In Hindi, after children’s literature comes directly adult literature. Bengali, however, has an additional category between the two—literature for adolescents (Kishore Sahitya). This category includes adventure, detective, ghost and other stories and novels filled with mystery, suspense and excitement. Adolescent literature enjoys a respected position in Bengali, which is why almost all the major and renowned Bengali writers have written something or other with adolescent readers in mind. Some writers are, in fact, better known primarily as writers of adolescent literature. Bengali adolescent literature is not only of a high standard and outstanding quality, but also extraordinarily vast in volume.
The great Bengali writer Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay wrote five novels especially for adolescent readers. Four of them may be classified as adventure stories, while one belongs to the detective genre. Hindi translations of all five stories are included in this collection.
The first story in the collection, Chander Pahar (The Mountain of the Moon), is the tale of the thrilling adventures of an Indian adolescent, Shankar Raychaudhuri, in the jungles and mountains of Africa. His guide is the Portuguese explorer and gold prospector Diego Alvarez. The novel may well be described as a “great Indian adventure saga.” In the preface to the original Bengali novel, the author has made it clear that the story is not based on any foreign work; its events and characters are entirely products of his own imagination. He did, however, consult the books of a few foreign travellers and explorers for his descriptions of the geography of Africa.
The second story, Seven Years in the Sundarbans, tells of a boy who falls into the hands of river pirates and is taken to the forests of the Sundarbans, where he remains for seven years. Naturally, he makes two friends there as well. During this period, he goes through all kinds of thrilling and perilous experiences. The story was begun by Bhuvan Mohan Ray in 1895, with roughly one-third of it being written by him. Before 1950, Bibhutibhushan completed the novel, writing approximately the remaining two-thirds.
The third story, The Treasure of the Deserted Island, takes us to a mysterious and uninhabited island in the Sulu Sea. Hidden beneath its dense forests lie the ruins of the capital of a Hindu king of the ninth century, and somewhere among those ruins lies a royal treasure. The young Sushil sets out on an exciting expedition to the island with Jamatulla, an old sailor, and his cousin Sanat.
The fourth story, The Armour of the Mishmi People, is a detective story. A young boy has only just begun receiving training in detective work when his maternal uncle entrusts him with the task of solving the mystery surrounding a murder in a neighbouring village. The concluding part of the story also has a supernatural element, centred on the protective armour worn by the Mishmi people, a tribal community of northeastern India, before going into battle.
The fifth and final story, The Drumbeat of Death, is an adventure and romance set against the backdrop of war. Circumstances take two young Indian men to China, where they join the Chinese side in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). They also become friends with two American nurses. Amid the horrors of war, all of them narrowly escape death on several occasions.
Stories written especially for adolescent readers should not merely entertain them; they should also broaden their knowledge. With this in mind, a detailed appendix has been added at the end of this collection.
I hope this collection will be enjoyed by adolescent readers. Indeed, this book would make a particularly suitable birthday gift for teenagers or a prize for students in competitions.