Holmes is where the Heart is

Sherlock Holmes’ adventures take him all across the world,from France to Switzerland and Tibet. But what about his Indian connection? The Sherlock Holmes Society of India (SHSI) is dedicated to finding about and discussing the connection that Sherlock Holmes and author Doyle shared with our country.

Sumal Surendranath,who founded the group on Yahoo! Groups in 2001,says it is one of the only groups in Asia that interacts almost on a daily basis. A hardcore Sherlock Holmes fan,Surendranath hails from Kerala and is with the Indian Coast Guard. “I was 12 years old,when I first read a Sherlock Holmes story. Since then,I have been in love with the character and his world,” he says. Holmes’ personal life,whatever little Doyle wrote about it,has been the centre of many discussions and arguments on the group. His habits of keeping cigars in the coal-scuttle,tobacco in the toe end of a Persian slipper and his fixing unanswered correspondence by a jack-knife into the centre of his mantelpiece,have also intrigued the members. The society,which also has a Facebook page,now has close to 200 members from Mumbai,Delhi,Kolkata,Pune and Goa. And it is a motley mix — with a particle physicist,lawyers,Indian Coast Guards and even published authors such as Tim Symonds,Partha Basu and Pinaki Roy.

About the detective’s Indian connection,Surendranath says,“In the short story The Speckled Band,the villian has served time in India and has brought a shipment of wild animals with him to England.” Even the novel The Sign of the Four has complex plot involving service in East India Company,the 1857 Uprising,a stolen treasure and a secret pact among four convicts and two corrupt prison guards at a prison in Andaman islands.

The society,in its 12th year now,has decided to come out with their first ever e-magazine. Jayantika Ganguly,a Kolkata-based lawyer who is a part of the editorial team of the magazine,says,“We will be compiling various submissions,stories,essays,art,photographs and poetry related to Holmes for the inaugural issue. It will be shared with all our members including affiliated groups around the world,like the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and the Baker Street Irregulars group from the US.”

Surprisingly,none of the members have met each other officially. “We all come from different cities,so it has been very difficult to meet up even though we interact on a regular basis,” says Satyajit Gupta,a Delhi-based lawyer,also on the editorial team of the e-magazine.

The society will complete a full circle when they will throw a party for the members of Sherlock Holmes Society of London,who are coming to India early next month. “We are really looking forward to picking each others’ brains about our favourite character,” says 28-year-old Ganguly. But right now,all of them have set their eyes upon their maiden e-magazine issue. “We are accepting entries till mid-May,” he says.