The character of Sherlock Holmes dates back to 1887. Since then, the fictional detective has been resurrected many a times by authors who have woven stories of mystery and murder.
Joining this select list of crime novels based on Sherlock Holmes's adventures is a new book, ‘The Adventure of Black Drop', which was launched here on Saturday.
The Hindu Editor-in-Chief N. Ram released the book and handed over the first copy to industrialist Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty.
Penned under the pseudonym ‘Radkris' by R. Praveen Kumar, son of IPS officer T. Radhakrishnan, the novel is set in London. The entire novel is written in Victorian English in an effort to match the writing style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the original creator of the Sherlock Holmes series.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Ram said that there was something “imperishable” about Sherlock Holmes. “Not only crime writers, but even logicians and philosophers have been interested in Holmes.”
While Holmes is a very flawed character as a man, he is seen to be a patriot and it adds a strange kind of aura to the man, Mr. Ram observed.
Terming the author an “improbable novelist,” Mr. Ram said that it takes a lot of courage to take a well known story and adapting it by investing one's own imagination, hopes and fancies. “Perhaps, he was inspired by his father who is a police officer. He could not escape his environment and its influences.”
He also had a word of praise for India's investigating agencies, which he felt were second to none. “The media does critique due to our concerns with regard to the methods that are adopted sometimes. But, the speed with which investigating agencies zoned in on the truth in a case like the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, for example, was exemplary.”
Mr. Kuppusamy Chetty said that though Arthur Conan Doyle was trained in medicine and did not study literature, he still created literature. Praising Mr. Praveen Kumar's interest in literature, despite his engineering background, Mr. Chetty said: “Many of our theatre artists studied something, but found their way to the stage. One should always follow their interests.” A.S. Ilangaovan, regional secretary, Sahitya Akademi (Bangalore), and former BAPASI president Gandhi Kannadhasan spoke.
