We continue to look up to the West on many counts. We continue to admire their universities, their libraries and sense of history, architecture, beautified parks, and most of all the opulence. We have fashioned our shopping malls, which have become synonymous with development in most Indian cities, on the Western model and follow Hollywood religiously. The Oscars and the BAFTA are more credible than our own film awards and Lord’s is still cricket’s mecca despite having a refurbished Eden Gardens at hand. Yes, we have the Indian Premier League (IPL) but most commentators are still foreigners and almost all the franchises have foreign coaches and support staff. There are more Indians who now follow Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo than there are who follow Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Kerala Blasters. The English Premier League (EPL) has a huge viewership in India and many of the leading EPL clubs are looking at the huge Indian market to add to their support base. In an increasingly globalised world, which allows for free movement of capital and knowledge, we are citizens of cosmopolitan international cities with unrestricted choice.
On the one count where we shun the West rather abrasively, however, is in our selection of sleuth. It is not for choice though. From the father of all detectives, Sherlock Holmes, to Agatha Christie’s little Belgian superman with grey cells, Hercule Poirot, to the quintessentially British Inspector Morse, or the Swedish Kurt Wallander, detectives with impeccable credentials have dominated the Western cultural imagination for decades. For us, however, these men were never the primary draw. Yes, we have all read Holmes or Poirot, Simenon and Chandler, watched Morse and Wallander, but never do we want to become anyone but Feluda. While some would prefer Byomkesh, there’s little doubt that for the more globalised and progressive middle-class intelligentsia the choice is a non-starter. Feluda is the quintessentially Bengali brand in the world detective supermarket. We love his mannerisms, his boy-next-door image, tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, his ability to excel in sport and physical exercise and, finally, his modesty and social commitment.Satyajit Ray’s scrapbook
Prodosh C Mitter has every quality that we aspire to have. He is the best sport, if I can call him such. He is good looking, tall and handsome, well read and well behaved and is a man of the world. He is at ease in doing a Kung Fu stunt as he is in trying his hand at cricket. He is great at playing mind games and knows many a card trick. He is pensive on occasions but never rude to Lalmohanbabu or Topshe, nor is he an alcoholic. He perfectly embodies the sportsman spirit in the way we have known it. He still uses public transport and never had a fancy for life in the fast lane. Feluda was never a womaniser and has the highest regard for family.
Prodosh C Mitter has every quality we aspire to have. he is good looking, tall and handsome, well read and well behaved and is a man of the world. He is at ease in doing a Kung Fu stunt as he is in trying his hand at cricket. He is great at playing mind games and knows many a card trick.
Also, in Feluda we find the archetypal foodie, which we all are. From the traditional chanachur to his other culinary tastes, no Kolkatan will ever have a problem identifying with Ray’s immortal Rajani Sen Road resident. For example, in Chinnamastar Abhishap, Feluda did give in to Lalmohanbabu’s request and visit the Great Majestic Circus but did so only after he had finished his lunch comprising of chicken curry and arhar dal cooked by the chowkidar’s wife in Hazaribagh. And may I say he had read up on circus history and could have easily performed had he been called upon to do so.
As we celebrated Satyajit Ray on his birth anniversary on May 2, this has been a personal tribute to his immortal creation, one who has taught me all the values that I have grown up associating with sport.