Nihar Ranjan Gupta ( bn, নীহাররঞ্জন গুপ্ত, pen name: ''Banbhatta'' (বানভট্ট); 6 June 1911 – 20 February 1986) was an Indian dermatologist and a popular

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

novelist. He is the creator of the fictional detective character

Kiriti Roy Kiriti Roy is a fictional detective of Bengali literature created by Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta. The first story introduces him as follows: "Kiriti Roy is six and a half feet tall, fair and stout. His curled hair is mostly combed back, and the black ...

. Some of his writings were made into films of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

Early life

Gupta came from a Kabiraj family of Itna village under Lohagara police station, in the district of Jessore, presently in the

Narail district Narail ( bn, নড়াইল, pron: ''nɔɽail'') is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Khulna Division. History Narail town was named after a feudal lord (a zamindar). The zamindars established a market at Roopgonj, als ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. He was born to Satya Ranjan Gupta and Labangalata Devi on 6 June 1911, in

where his father used to work. He spent his childhood in

Narail Narail ( bn, নড়াইল, pron: ''nɔɽail'') is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Khulna Division. History Narail town was named after a feudal lord (a zamindar). The zamindars established a market at Roopgonj, als ...

Due to his father's transferable job, he had to attend several schools, including Gaibandha High School. In 1930 he passed Matriculation from

Konnagar Konnagar is a town and a municipality of Hooghly district in the state of West Bengal in India. Konnagar has a railway station that connect with Howrah. It is under Uttarpara police station in Serampore subdivision. It is a part of the area co ...

High School. After completing his I.Sc. from

Krishnagar Government College Krishnagar Government College, established in 1846, is the oldest college in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It offers undergraduate courses in arts and sciences and also some postgraduate courses. At first, the college was un ...

Krishnanagar Krishna Nagar or Krishnanagar may refer to: Places India * Krishna Nagar, Delhi ** Krishna Nagar metro station (Delhi) ** Krishna Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency) * Krishna Nagar, Hyderabad * Krishna Nagar, Lucknow ** Krishna Nagar metro s ...

, he took admission to Carmichael Medical College. While a student at the college, his elder sister died of scorpion sting. Young Gupta vowed to earn higher degree in the medical sciences to serve the ill.

Career

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Gupta served as an army doctor and was posted to various places, including

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and Egypt. After the war he completed post-graduate studies in the United Kingdom, specialising in dermatology. On his return he joined the

Calcutta Medical College Calcutta Medical College, officially Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, is a public medical school and hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest existing hospital in Asia. The institute was established on 28 January 1835 by L ...

. In his career as a physician he was associated with several hospitals in India. After the Partition, his family permanently migrated to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

in 1947. As a child Gupta always dreamed of becoming a writer. He once went to Shantiniketan to seek the blessings of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

and took his autograph. At the age of eighteen he composed his first novel, ''Rajkumar''. After schooling, Gupta took admission in the

, then affiliated with the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

. During his stay in England he developed a keen interest in detective stories and met

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

. After coming back to India, he wrote his first detective novel, ''

Kalo Bhramar ''Kalo Bhramar'' (The Black Wasp) is an epic Bengali detective novel. This is the first detective story introducing detective Kiriti Roy by Nihar Ranjan Gupta. The book was written in 1930's and parted into 4 volumes and in 1963, Mitra And Ghosh ...

'' (meaning ''The Black Hornet''), which launched his detective character

��িরীটী রায় In his literary career Gupta has composed over two hundred novels, plays, short stories and essays. The most popular among them are '' Ulka'', ''Badshah'', ''Lalubhulu'', ''Uttarphalguni'', ''Asti Bhagirathi Tire'', ''Mayur Mahal'', ''Devyani'', ''Neeltara'', ''Mayamriga'', ''Komalgandhar'' and ''Nishipadma''. Forty five of his novels have been made into

and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

feature films in Tollywood and Bollywood respectively. He was also the editor of a children's magazine named ''Sabuj Sahitya''.

Legacy

In 1988, S.M. Sultan founded the Shishuswarga-2 at the ancestral house of Gupta in Itna. It was officially inaugurated on 24 November 1993, by the Mohammad Ali Hossain, the then District Magistrate of Narail. However, the activities of the children's organisation ceased after the death of S.M.Sultan. In 2003, the archaeological department of Bangladesh notified the acquisition of Gupta's ancestral house, but has not made any repairs till date. At present the ancestral house of Nihar Ranjan Gupta lies in a dilapidated condition, infested by bats and illegal betting syndicates.

