Charbak Dipta Adapts Sukumar Ray's Heshoram Hoshiyarer Diary into Graphic Novel Heshoram Hoshiyaar
The English version of Heshoram Hoshiyaar, a graphic novel by Charbak Dipta, has been launched by HarperCollins Publishers India. This adaptation is based on Sukumar Ray's classic Bengali tale, Heshoram Hoshiyarer Diary, which tells the story of the eccentric Professor Hoshiyaar and his nephew Chandrakhai as they document strange creatures. Dipta has transformed the original narrative into a vibrant comic, featuring engaging layouts and vivid colors, with hidden references to Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (1942) and Satyajit Ray's Nayak (1966). A former cartoonist and illustrator, Dipta first gained recognition with The World of Lublu, nominated for awards in 2026. He champions the creation of original Indian characters and enhanced support for the comics industry, currently working on World of Lublu 2 and a Mahabharata adaptation.
Key facts
- HarperCollins Publishers India published the English edition of Charbak Dipta's Heshoram Hoshiyaar, an adaptation of Sukumar Ray's Heshoram Hoshiyarer Diary
- Sukumar Ray's original story is roughly 100 years old and only four or five pages long with a few illustrations
- The narrative follows Professor Hoshiyaar, his nephew Chandrakhai and their crew documenting creatures including the Pookiesaurus and Hungrytherium
- Dipta worked as cartoonist, art director, freelance illustrator and comic artist for Penguin, HarperCollins, Oxford University Press and Macmillan before shifting to full-length graphic novels in 2020
- The World of Lublu and Lublur Prithibi were nominated for Best Digital Comic at the 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and for Digital Book of the Year at the Harvey Awards
- Dipta references Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (1942) and Satyajit Ray's Nayak (1966) among Easter eggs in his comics
- He is working on World of Lublu 2, a commercial revival of Indian Aliens, Ramayana motion comics and a planned Mahabharata adaptation
- Dipta calls for government funding or a national comics award and more risk-taking by publishers to grow India's fragmented comics industry
Entities
Artists
- Charbak Dipta
- Sukumar Ray
- Satyajit Ray
- Edward Hopper
- Katsuhiro Otomo
- Osamu Tezuka
- Abanindranath Tagore
- Nandalal Bose
- Mario Miranda
- Srishti Ojha
- Rahul Kumar
- Kader Attia
- Vandana Kalra
- Jennifer Guidi
- Sarnath Banerjee
- William Shakespeare
Institutions
- HarperCollins Publishers India
- Penguin
- Oxford University Press
- Macmillan
- Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
- Harvey Awards
- STIR
- Ashoka University
- Gagosian Paris
- MMCA
- Emami Art Experimental Film Festival
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale
- YouTube
- World of Lublu
- Amar Chitra Katha
Locations
- India
- Kolkata
- Paris
- France
- Korea
- Bengal
- Japan
- Sarnath