Tenida

Tenida(টেনিদা)
Tenida character
Tenida as depicted on the cover of the comprehensive collection "Tenida Samagra".
Created by	Narayan Gangopadhyay
Portrayed by	Chinmoy Roy Subhasish Mukhopadhyay
Real name	Bhajahari Mukherjee
Residence	Pataldanga, Kolkata
Height	6 feet 2 inches
Friends	Pyalaram(Kamalesh Banerjee) Kyabla(Kushal Mitra) Habul(Swarnendu Sen)
Information
Nickname(s)	Teni (টেনি), Bhaja(ভজা)
Gender	Male
Title	Mukhujje/Mukherjee(Mukhopadhyay)
Religion	Hinduism
Nationality	Indian

Tenida (Bengali টেনিদা) or Teni (see Tenida for da) is a fictional native of Potoldanga in Calcutta, who appears in a number of short stories and larger works of the Bengali author Narayan Gangopadhyay. The leader of a group of four young boys who lived in the neighbourhood of Potoldanga, Tenida was depicted as the local big-mouthed airhead, who, although not blessed with academic capabilities, was admired and respected by the other three for his presence of mind, courage, and honesty as well as his vociferous appetite. Descriptions of Tenida's nose also make frequent appearances in the text, being described as "a large nose resembling Mount Mainak". The narrator of the stories is Pyalaram, who seemed to share his leader's frailty in academic exertions. The other two characters who formed an integral part of the quartet were Habul Sen, who speaks with strong East Bengali accent (Dhakai) and Kyabla, the cleverest among the four.

The stories of Tenida are primarily of two types: (i) Tenida narrates fabricated stories of his so-called heroism (ii)Tenida & Pyala or all the four are involved in hilarious adventures where the gang goes through interesting situations but solves the mystery at the end. The short stories were extensively based in Calcutta and its suburbs, but the Charmurti traveled to Hajaribag, Duars, Darjeeling where their pleasure trip turned into a series of mysterious incidents.

March 1946 Narayan Gangopadhyay, shifted to a rented house at Potoldanga, Kolkata where his Landlord was Shri Probhat Mukherjee (on whom Tenida is based). Narayan Gangopadyay had a good relation with his landlord, to the extent where the two families were almost family friends. When Bishu Mukherjee approached him for stories for 'Mouchak". Tenida was created initially to mock his landlord in two stories "Matsya puran " & "Khattango O Pallanno". Other two characters Kybla & Habul were added subsequently and profile of Tenida was also changed.

The suffix da used after his actual nickname, 'da' is short for dada (elder brother) which is used to initiate conversations with an elderly male stranger in colloquial Bengali. The shorthand, used after a person's name, is a mark of respect and acknowledgment of seniority. He is the leader of the gang and sometimes the neighborhood bully. Tenida's real name is Bhojohori Mukherji (Bengali: ভজহরি মুখার্জী). He is an indigent Bengali Brahmin.