Famous Indian Fictional Detectives

The suspense and intrigue that detective novels can offer are unparalleled by any other genre in literature. While most of us associate detective series with the world’s most famous detective living in 221B Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes), or even with the Belgian man with a moustache (Hercule Poirot), India offers a variety of our own finest investigators - 

Pradosh C. Mitter – Satyajit Roy

Pradosh C. Mitter is the private investigator from the Bengali novels of the Feluda series by Satyajit Ray. The novels are also available in translated forms which are a delight to read for not only the intrigue but also the way you learn about various places in India through them. There are also movie adaptations directed by Satyajit Ray himself (and later by his son, Sandip Ray), which is self-explanatory for their brilliance. 

Byomkesh Bakshi – Sharadindu Bandopadhyay

Personally, I love this series the best. Yet, without much exaggeration, I’d tell you why you must read them. The way the plot unwinds and the cases are uncomplicated bit by bit and will leave you awestruck. If you know Bengali but are weak in reading it, do listen to the stories as told by Radio Mirchi in Sunday Suspense (can be found on YouTube). Otherwise, watch the films as they are great as well. 

Kakababu – Sunil Gangopadhyay

Our famous Kakababu, who has been the favourite not only of teens but adults as well, were widely read stories from the much-awaited puja edition of Anandamela magazine every year. It continued for 33 years on popular demand until the death of the author in 2012. The stories are also collectively available in the Kakababu Somogro. 

Kiriti Roy – Nihar Ranjan Gupta

The over 6ft tall, stylish professional detective Kiriti Roy is the creation of the renowned dermatologist Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta. He is one of the most sophisticated and popular detectives of our previous generations. The stories are set in the 1940s, revolving around his clients who were from affluent or rich backgrounds offering a taste to that life as well. 

Colonel Niladri Sarkar – Syed Mustafa Siraj

A jovial colonel of the Indian army, Colonel Niladri Sarkar is a butterfly collector and an ornithologist (ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns birds). The stories which were published in the Amrit magazine 1970 onwards are narrated by Jayanta, a lazy journalist of Dainik Satyasebak Patrika who was the Colonel’s accomplice. Colonel Somogro contains the collection of all the stories.

 Vimal - Surender Mohan Pathak

Vimal Series contains the detective stories starring the detective Vimal in Hindi. The author even has other series of crime and detective novels but this is the series which gained the most popularity. English translations are also available for the Vimal series.

Ahmad Kamal Faridi - Ibn-e-Safi

Jasoosi Duniya starring the detective Ahmad Kamal Faridi is a series of novels written in Urdu by Ibn-e-Safi (original name Asrar Ahmed). The Colonel Faridi is a man of discipline and the son of a Nawab. He has peculiar hobbies and is highly educated as well but women seem to have no effect on him at all. He solves crimes with his partner, Captain Hameed. Faridi’s loathing for crime is what drives him to solve cases in the first place. 

So, unleash the bookworm within you and start reading for the thrill and suspense as soon as you can lay your hands on these books! What are you waiting for?