Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently took it upon himself to reacquaint our country with the mythical character of Jatayu from the Ramayana. He has called Jatayu the first being to fight terrorism. The Quint has already millennial-splained the Jatayu myth for you.
For me, like millions of other Bengalis, Jatayu does not invoke the image of a mythical bird. It, instead, reminds us of a dhoti-clad, bald Bengali writer of bestselling daredevil mystery novels, with a penchant for alliterative titles. Lalmohan Ganguly, aka Jatayu, is one of the most loved Bengali fictional characters. Created by Satyajit Ray, Jatayu is Feluda’s (Ray’s very own Bengali Sherlock – a series he wrote and illustrated) satellite, and was played on screen by the inimitable Santosh Dutta. Ray only made two films out of his Feluda stories. We meet Jatayu for the first time in Sonar Kella (The Fortress).