Do you recall the spine-tingling story about the conceited guy who turned into a snake? At the South City outlet of Starmark, Khagam, one of Satyajit Ray‘s most stirring short stories, was released as a graphic novel. The renowned advertising firm Grinning Tree, led by its creator Shamik Chatterjee and art director/illustrator Subhabrata Bose, has dared to attempt to adapt Ray’s short story into a graphic novel. The graphic novel is the first release by Single Shot, an initiative by Shamik, Antara Choudhury, Subhamay Basu, and Prasenjit Ghosh, co-founders of TOT Radio (a platform devoted to the theatre), and founders of Grinning Tree LLP.

Sandip Ray, the experienced director and only son of Ray, as well as other notable directors like Kamaleswar Mukherjee and Rangan Chakravarti, attended the star-studded evening’s packed house event. “Khagam is one of my father’s best stories”, Sandip Ray said while launching his father’s work in a brand-new format. “I was so happy when Shamik suggested making it into a graphic novel. I had faith in his ability to keep my father’s artistic vision and thought process while giving it a completely fresh viewpoint. I strongly hope that this graphic novel will introduce readers of the next generation to my father’s other works” said Ray.

Kamaleswar Mukherjee said, “I have always liked the work of Shamik, Antara, and their crew at Grinning Tree. I’m glad to see Ray’s stories take yet another uncharted route. I, therefore, had a good feeling that they would do a great job of turning Ray’s story into a graphic novel. The original work was created by none other than the renowned author and director Satyajit Ray, thus the task was indeed challenging. But Grinning Tree and the recently established publishing business Single Shot have done a fantastic job of delivering that. I hope a lot of people read their dream project.

Rangan Chakravarti, who was pleased with the effort, remarked that “Khagam is one of Ray’s unforgettable masterpieces. Shamik and his team deserve all the credit for accurately capturing the meanders and mysteries of the story in the graphics while also evoking the same odd thrills and striking moments. Thus, reading the graphics rather than the words will be a completely unique experience”.

Shamik, pleased with his achievements, said, “I had long been creating graphics for other people. In addition, I’ve always wanted to build something that I can claim as my own. Thus, the idea to create a graphic novel based on Khagam emerged. When it comes to English or other foreign languages, graphic novels are a trend. However, it is still a less-used format in Bengali. Bengali literature is filled with amazing tales. However, due to a declining reading habit among the younger generation, they are still unread. Therefore, Khagam, a Bengali graphic novel, aims to close that gap as well”.

Grab your copy now!!

Priyanka Dutta