Shajarur Kanta
{{short description|1967 novel by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{infobox book |
| name = The Quill of the Porcupine
| title_orig = Shajarur Kanta
| translator =
| image =
| caption =
| author = Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
| cover_artist =
| country = India
| language = Bengali
| series = Byomkesh Bakshi
| genre = Detective, crime, mystery
| publisher = P.C. Sorkar and Sons (also anthologized by Ananda Publishers)
| release_date = 1967 in hardcover Byomkesher diary and in the Sharadindu Omnibus in 1972
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 182 pp
| preceded_by = Chholonar Chhondo
| followed_by = Benishanghar
}}
Shajarur Kanta ({{translation|The Quills of the Porcupine}}) is a Bengali mystery novel written by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay in 1967. The murderer kills people using porcupine quills thrust from behind into the heart.{{cite book|title=The Menagerie and Other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=9780143061960}}
Plot
The story starts with the death of a beggar, found dead with a porcupine's quill embedded to his heart. The police initially dismiss any foul play, but when a few more people end up dead in the same way, police are confused. Byomkesh is asked to investigate when a man is injured grievously, but survives the attack.
The man is Debashish Bhatto, a rich businessman, who has recently married Deepa in an arranged marriage. Byomkesh discovers that everything is not what it seems, especially when the gathering at Nripati Laha's allows him to interact with Debashish's friends and Deepa's family. Deepa's past is intricately entwined with her present, threatening to ruin her and Debashish's life.
Characters
- Byomkesh Bakshi
- Ajit Bandyopadhyay
- Satyabati
- Debasish Bhatto
- Deepa Bhatto, wife of Debashish
- Udaymadhab Mukherjee, grandfather of Deepa and Bijoy
- Neelmadhab Mukherjee, father of Deepa and Bijoy
- Prabal Gupta, lover of Deepa
- Sujan Mitra, an actor
- Nripati Laha
- Bijoy Madhab Mukherjee, brother of Deepa
- Kharag Bahadur, footballer
- Kapil Bose
- Mother of Deepa and Bijoy
- Dr. Sen
- Dr. Gupta
Adaptations
=Television=
- This was one of the stories in the 1993 TV series Byomkesh Bakshi, titled "Sahi Ka Kanta".
- The story was adapted into another TV series in 2014, Byomkesh, which aired on the Bengali channel ETV Bangla.
=Film=
- A film of the same name was made in 1974.
- Another version of the film was made in 2015 with the same name.{{cite news|title=Another Byomkesh Bakshi mystery|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/another-byomkesh-bakshi-mystery/}}
=Web series=
- This story was adapted for season 3 of the web series Bomkyesh by Anirban Bhattacharya.{{cn|date=July 2024}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Byomkesh Bakshi}}
Category:Indian Bengali-language novels
Category:Indian mystery novels
{{1960s-mystery-novel-stub}}