Jatadhar Bakshi Samogro [Exploits of the Facetious Conman]

by Rajshekhar Basu

Jatadharer Bakshi Samagra is a comic anthology (trilogy) based on a facetious cheat, penned by the legendary humorist—Rajshekhar Basu alias Parashuram, whom he constructed as one who used to get people under his spell with his gift of the gab. Spontaneity and imagination were such a natural disposition of this cheat that the gullible fell for his sleight repeatedly and almost happily and voluntarily till they realized it again.

One of the leading lights among the Bengal intellectuals of that era, Rajshekhar Basu alias Parashuram, served us well with his characteristic humor-coated sarcasm that made fun of the irrationality and deep superstitions that were plaguing the society and its people. Yet his writings ring as foresight even in this age of information overflow.

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Please This audiobook is in Bengali.

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Published January 24, 2024

About the author

Rajshekhar Basu (Bengali: রাজশেখর বসু), better known by the pen name Parashuram (পরশুরাম) (March 16, 1880 – April 27, 1960) was a Bengali writer, chemist and lexicographer. He was chiefly known for his comic and satirical short stories, and is considered the greatest Bengali humorist of the twentieth century. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956.Basu began his writing career in the 1920s. He adopted the pen name of Parashuram while writing humorous pieces for a monthly magazine. The name was not, apparently, an homage to the Parashurama of mythology. In fact, Basu simply borrowed the surname of someone at hand, the family goldsmith, Tarachand Parashuram. His first book of stories, Gaddalika, was published in 1924 and drew praise from such personalities as Rabindranath Tagore.

In 1937, when he published Chalantika, a monolingual Bengali dictionary, Rabindranath commented:

"At long last, we have a dictionary for Bengali. The concise grammar for Bengali that you have included in the appendix is also wonderful."

Chalantika also included Basu's first efforts to reform and rationalize Bengali orthography. A few years before its publication, in 1935, Calcutta University formed a committee, chaired by him, to formulate a set of guidelines governing the spelling of Bengali words. The recommendations of this committee were broadly accepted, and Chalantika is still in use today.