গোলাপী মুক্তা রহস্য

Feluda #32

by Satyajit Ray

TRANSLATED FROM THE BENGALI BY GOPA MAJUMDAR.

Genres: Detective, Mystery, Fiction, Adventure, Thriller, India, Young Adult

40 pages, Hardcover

About the author

Satyajit Ray (Bengali: সত্যজিৎ রায়) was an Indian filmmaker and author of Bengali fiction and regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of world cinema. Ray was born in the city of Calcutta into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature. Starting his career as a commercial artist, Ray was drawn into independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and watching Vittorio De Sica's Italian neorealist 1948 film, Bicycle Thieves.

Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. He was also a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, graphic designer and film critic. He authored several short stories and novels, primarily aimed at children and adolescents.

Ray's first film, Pather Panchali (1955), won eleven international prizes, including Best Human Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival. This film, Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959) form The Apu Trilogy. Ray did the scripting, casting, scoring, and editing, and designed his own credit titles and publicity material. Ray received many major awards in his career, including 32 Indian National Film Awards, a number of awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies, and an Academy Award in 1992. The Government of India honoured him with the Bharat Ratna in 1992.

Early Life and Background:
Ray's grandfather, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury was a writer, illustrator, philosopher, publisher, amateur astronomer and a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, a religious and social movement in nineteenth century Bengal. Sukumar Ray, Upendrakishore's son and father of Satyajit, was a pioneering Bengali author and poet of nonsense rhyme and children's literature, an illustrator and a critic. Ray was born to Sukumar and Suprabha Ray in Calcutta.

Ray completed his B.A. (Hons.) in Economics at Presidency College of the University of Calcutta, though his interest was always in Fine Arts. In 1940, he went to study in Santiniketan where Ray came to appreciate Oriental Art. In 1949, Ray married Bijoya Das and the couple had a son, Sandip ray, who is now a famous film director.

Literary Works:
Ray created two of the most famous fictional characters ever in Bengali children's literature—Feluda, a sleuth in Holmesian tradition, and Professor Shonku, a genius scientist. Ray also wrote many short stories mostly centered on Macabre, Thriller and Paranormal which were published as collections of 12 stories. Ray wrote an autobiography about his childhood years, Jakhan Choto Chilam (1982). He also wrote essays on film, published as the collections: Our Films, Their Films (1976), Bishoy Chalachchitra (1976), and Ekei Bole Shooting (1979).

Awards, Honors and Recognitions:
Ray received many awards, including 32 National Film Awards by the Government of India. At the Moscow Film Festival in 1979, he was awarded for the contribution to cinema. At the Berlin Film Festival, he was one of only three to win the Silver Bear for Best Director more than once and holds the record for the most Golden Bear nominations, with seven. At the Venice Film Festival, he won a Golden Lion for Aparajito(1956), and awarded the Golden Lion Honorary Award in 1982. In 1992 he was posthumously awarded the Akira Kurosawa Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Reviews

[Anirudh Kukreja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the short break I needed! This is slowly becoming a tradition: whenever I'm binge reading novels and I need a short break, a Feluda story comes out of nowhere, refreshes and blows my mind at the same time. This one was exceptionally good!

[Nusrat Faizah · Rating 4 out of 5]

বহুদিন পর ফেলুদা!জানতাম ভালো লাগাটা আবছা হয়ে যায়নি,সেটারই প্রমাণ পেলাম।

[Samriddhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ray's three musketeers solve mysteries involving murder, theft and fraud. The cases are presented as short stories which are further divided into chapters. The stories are predictable in a sense that the reader would be able to gauge what would happen next. Maybe it's Feluda's protocol of handling things which makes it seem so. As a reader, prepare to live with minimal clues as Feluda's countless interrogations and inspections seem to offer no insight for solving the case. The case solutions would ultimately make sense, thanks to Ray's protagonist whose wit always comes to the rescue.

[Benozir Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fanatastic twist. Not for the plot but for the story telling. Upto the end readers will think the obvious overlooking more a more obvious possibility.

# Return of Mogonlal Meghraj

[Anand Chauhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

English translation 'The Mystery of the Pink Pearl'.

Though the story is just above average, it's a must read for the following reasons:
- Return of the most formidable adversary of Feluda.
- Feluda is not able to foresee the things twice.
- Feluda is deceived by his most trusted.

[Anjan Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

আবার সেই "মগললাল মেঘরাজ"। ফেলুদার সাথে লোকটার যা জমে বলার বাইরে!এই গল্পেও কাহিনী জমে উঠেছিল।সাথে লালমোহন বাব্বুর কিঞ্চিৎ গোয়েন্দাগিরি তো আছেই।সলিড একটা গল্প

[Hibatun Nur · Rating 2 out of 5]

এ গপ্পে ফেলু মিত্তিরের মগজাস্ত্রের খুব একটা প্রয়োগ চোখে পড়ল না।

[Kishore]

Feluda, his cousin Topshe, and their friend Lalmohan Ganguly (Jatayu) travel to Sonahati after Feluda and a history professor, Nabajiban Haldar, are invited to a felicitation ceremony by the local Recreation Club. They stay at the house of the club's president, the wealthy Panchanan Mallick, who boasts a collection of historical artifacts. Feluda and Nabajiban Babu quickly dismiss the collection as fake, noting that a supposed historical shoe even smells of new leather.

