Novel ventures with the ‘graphic’ punch

KOLKATA: If you are a graphic novel fan(atic), this Boi Mela is sure to be a treat. Prepare yourself for a bouquet of colours and exciting storylines as a bunch of graphic novels with a distinct Kolkata flavour are set to hit the stands. From a nostalgic sketchbook on Kolkata to a series on a city-based tantrik-detective and even a horror series, this edition of the book fair promises to have a wide range of graphic novels with a Bong connection.
One of the most exciting of the lot is surely the series on Taranath Tantrik, which brings back Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s psychic detective, but with an original storyline. Another impressive work is ‘Kolkata Kaleidoscope’, a non-fictional graphic novel based on the city. ‘TNT: City of Sorrows’ parts I and II, scripted by Shamik Dasgupta and ‘Kolkata Kaleidoscope’ by Harsho Mohan Chattoraj, published by the city-based Speech Bubble Entertainment, and Shamik’s third part of the ‘Caravan: Blood War’, published by Yali — a series on vicious vampire maidens unleashing hell for revenge — will be released at the book fair.
All the previous ‘Caravan’ instalments, as well as the year-old ‘Devi Chaudhurani’ graphic novel, will also be available. “Bengali literature is rich with ghost and horror stories,” says Shamik, explaining why he focussed on the genre. “Most of the greatest writers have tried their hand at the genre at least once in their lifetime, while others thrived on it. Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Premendra Mitra, Hemendra Kumar Roy, Sharadindu Bandopadhyay, Sunil Gangopadhyay and Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay and many others have written so many brilliant and compelling horror stories. Lately, genre writing is dying in Bengali literature, and no one is interested in writing horror, mystery or adventure stories,” he laments. “A few years back I discovered this character, Taranath Tantrik, by Bibhutibhushan.
It was the story of an astrologer who was a tantrik in his life and his encounters with several supernatural events. It struck me as a strong franchise character if developed and elaborated. Taranath was buried and mostly forgotten. I decided to bring back the character in a new avatar and a brand new story. ‘City of Sorrows’ has got nothing to do with the original writings of Bibhutibhushan,” he explains. The series, though, has recurring allusions to the ‘Chander Pahar’ writer, with two of the three major characters named Shankar and Bibhuti. For Harsho, the Kolkata book is very close to his heart. “The main inspiration for this book has been the way we live life in Kolkata, and all the amazing things about this city that you can’t help admiring once you look closely at them,” he says. “It’s a 60-pager with 10 chapters which deal with, among others, the artisans of Kumartuli, Satyajit Ray, the Park Street cemetery, the great artists like Narayan Debnath, actors such as Robi Ghosh, authors like Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and sports icons like Sourav Ganguly.
In my opinion, the best chapter has been the one I started with — on the artisans of Kumartuli.” Speaking on the market for graphic novels set in Kolkata, Pinaki Sarkar, senior sales manager (east), Penguin, says: “When we published Sarnath Banerjee’s ‘The Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers’, it was on the bestselling list for years.” “A gripping content, on the backdrop of your city, definitely attracts more readers, especially the young adult group that we are targeting,” says Prabuddha Neogi, Speech Bubble founder partner. “During Puja, we plan to release another graphic novel — ‘Prophecies of a Conman’, where the protagonist probes a mystery in Kolkata and London. It’s been scripted by award-wining short filmmaker Sauvik Banerjjee, who is a graphic novel fanatic,” adds Timir Bhowmik, Speech Bubble founder partner.