Narayan Debnath’s lesser-known creations

In an earlier interview with Narayan Debnath, we had asked him about his favourite creations. “I cannot choose a favourite among my children. But I love drawing Bantul the Great and Potolchand The Magician.”
When asked about the latter, the then 92-year old artist calmly stood up from his study table at his Howrah home to get a stack of drawing sheets. He pulled out a few drawings of Potolchand. “You see, Potolchand is a magician and he can do wonders with his powers.He often solves problems and is also very naughty,” he had told us with a smile.
The late artist had created Potolchand in 1969 and several other characters before and after the magician but they never became as popular as Nonte Phonte and Handa Bhonda. Comics researcher Shantanu Ghosh told us, “Bantul the great is an important character because he is the first Indian superhero to appear in comics. The artist has tried to portray our country through the character. But even if we keep the political and social angles aside, it was immensely popular among children. He had created many other characters, which were great creations, but were not that popular.”
Here are a few of his lesser-known creations:
SHUTKI MUTKI

The characters of these two naughty girls creating mischief first came out in 1964
DANPITE KHADU

This mischievous boy first appeared in print in 1983
BAHADUR BERAL

The courageous cat that can do wonders was first published in 1982
POTOLCHAND THE MAGICIAN

The magician boy who helps people was seen doing that in 1969
KOUSHIK ROY
A secret agent working for the Indian government, his first story was published in 1975