# Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (30 March 1899 – 22 September 1970) was an Indian Bengali-language writer. He was actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. The creator of the Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Sharadindu composed stories of a wide array of varieties including: novels, short stories, crime and detective stories, plays and screenplays. He wrote historical fiction like Kaler Mandira, Gourmollar (initially named as Mouri Nodir Teere), Tumi Sandhyar Megh, Tungabhadrar Teere, Chuya-Chandan, Maru O Sangha (later made into a Hindi film named Trishagni), Sadashib series and stories of the unnatural with the recurring character Baroda. Besides, he composed many songs and poems.

## Personal life and education

He was born to Tarabhushan and Bijaliprabha Bandyopadhyay at his maternal grandparents' home in Jaunpur, United Province, India on 30 March 1899. The Bandyopadhyay family's residence was at Purnia, Bihar, India, where his father worked but the family originally hailed from Baranagar, North Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He completed his matriculation in 1915 from a school in Munger, in Bihar. He wrote his first story 'Pretpuri', a Boroda story, when he was only 15 years. After matriculation, he joined the Vidyasagar College, Kolkata. Sisir Bhaduri, the doyen of Bengali stage, was his English professor there. After completing graduation, he went on to study law in Patna. He was only thirty years old when he gave up his practice and started working as a writer. In 1928, Himangshu Roy invited him to Bombay to write screenplays. Till 1952 he wrote films, and then settled down in Pune to pursue a full-fledged career as a writer.

## Characters
### Byomkesh Bakshi

Byomkesh Bakshi is a detective who calls himself Satyanweshi or the truth-seeker. He is known for his proficiency with observation, logical reasoning, and forensic science which he uses to solve complicated cases, usually murders.

### Boroda

Boroda is a ghost-chaser, obsessed with life-after death and in writer's words Bhootanweshi. Like the Mejokorta of Premendra Mitra, he has direct interactions with ghosts. He recounts his many encounters with spirits much to the chagrin of his friends. In Byomkesh O Boroda, the two characters met each other. This series of short stories provide great examples of spine-chilling atmosphere and last-minute twists. The list of stories in chronological order:
* Pretpuri – 1915
* Rokto Khoddot – 1929
* Tiktiki'r Dim – 1929
* Moron Bhomra – 1932
* Ashareeri – 1933
* Sobuj Chosma – 1933
* Moron Dol - 1934
* Bohurupi – 1937
* Protidhwoni – 1938
* Akashbani – 1946
* Dehantor – 1949
* Nilkar – 1958
* Malkosh – 1962

### Sadashib

Sadashib, or Sadashib Rao, is a fictional character of a young lad starring in a series of short stories of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The protagonist of the series Sadashib is a Maratha soldier hailing from the village Dongarhpur. This character was created with the backdrop of 16th century Maharashtra when the Maratha-Adil Shah-Mughal antipathy was at its pinnacle. The conflict of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Aurangzeb provided the series with its own distinctive plot.

### Background

As per the pretext of the series, the Mughals were residing on Daulatabad north of Maharashtra and Sultan Adil Shah was in the charge of Bijapur fort in the south. Although at the time of the story's beginning the forces of Shivaji had not yet earned the total trust of entire mass, they were on the rise to end the daily oppression of the simple villagers and the common people in the hands of the tyrant rulers. During this time Sadashib, an orphan boy of around seventeen to eighteen was growing up in his maternal uncle's house in the village Dongarhpur with his uncle and aunt who strongly despised him. One day, his maternal uncle Sakharam decides to throw him out of his home after consulting with the villages head and other elders citing the reason that he is unable to provide sustenance to his household in the time of war and crisis. Sadashiv, who has nobody in the village to turn to leaves, but his friend Kumkum, the daughter of village elder Biththal Patil, advises him to go and join Shivaji's troops. Later, Kumkum helps him escape on the ailing horse of her father. Sadashiv sets course for Puna, but he encounters Shivaji's forces en route, eventually helps them unknowingly. They take him to Torna, where Shivaji was camping and he joins Shivaji's force and gets popular by the day on the merit of his young as well as cunning stature. In the passage of time, he becomes the go-to-man of Shivaji and helps to tide him over of different problems.

