The front of an old Kolkata house: wooden louvred shutters, cast-iron balconies, Corinthian columns and washing on the balconies — An old Kolkata house. Taranath's own is on Mott Lane, in the middle of the city

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Taranath Tantrik stories: where to start, and who wrote which

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay wrote only two Taranath stories; his son and grandsons wrote the rest of the books. Here is which audio story comes from whom, and the order we would play them in.

Eshita GhoshPublished 1 Oct 2026Updated 8 Oct 2026

In short

Created by: Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, who wrote two stories
Continued by: Taradas Bandyopadhyay: Taranath Tantrik (1985), Alatchakra (2003)
Lives at: Mott Lane, central Kolkata
Here: 56 recordings, September 2026

Start with the two stories Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay wrote himself: Taranath Tantrik-er Golpo, Taranath's first appearance, then Madhusundari Debi'r Abirbhab. Both are on Mirchi Bangla's Sunday Suspense, about an hour each.
Every Taranath book after those two comes from his family. His son Taradas Bandyopadhyay wrote the Taranath books, and Taradas's sons, Tathagata and Trinankur, have written new stories since.
For Taradas, begin with Betaal, 54 minutes. Keep Pasang Mara, which runs 2 hours 42 minutes, for a long night.
Our Taranath Tantrik page holds 56 recordings. A little under half are by Bibhutibhushan or Taradas; most of the rest are new stories by other writers.

In this post (6)

Who wrote Taranath Tantrik?
Start with Bibhutibhushan's two stories
Then Taradas: the Taranath of Sunday Suspense
On Goppo Mir-er Thek: Taradas, then Tathagata
Kolkataye Taranath, the grandson's story
Who wrote the rest?

Taranath is no hero when we meet him. He is an ageing astrologer in a house on Mott Lane in central Kolkata, with a wife and children and not much money, paying the bills by reading palms and drawing up horoscopes. When the friends come, his daughter Chari brings the tea and muri. Wikipedia's page on him says he lost most of his powers by misusing tantra. What he kept is the stories. Two young men come round, the narrator and his friend Kishori, and over tea and cigarettes he tells them where he has been.

Whoever holds the pen, that room is the frame. Kishori is in the cast of all six Taranath stories on Mir Afsar Ali's channel, down to the one released in July 2026, and in Mirchi Bangla's Betaal, Brojobhushan-er Biswasprapti and Debdarshan.

Who wrote Taranath Tantrik?

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (1894 to 1950), the author of Pather Panchali, created Taranath, and wrote only two stories about him: Taranath Tantrik-er Golpo and Madhusundari Debi'r Abirbhab. Mirchi Bangla bills the second as Taranath Tantrik-er Dwitiyo Golpo, the second story.

His son Taradas Bandyopadhyay (1947 to 2010) brought the character back. Wikipedia's page on Taradas names two books, Taranath Tantrik (1985) and Alatchakra (2003); the Taranath page lists more titles, ending with Abar Taranath. Most of the Taranath that Sunday Suspense listeners know is his: of the Sunday Suspense episodes we carry, all but three name Taradas as the writer.

The family has not stopped. Wikipedia names Taradas's elder son, Tathagata Bandyopadhyay, as the one carrying Taranath on, and his younger son, Trinankur Bandyopadhyay, as the writer of one story as well.

Who wrote which Taranath, and what we carry
Writer	Taranath stories	Here
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay	Taranath Tantrik-er Golpo; Madhusundari Debi'r Abirbhab	Both, on Mirchi Bangla and on Akashvani Kolkata
Taradas Bandyopadhyay	Taranath Tantrik (1985), Alatchakra (2003), Abar Taranath and more	Most of the Sunday Suspense run, three on Goppo Mir-er Thek, three on HorrorScope
Tathagata Bandyopadhyay	Bhondo Taranath, Rudradeb Taranath, Dashachakre Taranath, Taranather Bramhastra	Those three, on Goppo Mir-er Thek
Trinankur Bandyopadhyay	Kolkataye Taranath	On Sunday Suspense, 2025
Other writers	New stories, not in the family's books; several are Karna Shil's pastiches	HorrorScope, SANKET Audio Story, BIVA Cafe and a few more

Start with Bibhutibhushan's two stories

Play them in the order he wrote them. The first tells how Taranath came to tantra at all. The second matters later: Madhusundari Debi comes back in Taradas's Brojobhushan-er Biswasprapti, so don't skip her.

1:12:02

Taranath Tantrik-er Golpo (Paagli)

Mirchi Bangla

Mirchi Bangla titles it Paagli, after Matu Pagli, the madwoman the young Taranath meets, along with a sadhu, while he goes looking for hidden powers. She is not what she seems; Bengali Wikipedia places his sadhana with her at a cremation ground in Birbhum. 72 minutes, on Sunday Suspense Classics, February 2026.

▶ Play here Watch on YouTube · Mirchi Bangla

55:34

Madhusundari Debi'r Abirbhab

Mirchi Bangla

Told on a wet evening in Mott Lane. A yogi gives the young Taranath a mantra to call Madhusundari Debi, a being from outside the human world, and what follows happens in a sal forest by the Barakar river. 55 minutes, January 2026.

▶ Play here Watch on YouTube · Mirchi Bangla

A YouTube channel called Akashvani Kolkata has both as well: the first story, 58 minutes, and Madhusundari, 51 minutes.

Then Taradas: the Taranath of Sunday Suspense

Of the channels we carry, Mirchi Bangla has recorded the most Taradas stories. We would play these first, and after the first pick they run from shortest to longest.