Adapted works

* ''Maya Mriga'' (1960) * ''

Thayi Karulu ''Thayi Karulu'' (Kannada: ತಾಯಿ ಕರುಳು) is a 1962 Indian Kannada film, directed and produced by G. V. Iyer. The film stars Kalyan Kumar, Udaykumar and M. V. Rajamma in the lead roles. The film has musical score by G. K. Venkates ...

'' (1962) emade as ''Thayin Karunai''(Tamil) '' Ulka'' * '' Annai'' (1962) emake of the 1960 Bengali film Maya Mriga* '' Meri Surat Teri Ankhen'' (1963) – ''Ulka'' * ''

Uttar Falguni ''Uttar Falguni'' () is a 1963 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Asit Sen and produced by Uttam Kumar, starring Suchitra Sen in a double role, Bikash Roy and Dilip Mukherjee in lead. At the 11th National Film Awards, the film was ...

'' (1963) ( Remade as '' Mamta'' , ''

Kaaviya Thalaivi ''Kaviya Thalaivi'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film, written and directed by K. Balachander and produced by Sowcar Janaki. It is a remake of the 1963 Bengali film ''Uttar Falguni''. Janaki also stars alongside Gemini Ganesan and M. R. R ...

'' and ''

Pushpanjali Pushpanjali (Sanskrit:पुष्पाञ्जलि, literally ''folded hands full of flowers'') is an offering of flowers to Hindu deities. Pushpanjali is the first dance in a Bharatnatyam performance. It is the salutation to the lord of d ...

'') * ''Badsha'' (1963) * ''Tapashi'' (Bengali -1965) * '' Laadla'' (1966) (Remake of 1960 Bengali film Maya Mriga) * ''

Mere Lal ''Mere Lal'' () is a 1966 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Satyen Bose and produced by Jyotsna Sen. It is a remake of the Bengali film ''Badshah'', based on the story of Nihar Ranjan Gupta. The film stars Dev Kumar, Indrani Mukherjee ...

'' (1966) (Remake of Bengali film Badsha) * ''Nai Roshni'' (1967) ( Remade as ''

Poovum Pottum ''Poovum Pottum'' () is 1968 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Dada Mirasi and produced by Vasu Menon. The film stars S. V. Ranga Rao, A. V. M. Rajan, Muthuraman and Bhanumathi. It is a remake of the 1967 Hindi film '' Nai ...

'' and '' Punyavathi'') * ''

Deiva Magan ''Deiva Magan'' (; ) is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchander. An adaptation of the Bengali novel '' Ulka'' by Nihar Ranjan Gupta, it stars Sivaji Ganesan in three roles and Jayalalithaa, with ...

'' (1969) Remade as ''Thaayi Mamathe''(Kannada) and ''Raktha Sambandham''(Telugu)- ''Ulka'' * ''

Devara Kannu ''Devara Kannu'' () is a 1975 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Y. R. Swamy. The film stars Lokesh, Aarathi, Anant Nag and Ambarish, who were relative newcomers, in supporting roles. The film has musical score by T. G. Lingappa. The fil ...

'' (1975) Remade_as_''Annan_Oru_Koyil''_,_''Ellaam_Ninakku_Vendi.html" ;"title="Annan_Oru_Koyil.html" ;"title="Remade as ''Annan Oru Koyil">Remade as ''Annan Oru Koyil'' , ''Ellaam Ninakku Vendi">Annan_Oru_Koyil.html" ;"title="Remade as ''Annan Oru Koyil">Remade as ''Annan Oru Koyil'' , ''Ellaam Ninakku Vendi'' and ''Bangaru Chellelu''(Telugu)] * ''Do Anjaane'' (1976) ( Remade as ''Maavari Manchitanam'' and ''Aaseya Bale'')– ''Ratrir Yatri'' * ''Kalankini Kankabati'' (1981) * ''Lalu Bhulu'' (1983) * ''Kiriti O Kalo Bhromor'' (2016)http://ebela.in/entertainment/kiriti-o-kalo-bhromor-trailer-released-dgtl-1.457785 * '' Kiriti Roy (2016 film), Kiriti Roy'' (2016) * ''

Ebong Kiriti ''Ebong Kiriti'' is a Bengali thriller drama film directed by Anirban Paria and produced by Babulal Sahoo. This film is based on a Kiriti Roy's story ''Ratibilaap'' by Bengali novelist Nihar Ranjan Gupta. It was released on 31 March 2017 in the ...

'' (2017) * ''

Nilacholey Kiriti ''Nilacholey Kiriti'' is a Bengali, thriller drama film directed by Anindya Bikas Datta and produced by Rupa Datta. The film version is based on ''Basanta Rajani'', the story of Kiriti Roy by Nihar Ranjan Gupta. This film was released on 9 Februar ...

'' (2018)

References

External links