### List of Stories

| # | Title | Publication | Bibliography | Description |
| 1 | Sadashib er Adikando | Mauchak patrika | Sadashib er Tinkando | The escape of Sadashib from his village and his joining in Shivaji's forces is the nub of the story. So it is considered as the prelude to the series. |
| 2 | Sadashib er Agnikando | Mauchak patrika | Sadashib er Tinkando | Captain Liyakat Khan, the commander-in-chief of Adil Shah, attacks Torna Fort with 7000 Bijapuri soldiers to captivate Shivaji. But Shivaji hits out a cunning plan and sends Sadashib in the guise of a lamb-rearer to accomplish the mission. |
| 3 | Sadashib er Douro Douri Kando | | Sadashib er Tinkando | When Shivaji starts to assault and occupy a number of Bijapur's forts and prevents their invasion, the Sultan Adil Shah loses faith on Shivaji's father Shahji Bhonsle, one of the feudal lords of Bijapur. Shivaji fears that out of distrust his father might be assassinated, so he makes a plan to inform Shahji about the coming danger. Sadashib on whom the task falls for being unknown to the Bijapur's soldiers, sets out on an adventurous trail mounted on one of Shivaji's favorite horses, Sindhughotok. Various facets of the then Maharashtra has come up on the pages in this lengthiest story of this series. |
| 4 | Sadashib er Hoi Hoi Kando | | Sadashib er Hoi Hoi Kando | Sadashib returns to his village Dongarhpur a year after his escape, with a small task to accomplish on the way. He had thought that the village folk would now respect him. He has also bought a ring for Kumkum from Jinji and he was excited about that prospect. But things take a turn in the passage of time. |
| 5 | Sadashib er Ghora Ghora kando | Sandesh | Sadashib er Hoi Hoi Kando O Sadashib er Ghora Ghora kando | An epidemic has made scarce of horse in Maharashtra. The only place one can avail them is the Chandragarh fort, where Shivaji's maternal uncle Balawant Rao is the lord. He had made Shivaji swear an oath when he was a child that he would never by any means try to capture the Chandragarh fort. Until now Shivaji has kept his promise but now when he is in desperate need of horses as Balawant refuses to sell him horses at normal rate. Being unable to pay the high price as demanded by Balawant, he decides to obtain them by tricks and yet again Sadashib works as his right hand. |
Source: Dey, Anindita (2021)

### Characters

* Sadashib – Protagonist of the series, an orphan boy of around seventeen dwelling in the village Dongarhpur on the Paschim ghat mountain range with his maternal uncle Sakharam. He is driven out of the village by his uncle and soon after he joins Shivaji's forces and becomes one of his loyal soldiers.
* Kumkum/Kunku – Daughter of village elder Biththal Patil and Sadashib's childhood friend, his only well-wisher in the village. It is on her advice that Sadashiv sets out to join Shivaji's forces. After the first story of the series, they again meet each other in the story, 'Sadashiber Hoi Hoi Kando'.
* Shivaji – The national hero of Maharashtra, but during the narration of the stories he was considered as a bandit by the commoners.
* Shahji Bhonsle – One of the feudal lords of Bijapur, Shivaji's father.
* Jijabai – Shivaji's mother and the wife of Shahji Bhonsle. She is the prime inspiration behind Shivaji's long-cherished dreams of an independent Maharashtra. She takes care of Sadashib as her own son.
* Tanaji – Tanaji Malsare, Shivaji's minister and childhood companion.
* Jesaji – Jesaji Kank, another childhood pal and minister of Shivaji.
* Ratnaji – Shivaji's childhood friend and the spy of him. Disguised as a foot soldier of Bijapur.
* Sakharam – The miser and heartless uncle of Sadashib whom he strongly despises.
* Biththal Patil – One of the village elders of Sadashib's native village and Kumkum's father. Sadashb stole his ailing horse when he was escaping the village.

### Incomplete Stories

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay was advised and motivated to write about Shivaji through the view of a young soldier by his friend and fellow author, Rajshekhar Basu. There were four more drafts or incomplete stories obtained from Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's notebook, which are —
* Sadashiber Roktarokti Kando
* Sadashiber Kelenkari Kando
* Sadashiber Bidghute Kando
* Sadashiber Mahamari Kando
It is understood that he wanted to script the entire history of Shivaji's rise to the behest of glory and success through this series, but he could not finish them due to his untimely death in 1970.

### Adaptations

* The five Sadashib Stories have been translated into English by Sreejata Gupta in the book 'Band of Soldiers: A Year on the Road with Shivaji'.
* Sadashib was adapted as comics in the 1980s for the Anandamela edited by Nirendranath Chakravarty, illustrated by Bimal Das and adapted by Tarun Majumdar.
* Radio play by Akashbani.
* The Sunday Suspense series of 98.3 Radio Mirchi (Kolkata) adapted all the Sadashib stories, portraying RJ Somak as the protagonist.