In Sonahati, Feluda reunites with his college friend, Someshwar Saha, an advocate. Someshwar introduces them to Jaychand Baral, a local schoolmaster who designed the felicitation scroll. Jaychand reveals he is the descendant of a family of jewelers and possesses a rare and immensely valuable pink pearl, an heirloom acquired by his great-great-grandfather, Abhaycharan Baral. The pearl's existence was recently publicized in several newspapers, much to Feluda's concern.

Soon after, a distressed Jaychand arrives in Kolkata. The newspaper articles have attracted unwanted attention. His cousin from Benaras, Motilal Baral, has demanded a share of the pearl's value. A collector named Surya Singh from Dharampur has written, expressing a keen interest in buying it. Most alarmingly, the infamous smuggler Maganlal Meghraj has personally visited Jaychand, offering ₹40,000 for the pearl and giving him a three-day deadline. Fearing for its safety, Feluda takes the pearl into his custody. Maganlal later confronts Feluda at his home, giving him a three-day ultimatum to surrender the pearl.

On the morning the ultimatum expires, Maganlal's men break into Feluda's home through a bathroom ventilator, render him unconscious, and steal the pearl from his almirah. Learning that Maganlal has traveled to Benaras, the trio follows him. There, they meet Motilal Baral, who, displeased with being kept in the dark about the family heirloom, agrees to help Feluda.

Feluda confronts Maganlal, bluffing that the stolen pearl is a fake. However, a local jeweler summoned by Maganlal declares it to be a genuine pink pearl. Though his bluff fails, Feluda observes that Maganlal keeps the velvet box in his cash box. That night, with the help of Motilal's men, Feluda's team raids Maganlal's house and retrieves the pearl.

The team then travels to Delhi, where Surya Singh is meeting with American businessmen, to sell him the pearl. To Feluda's shock and humiliation, Surya Singh's expert appraiser declares the pearl a worthless fake—a cheap cultured pearl painted pink.

Back in Kolkata, a dejected Feluda is surprised to find Lalmohan Babu in high spirits. The final twist is revealed: fearing for Feluda's safety, Lalmohan Babu and Topshe had secretly conspired to swap the real pearl with a fake one. While Feluda was out for a haircut, Topshe took the real pearl from the almirah and gave it to Lalmohan Babu, who had a duplicate made. It was this fake pearl that Maganlal stole and Feluda later recovered. The real pearl was safe all along. Lalmohan Babu triumphantly returns the genuine pink pearl to a stunned and impressed Feluda.

[Sakib A. Jami · Rating 3 out of 5]

ফেলুদার সবচেয়ে কঠিন প্রতিপক্ষ কে? স্বাভাবিকভাবেই উত্তর আসবে মগনলাল মেঘরাজ। "জয় বাবা ফেলুনাথ" কিংবা "যত কান্ড কাঠমান্ডু"তে যেভাবে দুইজনের টক্কর শিহরণ জাগিয়েছিল, "গোলাপী মুক্তা রহস্য"-এর মতো সাদামাটা গল্পে ঠিক যেন মিলল না।

একটি সংবর্ধনা অনুষ্ঠানে অংশ নিতে সোনাহাটিতে ফেলুদার সঙ্গী তোপসে ও জটায়ু। সেখানেই দেখা মিলে এক গোলাপী মুক্তার। মুক্তা সাধারণত সফেদ রঙের হলেও গোলাপী রঙেরও পাওয়া যায়। ভীষণ দুর্লভ ও দামি এ মুক্তোর খোঁজ পেলে যে কেউ যে হামলে পড়বে, বলার অপেক্ষা রাখে না।

গন্ধ শুঁকতে শুঁকতে এখানে যেন চলে এসেছে চোরাকারবারির মাথা মেঘরাজ। কিন্তু ফেলুদা যেখানে, সেখানে এত সহজে পার পাওয়া যায়? মুক্তো হাতছাড়া হয়ে গিয়েছে। ফেলুদা তারই খোঁজে আবার বেনারসে, যেখানে প্রথমবার মোলাকাত হয়েছিল দুজনের। এবার কী হবে?

