A Brief Analysis of My Favourite Character from Children’s Stories

Pradosh Chandra Mitra (Feluda)

As the only child of a typical Bengali family, I was introduced to the world of literature quite early in my childhood. As I navigated through Nancy Drew, Alice and the Famous Five, I encountered a Bengali detective.

I don’t remember when I read Feluda for the first time. But since the time I read it, no other crime fiction novel did I ever want to read.

Pradosh Chandra Mitra (more popularly known as Feluda), is a fictional character created by Satyajit Ray, one of the most gifted auteurs from the land of Bengal. Making his first appearance in the 1965 edition of ‘Sandesh’, Feluda became a common name in the Bengali households in no time.

A private investigator by profession, Feluda is sharp, intelligent, brave, agile, knowledgeable and everything that makes him an ideal hero. He relies mostly on his ‘magajastra’ (mental power) to solve mysteries and makes limited use of his .32 Colt revolver. He is accompanied by his assistant-cum-cousin, Topesh Ranjan Mitra and his author-friend, Lalmohan Ganguli.

Here are some of the aspects of Feluda’s character that I find most interesting:

Relationship with Lalmohan Babu:

Ray portrays the quintessential Bengali ‘Bhodrolok’ through the character of Lalmohan Ganguli. He is the author of a series of crime thrillers and writes under the pseudonym ‘Jatayu’. Lalmohan is short, witty, fun-loving and a perfect foil to Feluda. He is often exposed to Feluda’s gentle and subtle mockery.

However, Feluda never treats him as just another sidekick. He is full of love and respect for this middle-aged man who happens to be his constant companion apart from his cousin and assistant, Topesh. Lalmohan babu also praises his ‘Mittir Moshai’ for his smartness, intelligence, memory, knowledge, keen observation and confers upon him the title of ‘Asia’s Brightest Crime Detective’ endearingly.

What I like the most is that in spite of having contrasting personalities, these two characters are still able to share a loving bond.

Silence on contemporary politics:

The late 1970s was a period of great upheaval in Bengal, mainly due to the Naxalite Movement. It is surprising to see Feluda not making any comments on the political and social unrest during these times.

In many novels and short stories (for example: ‘Hatyapuri’, ‘Joto Kando Kathmandute’, ‘Sonar Kella’, ‘Tintorettor Jishu’ etc.), we see him sharing his opinions on history, mythology, sociology, culture etc., but he avoids the topic of contemporary politics. This appears a bit unnatural to me, considering Feluda’s hatred towards crime and his inclination towards making society a better place.

Too good a character?

Feluda is the picture-perfect character. He is just, incorruptible, virtuous, unbiased, and has a high standard of morality. Ray portrays him almost as a superhero with no vulnerabilities. However, I believe that a character can truly become relatable when he or she displays the perfect blend of virtues and vices.

Not having any flaw in a character, distances him or her from the readers. No character is complete without vices or a few flaws. After all, the incorporation of the negative traits is also necessary to make the character more natural and life-like.

The only ill habit that Feluda is shown to have is smoking. However, this is considered bad only in the present-day context, since smoking, during the 1970s, was thought to be an archetypal habit of the contemporary Bengali intelligentsia. Ray’s inclusion of this habit into the character of Feluda, is perhaps an attempt to make him a representative of the educated and knowledge-thirsty Bengali intellectuals.

Another interesting aspect is that Feluda doesn’t have any love interest. In fact, there are no presence or even mention of any women characters apart from Topesh’s mother. Ray, perhaps consciously avoids it to stick to the primary plot and enhance the child-friendly quotient of the content.