Sadashib Series

The Sadashib Pentology is a series of short stories written for children, and set during the rise of Shivaji Bhonsle in Maharashtra. The protagonist Sadashib is a Maratha soldier from the village Dongarhpur.

Characters

 * 1) Sadashib
 * 2) KumKum
 * 3) Shivaji Bhonsle
 * 4) Jijabai
 * 5) Tanaji
 * 6) Jesaji
 * 7) Ratnaji
 * 8) Shahaji Bhonsle
 * 9) Sakharam
 * 10) Biththal Patil

Drafting History
Rajshekhar Basu motivated Sharadindu Bandopadhyay to write about Sivaji through the view of a soldier.

There were four more drafts obtained from Sharadindu Bandopadhyay's notebook. They are —
 * Sadashiber Roktarokti Kando
 * Sadashiber Kelenkari Kando
 * Sadashiber Bidgute Kando, and
 * Sadashiber Mahamari Kando

It is understood that he wanted to script the entire history of Shivaji’s rise through this series, but unfortunately he could not finish them.

Reception
Sadashib gathered immediate fan following soon after it’s release, it reached its peak after the first book was published. After Byomkesh Bakshi, Sadashib became the most talked about character created by Saradindu Bandopadhyay. Soon it became a landmark in Bengali young-adult literature. In 1960, “Sadashiber Tin Kando” won a prestigious prize from Indian Government.

Translations
The five Sadashib Stories have been translated into English by Sreejata Gupta in a book called Band of Soldiers: A Year on the Road with Shivaji.

Radio

 * 1) Akashbani
 * 2) Radio Mirchi's Sunday Suspense

Comicbook
In 1979 Sadashib’s graphic novel series started to come out in fortnightly Anandamela edited by Neerendranath Chakraborty. This is the first such colored graphic novel to come out in Bengali literature’s history. It was scripted by eminent film director Tarun Mazumdar and was drawn by exponent graphic artist Bimal Das. The series became as popular as the original.