Vol. 5, Issue 1, Part B (2023)

Satyajit Ray invented the fictional Kolkata-based private investigator known as Bengali Sleuth Feluda, whose real name is Pradosh Chandra Mitter. He frequently has two sidekicks by his side: Lalmohan Ganguly, a clumsy crime fiction author who goes by the pen name Jatayu, and Topshe, his cousin Tapesh Ranjan Mitra. There is no readily documented legendary genesis story for Satyajit Ray's private eye Feluda, yet it is also not a case of accidental artistic whim. The prehistory of Ray's favourite detective character may be determined by carefully examining his intellectual and cultural milieu. Ray has given Feluda some characteristics that make him different from the stereotypes. In addition to taking down smugglers in Bombay, Feluda exposes a conspiracy and pursues a criminal who is trying to desecrate Indian temples across the country. The study explores the sociocultural imprint Satyajit Ray left in Bengal in the nineteenth century through his detective fiction, Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson’s Ruby) Hatyapuri (The House of the Death). It reframes writings and the repeating ideas and motifs they include within a larger social and historical framework. This essay also makes an effort to highlight Ray's singularity in terms of his background, methods of detection, and narrative tactics. By borrowing Bengal's rich cultural heritage, Ray localised the genre and used his protagonist to try to solve the unanswered mysteries.