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Feluda'r Goyendagiri is the first story in the Feluda Series. It as written for the Sandesh Magazine, published in 3 installments. It features an amateur Feluda and Topshe in the hills of Darjeeling. This story takes place before Feluda becomes a professional detective and gets visiting cards and a gun.

Plot[]

Case of Rajen Mallik

Topshe, his father and his maternal brother Feluda are spending their holidays at Darjeeling. Staying in the Santorium, Topse and Feluda roam around the town. Topshe sees Rajenbabu everday at the mall and has once followed him to his house and was promised a candy in a next visit. He was an established lawyer based out of Kolkata, but after retirement had settled in Darjeeling. After retirement, Rajenbabu has developed an interest in antiques, and has built quite a formidable collection in a span of a few months.

Day 1[]

An unknown person sends Rajenbabau a threat note. He tells this to Tinkaribabu in the mall, where Topshe eavesdrops the conversation and learns about the incident. The letter mentions that he will be punished soon for misdeeds of his past. Rajenbabu panics and agrees to have Feluda investigate the matter, when Topshe brings Feluda to him. Feluda and Topshe also meet Tinkori Mukhopadhyay, who is staying at Rajenbabu's house as a paying guest for a few days and Abani Ghoshal, an antique property dealer. Tinkoribabu is a renowned writer of Bengali detective fiction, and he writes fiction under the name Guptochor (i.e. spy). Feluda mentions that Tinkoribabu is one of his favourite writers of detective stories in Bengali. Abanimohan Ghoshal visits them while Feluda and Rajenbabu are talking. He is interested in buying a bell, supposed to have come out of the household of the Dalai Lama, that is in Rajenbabu's possession. Amongst other things, Feluda notices that the letter that was mailed to Rajenbabu is created out of words cut out from a newspaper. Tinkori Mukhopadhyay helps Feluda in his investigation, by suggesting that the cuttings are from Anandabazar Patrika, recognizing the unique font used in that newspaper.

Day 2[]

Feluda visits to Dr. Phoni Mitter, Rajenbabu's physician, and comes with a theory that the doctor might have sent the letter in order to inspire fear in Rajenbabu and make him ill in order to get into business. Later, Feluda spots Prabir Majumdar, Rajen Majumdar's estranged son. He was thrown out of the house by Rajenbabu for trying to steal money, and Feluda finds it curious that he is in Darjeeling, and obtains his address. When Feluda meets Tinkoribabu, he tells him about seeing Prabeer Majumdar, and they both agree that it is a very curious thing. A second incident happens a following night. A man wearing a ghostly mask had entered Rajenbabu's room at night.

Day 3[]

Rajenbabu is extremely scared and agrees to Feluda and Topshe staying the night over at their place the next day. They drop off Tinkoribabu at the station. eluda starts a rigorous process of elimination. He manages to confirm that the doctor had been visiting a patient the previous night, and discovers that Prabeer Majumdar, having made quite some money at the local races, has little to gain from threatening his father. He meets another collector of curios, Mr. Gilmour, and discovers that the bell with Rajenbabu is a fake. Abanimohan Ghoshal is aware of this, and also knows Prabeer Majumdar. However, since they were at a party which continued until late at night, both of them can be ruled out from being the intruder. Feluda then sets about checking the masks in Rajenbabu's room. He tries them on and discovers a faint smell of cheroot. The only person in the vicinity who smoked cheroot is Tinkoribabu. Tinkoribabu, though, had left for Kolkata a day ago.

Day 4[]

It is later confirmed that it is indeed Tinkoribabu who is the real culprit. Tinkoribabu has left a letter to Rajenbabu, referring to him as Raju, apparently Rajenbabu's nickname. Tinkoribabu was Rajenbabu's classmate in Bankura Missionary school, and was unlawfully, and seriously injured by Rajenbabu during a 100-yard race at the school's annual sports festival. Since Rajenbabu had left Bankura after the incident, Tinkoribabu never got a chance to avenge the incident then. After arriving at Darjeeling, Tinkoribabu could identify his old adversary from school from an old photograph, and decided to avenge that old incident by putting Rajenbabu under some discomfort. Thus, he sent the threatening letter, and also scared Rajenbabu at midnight in Rajenbabu's bedroom wearing the mask.

Setting[]

Darjeeling, supposedly during Summer 1966

Characters[]

Feluda - He is 27

Topshe - He's 13 and a half years old.

Drafting[]

Publication[]

Adaptations[]

Trivia[]

  • Tapesh's full nane is Tapesh Ranjan Bose, and not Mitra. In the first few Feluda stories, Topshe is mentioned as Feluda's maternal cousin. Later, he is confirmed as Feluda's paternal cousin. Tapesh's name changes to Tapesh Ranjan Mitter later.
  • In this story, Feluda's age is 27, and Topshe's is exactly half of Feluda's i.e. 13 and a half.
  • This is the first of two stories of Feluda, that are set in Darjeeling. The other is Darjeeling Jomjomaat.
  • Sandip Ray mentions Darjeeling was his father's favourite locations, and thus Satyajit Ray's first movie made from original written screenplay, Kanchenjungha, as well as the first Feluda novel was based out of Darjeeling.
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