Publishers like Manoj, Tulsi, and Diamond Comics were once recognized in every household. One of these was ‘Manoj Comics’, which gave us many fun and memorable characters. One of these is – Hawaldar Bahadur. Hawaldar Bahadur, known for his unique antics, wit, and witty style, was one of the most popular characters of that period.
Today we are going to do a detailed review of one of his fantastic anecdotes – “Hawaldar Bahadur and Jaljeevada”. This story is a wonderful combination of laughter, mystery, and adventure. This is not just an entertaining comic but also a great example of the art and drawing of direct but effective storytelling of that period.
Mysterious islets and fake ghosts
The story begins with “Tato”, a small island between the Dandomar and Paralopar Islands. The people here earn their living by fishing and taking out pearls from the sea. The self-proclaimed protector of this island is Sho Lombu, who is actually a timid, greedy, and extremely lazy policeman. He forcibly collects taxes from the islanders in the name of security.
At the very beginning of the story, the islanders, fed up with his coercion, refuse to give him a week’s tax. Angry, Lombu threatens not to help them if any further trouble comes — and leaves from there.
But something strange happens that very night. An old, huge ship appears at sea surrounded by flames. Some people are seen dancing on it as if they are walking on water. Hoodoo, a drunken resident of the island, gets scared after seeing this scary sight and spreads news throughout the island that “ghosts have come into the sea.”
When all the islanders reach the seashore, their eyes remain wide open. Everyone gets goosebumps after seeing fire and dancing ghosts on the water.
Now they remember their police station officer, Lombu. They wake him up from his sleep and bring him to help. The police officer, who always used to talk big, now starts trembling after seeing this ghostly sight. He makes a ridiculous attempt to walk on the water and drowns with a thud. Somehow, when he reaches the ship with a boat, a shining ball is thrown from the ship onto his boat. Lombu runs back out of fear.
Now this mysterious ship and the “ghosts on it” — that the islanders name “Aquaticjaw” — spread panic on the islet. They threaten Kakota, the head of the islet, that if they do not hand over all the pearls and valuables, they will destroy the entire islet.
Entry of Hawaldar Bahadur
This is where the real hero enters the story — Hawaldar Bahadur. The Commissioner sends him to investigate this mysterious matter.
Hawaldar Bahadur lands on the island by parachute and first meets Thanedar Lombu. Lombu is unable to recognize him and, thinking he is a common man, starts dominating him. The result is that a fun fight takes place between the two.
After a while, when Hawaldar Bahadur reveals his identity, Lombu loses his senses. Bahadur then cleverly starts saying “Guruji” to please him so that he can easily get information from him.
The mystery of aquatic life
Now Hawaldar Bahadur starts playing his sharp-minded tricks. He quickly suspects that these are not real ghosts, but that someone has pretended to create fear using science. He plans to deal with the aquatic life by taking Lombu and the islanders along.
Gradually he comes to know that all this is part of a bigger conspiracy. Jaljeevada and his associates are actually dacoits working for Dharampeta, a dangerous criminal. They were pretending to be ghosts with the help of holographic projectors and other scientific machines so that they could scare the islanders, loot their treasure, and hide the smuggled goods in the ship.
Explosive climax
The climax of the story comes when Hawaldar Bahadur makes a sensible plan. He reaches Dharampeta’s hideout in disguise. There is a vigorous and exciting fight in which Bahadur finally captures Dharampeta and his companions.
Then he, along with the islanders, attacks Jaljeevada’s ship. With his cunning and intelligence, he breaks their “ghost magic” and brings the truth in front of everyone — that all these are not ghosts, but humans who were cheating.
At last, Hawaldar Bahadur catches all the criminals, and peace returns to the island.
Eligible analysis
Hawaldar Bahadur: The hero of the story, Hawaldar Bahadur, is a common police sergeant in appearance, but his thinking and way of working are completely different. He is not very strong, but his greatest strength is his sharp mind, his habit of looking at things carefully, and his funny nature. He does not panic even in difficult situations but finds solutions with laughter and understanding. In this story too, he challenges superstition with reason and science and shows that the real strength lies in the mind and knowledge, not in fear.
Sho Lombu: Lombu is the funniest character in this comic. He is the exact opposite of Hawaldar Bahadur — while Bahadur is intelligent and brave, Lombu is a foolish, timid, greedy, and slightly clever kind of person. Seeing his boastfulness and his embarrassment in times of trouble makes one laugh. His dialogues and “growls” had become his identity. He is the biggest source of laughter in the story. Although sometimes unknowingly, in the end, he also helps Bahadur.
Jaljeevada and Dharampeta: Both of them are the real villains of this story. At first, the aquatic creature seems very mysterious, like the ghost of the ocean. But later the real mastermind comes out — Dharampeta — who commits his crimes by misusing science and technology. This character was very forward and modern at that time because it shows that even criminals are no longer playing tricks in the old ways but in new, scientific ways.
Art and portraiture
This comic has been illustrated by Bedi ji — who was one of the well-known artists of Manoj Comics. The specialty of his drawings is simplicity, clean lines, and the art of showing emotions well.
The facial expressions of the characters are very effective, especially the fearful and nervous expressions of Lombu are so funny that the story seems even more lively.
Action scenes are also very well done — they have both movement and enthusiasm.
The use of colors is tremendous. Especially in night scenes, the use of blue and black shades does wonders in creating an atmosphere of mystery and fear.
Overall, Bedi ji’s art takes the mood and flow of the story forward very well.
Themes and social messages
“Hawaldar Bahadur and Jaljeevada” is not just a fun comic, but it also has some good messages hidden in it. Its main theme is science vs. superstition.
The story beautifully shows how the ghost ship of the aquatic creature is actually a technological trick. This teaches us that knowledge and logic are necessary to eliminate fear and superstition.
Through Thanedar Lombu, the story humorously attacks even small corruption in the government system.
The character of Hawaldar Bahadur teaches that real strength lies not in muscles, but in mind and courage. He defeats criminals without any superpower, just with his wisdom and presence of mind.
Conclusion
Overall, “Hawaldar Bahadur & Jaljeevada” is a classic offering from Manoj Comics, which still looks just as fun and relevant today.
Writer Ansar Akhtar’s tight script and Bedi ji’s lively artwork make this comic memorable.
This story reminds us of that golden period when comic stories were simple but had a great balance of entertainment and message.
This is special not only for the fans of Hawaldar Bahadur but for all those who want to understand and feel the heritage of Indian comics.
It is such a comic cocktail of laughter, mystery, and thrill, the taste of which is still fresh in the hearts of readers.
