Hemendra Kumar Roy
Hemendra Kumar Roy | |
---|---|
British India | |
Died | 18 April 1963 Calcutta, West Bengal , India | (aged 74)
Nationality | Indian |
Occupation | Writer |
Hemendra Kumar Roy (2 September 1888 – 18 April 1963) was an Indian
Early life
Son of Radhikaprasad Roy, Hemendrakumar was born in
Creative years
In 1925, Hemendrakumar Ray became the editor of Nachghar. Apart from this magazine, he helped edit other literary magazines including Rongmoshal. During the next few decades, Hemendrakumar Ray wrote over 80 books for children. He was monumental in contributing a body of detective, horror, and science-fiction work that would form a substantial portion of the early literature for children in Bengali. In 1930, he wrote his first detective story which was published in Mouchak. He is best remembered as the creator of Bimal-Kumar, the adventurer duo and Jayanta-Manik the detective duo. It was Bimal-Kumar's adventure story Jokher Dhan, for which he is famous in Bengali literature for children. He was a staunch believer in supernaturals (according to Khagendranath Mitra in his Introduction to Hemendra Kumar Roy Rachanabali, Volume 1) and he used the supernatural element in several of his adventure and mystery stories. One of the recurring characters in his stories and novels featuring Jayanta-Manik was Inspector Sunderbabu, a chubby and somewhat-cowardly police officer with an insatiable appetite who was also a good friend to the detectives. In Ratrir Jatri, Roy introduced a new detective character named, Hemanta Choudhury and his friend-associate Robin. Apart from literary productions for children, Roy also wrote numerous essays, short stories, and novels for adults. He adapted some foreign author's stories in Bengali.He was also a painter and the choreographer for Shishirkumar Bhaduri's Seeta. He also wrote a volume of lyrics Jaubaner Gaan (that is, 'The Song of Youth'). Several of these lyrics were put to music and sung by Bengali legends like
Pinaki Roy, who has offered post-colonial interpretations of Bengali detective fiction, gives primacy to Roy more as a writer of sleuth narratives than of children's literature. Pinaki Roy credits the litterateur for initiating a trend which would ultimately bring Bengali detective-story-writing from its colonial phase to its anti-imperialistic one: "Jayanta, the detective-cum-scientist, is probably one of the earlier fictional Indian sleuths who use their Indian sensibilities to capture Indian criminals operating in what could be identified as an 'indigenous' atmosphere. That Roy would adapt Bram Stoker's Dracula into Bishalgarer Dushshashan, Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles into Nishachari Bibhishika and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Niggers into Haradhaner Deep attest to his conscious following of Western sleuth writings in order to make something Indian - and therefore post-colonial - out of them".
Selected bibliography
- Bhorer Purabi
- Beno Jal
- Malachandan
- Meghdooter Mortye Agomon
- Moynamotir Mayakanan
- Nil Sayorer Ochinpure
- Amabashyar Raat
- Andhakarer Bandhu
- Jader Dekhechi
- Ekhon Jaader Dekhchi
- Jokher Dhan
- Abar Jokher Dhan
- Bangla Rongaloy o Shishirkumar
- Omar Khayyam-er Rubaiyat
- Jayanter Kirti
- Padmarag Buddha
- Sonar Anarash
- Manush Pishach
- Sab Charitra Kalpanik Nai
- Hemendra Kumar Roy Rachanabali, Vol 1-32
In Popular Culture
- Jakher Dhan (1939)
- Jawker Dhan (2017)
- Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan (2019)
External links
References
- ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ISBN 978-81-7625-849-4. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ "Maa Mati Manush :: M3 Leads". Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ "Jakher Dhan (1939)". imdb.com. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- ^ "Jakher Dhon Bengali Film Cast & Story Review". kolkatabengalinfo.com. Retrieved 20 July 2017.