January 8
I'll take Newton with me. Moving around my laboratory and whimpering for last few days. Must have guessed it is time for my departure.
January 12
Newton resisted a little while wearing the helmet. Now he seems content, just licking the helmet's glass from time to time.
These parts were taken from Professor Shonku's diary, before his departure from earth to a planet that… well, that would be a spoiler.
Feeling a bit confused, are we?
Not to worry. Sir Issac Newton, the esteemed scientist, has nothing to do with this.
Professor Shonku is a character from a book, a fictional character. And the creator of this all-rounder scientist is Satyajit Ray. Professor Shonku calls himself an 'inventor', by the way. (There is a subtle difference between the words 'scientist' and 'inventor', mind you. The professor mostly ends up inventing a variety of things even when he starts only research works.)
The eccentric professor is always busy inventing wonderful things. Among his inventions so far are the Miracurall (Miracle Cure for All Ailments, except common cold!), the Linguagraph (translates any human language to another, even of animals, plants, and viruses!), the Snuff Gun (causes snuffing for 33 hours), the Neo-Spectroscope (to communicate with ghosts) etcetera etcetera.
Professor Shonku has seen a splendid contraption from the past that records history. He has also coached a crow to write prime numbers in leisure, recreated evolution inside a laboratory, modified and reanimated Dr. Frankenstein's research formula, got in his possession the history of the last 65,000 years of earth, revealed the existence of a pirate that has lived for centuries, and I am not going to spoil your fun any farther.
Satyajit Ray was a real wizard of storytelling. What he wrote are fun to read and they are easy. He created Professor Shonku based on two famous characters of adventure fiction. Professor Challenger and Hesoram Hushiar are respectively the creations of Arthur Conan Doyle and Sukumar Ray (Satyajit Ray's father), two giants in literature themselves.
Even not mentioning the fact how Satyajit Ray's writing is attractive in its own way, his Shonku stories gained much popularity beside his Feluda stories among Bengali readers. That is because of the themes mixed in the stories. People are generally interested in mysteries as an obvious fact; Professor Shonku can give you that in every story. Science fiction is certainly interesting; and his whole life is centered around science. Adventure? He'll teach you indoor adventure! And that along with the outdoor ones. All that is left now is some humor. Shonku's neighbor, Abinash Majumdar, is more concerned about his radish garden than a rocket firing from Shonku's backyard, he is often there to amuse you.
So, be ready to dive into the astounding world the professor creates on the surface of this very familiar planet of ours.
Happy reading!