ফেলুদা সিরিজের ৩২ নম্বর গল্প "গোলাপী মুক্তা রহস্য"। তবে খুব একটা জমল না এ গল্প। শুরুর গল্পগুলো যতটা যতটা না আকর্ষণীয় ছিল, শেষের গল্পগুলো ততটাই ফিকে। খুবই সাদামাটা, যেখানে ফেলুদার মস্তিষ্কের খেলও যেন ততটা নিষ্প্রভ।

এ গল্পে জটায়ু আর তোপসের ছোটো এক বুদ্ধির ঝিলিক দেখতে পাওয়া যায়। যেখানে ফেলুদাও খেই হারিয়ে ফেলেছে। মগনলাল মেঘরাজের মতো ভয়ংকর প্রতিপক্ষ থাকার পরও মনস্তত্ত্বের লড়াই ছিল নিষ্প্রভ। এখানে ঠিক মন মতো গল্পের উপসংহার আসেনি।

ফেলুদা গল্পের যে প্রাণ, গল্পের পাশাপাশি প্রকৃতি ফুটিয়ে তোলা সেটাও যেন কোথায় নিষ্প্রাণ হিসেবে ধরা দিয়েছে। সব মিলিয়ে "গোলাপী মুক্তা রহস্য" খুবই সাদামাটা আর আকর্ষণহীন এক গল্প বলেই মনে হয়েছে।

▪️বই : গোলাপী মুক্তা রহস্য
▪️লেখক : সত্যজিৎ রায়

[Kazi Md. Al-Wakil · Rating 3 out of 5]

সোনাহাটিতে ফেলুদারা পরিচিত হয় জয়বাবুর সাথে যার কাছে একটি গোলাপী মুক্তা রয়েছে। তা পাবার জন্য অনেক ধরণের অফার আসছে। ফেলুদার সাজেশনে জয়বাবু ফেলুদার কাছে মুক্তা রেখে যায়। কিন্তু মগনলালবাবু সেটি চুরি করে ফেলে। পরে সেই মুক্তা উদ্ধার করতে বেনারসে যায় ফেলুদারা। সেখান থেকে ফেলুদারা মুক্তা উদ্ধার করে জয়বাবুর নির্দেশে সেটি বিক্রি করতে গিয়ে জানে যে মুক্তাটা ফলস। পরে বের হয় যে আসলে লালমোহন বাবু আর তোপসে মিলে সেই মুক্তা সরিয়ে রেখেছিলো আসন্ন বিপদের কথা ভেবে। তাই আসল মুক্তা রয়ে যায়।

[Mehedi Sarwar · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are wonderful. Feluda is characterized based on Sherlock Holmes and the stories feels that way. Only Satyjit Ray can achieve such quality.

Reminds a lot about reading them in my childhood in Bengali and now I read them in English. The Mystery of the Pink Pearl is my favorite among these stories followed by Dr. Munshi's Diary.

[Masfiq Reza · Rating 3 out of 5]

সংবর্ধনা অনুষ্ঠানে গিয়ে ফেলুদার পরিচয় হয় বড়ালের সাথে, যার কাছে রয়েছে মহামূল্যবান গোলাপী মুক্তা। মুক্তার খবর ছড়িয়ে পড়লে নিরাপত্তার জন্য তা ফেলুদার কাছে রাখেন বড়াল। সেই ফেলুদার কাছ থেকেই চুরি হয় মুক্তা। ডবল টূইস্ট আছে গল্পে।

[Sagor Reza · Rating 3 out of 5]

আবার মগনলাল মেঘরাজ!
তবে এবার ফেলুদার চেয়ে বড় খেল দেখালেন লালমোহনবাবু আর তোপশে। কিন্তু একটা খটকা থেকে গেল। যে মুক্তো দেখে সূর্যকুমারের স্যাকরা এক দেখায় বলে দিল সেটা নকল, সেখানে মগনলালেল স্যাকরা বুঝতে পারল না কেন?

[Kaisar Kabir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out to be a great story. Mogonlal's part was brilliant. But the ending ruined it for me, revealing a huge plot hole.

[Ishmam · Rating 4 out of 5]

আহা ফেলুদা বনাম মগনলাল!

[Geeky_vintage_girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

এবার ফেলুদা কে ছাড়িয়ে গেলো জটায়ু আর তপসে।

[Debashish Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad but not good either

[Sourav Anando · Rating 3 out of 5]

ছোট্ট গল্প। এক বসাতেই শেষ করে ফেললাম। ছোট্ট বয়সে পড়লে যেই মজা পেতাম তা হয়ত পাই নি তাও ভালোই লেগেছে। ৩/৫

[Samia Rashid · Rating 4 out of 5]

আরে বাহ্‌ দারুণ! ফেলুদাকে টেক্কা দিল এই প্রথম তপসে আর জটায়ু! ভাল লেগেছে বিষয়টা। ফেলুদার আসল উত্তরসূরি।

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feluda was originally written by Satyajit Ray for the children’s magazine ‘Sandesh’. The popularity of the series was such that Ray went on to include a few adult themes in the later stories when he realized that even adults were enjoying the series.
I actually read Feluda before Agatha Christie and as such Feluda was my introduction to detective fiction. The best part of the stories is the evergreen manner of Ray’s narrative. I remember reading ‘Baadhshahi Angti’ which was written in 1960s and when I visited Lucknow in 1990s, I could still recognize the places described in the book. The other thing that I loved about the series was that in every story we learned something new – be it about geometry or about telepathy.
Absolutely and irrevocably in love with Feluda and his adventures – forever a fan.

[Nowsheen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the usual Feluda story. There are gaps which could have been addressed. For instance, Topesh and Lal Mohon Ganguly knew they had the "golapi mukta" in their position, why would they let Feluda go inside Meghraj's house knowing how dangerous he is?