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Four Heroes and the Haunted House
by Narayan Gangopadhyay
Age Range: 9-11
Teni the Terrible, Pyalaram the Puny, Habul the Hungry and Kyabla the Clever having finished their exams are wondering what to do in the summer holidays. Kyabla’s Uncle suggests that they take a trip to a remote bungalow near Ranchi in the Jhanto Hills. The only problem though, is that the house is said to be haunted but this doesn’t deter our intrepid heroes who set out on a very weird adventure.
The four heroes are plunged into an absurd adventure in which they meet a ferocious Chinese bandit called Ghachang Fu, a Sadhu with a sweet tooth and several ghosts who have a habit of cackling during the night.
Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918-1970) was a well-known Bengali writer and his books are regarded as Bengali classics. His books parody the Bengali mystery novel, making fun of their blood-curdling descriptions, strange characters and improbable plots. This novel certainly has plenty of these ingredients with completely absurd situations that are truly comical as the unlikely heroes try to work out what is going on.
Two of Gangopadhyay’s novels – Four Heroes and the Haunted House and Four Heroes and a Green Beard – have been translated into English by Swati Bhattacharji and published by Tara Publishing giving UK children an opportunity to read these Bengali classics in English for the first time.