feasts since Class 4. They’re awfully fun. At the end of 12 years, I feel I must mention the names of a few people who have made my school life really colorful. Its not that all of them have always done the good things, but by doing the bad things also, they have been a source of entertainment. They are (apart from my parents) Chandralekha Didi( my only home teacher till Class 8), Sritama, Mekhala, Soorma, Sukanya, Arittra, Gourav, Tathagata, Bejoy( for being good friends), Aloy( for making us laugh so much), Shaluk Ma’am, Mita Banerjee Ma’am (Chemistry tuition teacher), Debarati (her mother actually, for cooking tasty dishes for us) and Krishanu( for being such a tough competitor and increasing my desire to occupy the position of the topper of the class).
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