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Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective created by Bengali authorSharadindu Bandyopadhyay. A self-proclaimed "satyanweshi" (literally seeker of truth), Bakshi is known for his keen observation,logical thinking, and knowledge offorensic science, which he uses to solve complex murder cases, mostly set inCalcutta.

His first appearance was in the storyPother Kanta (1932),^[2] where he demonstrates his deductive skills, but his formal introduction occurs inSatyanweshi (1934), a murder mystery involvingcocaine trafficking. Byomkesh adopts the alias Atul Chandra Mitra in this story, where he meets Ajit Bandyopadhyay, who becomes his close companion and the narrator of the Byomkesh stories.

The character's name has since become synonymous with intelligence and keen observation in Bengali vernacular. TheByomkesh Bakshi stories have been adapted into various media, including films, television series, and audio dramas. Notable portrayals of the detective include those byUttam Kumar,Rajit Kapur, andAbir Chatterjee. The stories continue to have a significant influence onIndian detective fiction, contributing to the development of the genre.^[3][4]

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's most well known fictional character Byomkesh Bakshi first appeared as a character in the storySatyanweshi (The Inquisitor). The story is set in 1932 in the Chinabazar area of Kolkata where a 'non-government detective' Byomkesh Bakshi, owing to the permission from the police commissioner, starts living in a mess in that area under the pseudonym of Atul Chandra Mitra to probe a series of murders.

Most of the stories are written from Ajit Kumar Banerjee's perspective, who meets Byomkesh in the mess at Chinabazar. Byomkesh later asks Ajit to live with him at his three-story rented house at Harrison Road as his assistant and chronicler. The only other person in his household is his attendant Putiram.

In the beginning of the stories, Byomkesh Bakshi is described as "a man of twenty-three or twenty-four years of age who looked well educated." Byomkesh is aHindu and wears mostly a white shirt/kurta with a whitedhoti, occasionally draping ashawl. He does not live in luxury but possesses numerous books. He travels frequently, and does not own a gun and does not consider himself to be an "expensive helper". He habitually smokes and drinks tea with milk. He is fluent inBengali,Hindi, andEnglish. Byomkesh does not like being called a detective, and thinks the word 'investigator' even worse. Thus, he fashions a new name for himself which he inscribes on abrass plate in front of his house. The plaque read "Byomkesh Bakshi: Satyanweshi" (The Inquisitor).

Unlike other lead characters in similar detective fictional stories, Byomkesh Bakshi marries, ages, and also contemplates material things such as buying a car. Later, he also decides to buy land in Keyatala in South Kolkata and shifts to his new home. Byomkesh meets Satyabati, his future wife and the accused Sukumar's sister, in 'Arthamanartham'. The story 'Adim Ripu' provides some information about Byomkesh's early childhood. His father Mahadev Bakshi was a mathematics teacher at a school and practisedSankhya philosophy at home while his mother was the daughter of aVaishnavite. When Byomkesh was seventeen years old, his parents died oftuberculosis. Later, Byomkesh passed university with a scholarship. During theSecond World War and after India's independence, Byomkesh, Satyabati and Ajit live in the mess house of Harrison Road (CurrentlyMahatma Gandhi Road (Kolkata)). Byomkesh gradually ages through the series, and has a son called Khoka (Little Boy) in the series.

From 1932 until his death in 1970,Saradindu Bandopadhyay wrote 32 Byomkesh Bakshi stories. Initially, Byomkesh's close friend and chronicler, Ajit Kumar Banerjee, serves as both companion and occasional investigator in Byomkesh's absence, as seen in stories like Makorshar Rosh and Shoilo Rahasya. While early tales use traditional Bengali, the language transitions to a more conversational style in later works. Notably, in later stories such as Room Nombor Dui, Chhlonar Chhondo, Shajarur Kanta, Benisonghaar, and Lohar Biskut, Ajit is absent as he focuses on his publication business.

The stories vary widely in their depiction of crime—from complex drug networks, as inSatyanweshi, to domestic mysteries like Arthamanartham and Makorshar Rosh. Though Bandopadhyay ceased writing Byomkesh stories between 1938 and 1951 while working in Bombay's film industry, public demand led him to resume with Chitrachor (Picture Imperfect) in 1951. His last story, Bishupal Badh (The Killing of Bishupal), was left incomplete upon his passing in 1970.^[5][6]

The stories have been adapted into several television series, radio programs, audio dramas, films, and video games.

Chiriyakhana (1967) is an Indian Bengali-languagecrime thriller film based on the story of the same name, directed bySatyajit Ray and written by Bandyopadhyay and Ray, it starredUttam Kumar as Byomkesh Bakshi.

The 1993–97Byomkesh Bakshi television series, created byBasu Chatterjee, and starringRajit Kapur as Byomkesh Bakshi, andK.K. Raina as Ajit respectively, became one of the most critically acclaimed and celebrated adaptation of the character.^[7] These television series are cast by Doordarshan.

There have been 20 Byomkesh Bakshi films, withAbir Chatterjee portraying the detective in seven of them.

TheSatyanweshi audio drama series, created by actor Aneesh See Yay, adapted twenty-two Byomkesh Bakshi novels and produced eight original audio dramas inMalayalam.^[8]

In 2014,Colors Bangla aired a TV series titledByomkesh, starringGaurav Chakrabarty as Byomkesh andRidhima Ghosh as Satyabati. Produced byDag Creative Media, the series was well received by audiences.

In 2015, the Bollywood filmDetective Byomkesh Bakshy! featuredSushant Singh Rajput as the lead, bringing Byomkesh to a national audience.

Byomkesh was also referenced inThe Big Bang Theory Season 7, Episode 18, where Sherlock Holmes is humorously dubbed the "English Byomkesh Bakshi."

Anupam Roy refers to Byomkesh Bakshi in his song "Kolkata", for the Bengali filmPraktan.

Radio Mirchi’sSunday Suspense has adapted several Byomkesh stories, including Satyanweshi, Pather Kanta, and Durgo Rahasya, withRJ Mir initially voicing Byomkesh, later replaced byGaurav Chakrabarty following Mir's departure.^[9]

• Feluda
• Sherlock Holmes
• Parashor Barma
• Kiriti Roy
• Roy, Pinaki.The Manichean Investigators: A Postcolonial and Cultural Rereading of theSherlock Holmes and Byomkesh Bakshi Stories.New Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2008.

• Byomkesh Bakshi
• Indian crime novels
• Indian detective novels
• Indian film characters
• Fictional Bengali people
• Fictional Hindus
• Fictional Indian detectives
• Fictional Indian people in literature
• Fictional private investigators
• Literary characters introduced in 1932

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