The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers is one of the famous Indian graphic novels published and distributed by Penguin Books in January 2007. The novel was written and illustrated by graphic artist Sarnath Banerjee and the cover art was done by Chandan Crasta. The 280 page graphic novel is the second work of author Sarnath Banerjee, after the widely acclaimed Corridor, which is considered as the first graphic novel in India. The title of The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers was inspired from the name of a 19th century Bengali novel titled Hutum Pyanchar Noksha, written by Kaliprasanna Singha.
Concept of The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers
The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers is a reinvention of the legend of Abravanel Ben Obadiah Ben Aharon Kabariti, a Jewish merchant, also known as The Wandering Jew. Abravanel Ben Obadiah Ben Aharon Kabariti lived in Calcutta (now Kolkata) during the 18th century and recorded the scandalous and disgraceful affairs of the British administrators in a book titled "The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers". The graphic novel has several interesting sub-plots, but the main story revolves around the central character`s search to locate the book which Pablo Chatterjee, his grandfather, discovered in an old Jewish trinket shop in Montmartre, Paris, during the 1950s. The narrator`s grandmother gave away the book named "The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers" and his grandfather`s other belongings after his death. Throughout the novel, the narrator attempts to recover the book as it was amongst his childhood favorites.
Characters of The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers
Narrator
The narrator is a 30 year old man who resided in Hackney, London during the time period of his grandfather`s death.
Pablo Chatterjee
Pablo is the deceased grandfather of the narrator and appears as a spirit at intervals, motivating him to rediscover the book. He was an employee of the Indian Railways for 35 years and had found "The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers" in Paris. It occurred while he attended an international conference on broad gauge railways.
Digital Dutta
This is a character from the graphic novel Corridor, which was the author`s first work. Digital Dutta is a computer engineer who lives in Kolkata. He becomes a friend of the narrator and helps him in the process of locating the book.
Kedar Babu
He is a clerk who works in the Writers` Building, Kolkata. Kedar Babu is an amateur occultist and helps the narrator by making a psychic map for him to follow in order to find the book.
Mandar Dey
He is an aristocratic Bengali who is having an extra marital affair and thus cheating on his wife. He is amongst the suspects who might have located the book. In his residence, Mandar Dey entertained the narrator about the history of Babu-dom in the Dey family.
The Wandering Jew
He takes several appearances in the graphic novel, from being a mystic in the 15th century, a French lord in the 16th to being the Jewish merchant Abravanel in 18th century Kolkata. Abravanel supplies the British and Indian elite of Kolkata, with various goods like aphrodisiacs, corsets and even zebras. His experiences and connections provide Abravanel him materials for his book.
