Ganesh-Vasanth

Ganesh - Vasanth are the fictional lawyer cum detective duo appearing in Tamil crime thriller novels written by Sujatha from 1970s. Lawyer Ganesh is a senior advocate who is mainly accompanied by his witty and mischievous young junior assistant lawyer Vasanth. The duo featured in many of the detective crime thriller novels of writer Sujatha.

Duo pair

Ganesh is a level-headed, senior advocate while Vasanth is his flirtatious junior advocate. The Ganesh-Vasanth pair were similar to James Hadley Chase's characters, Vic Malloy and his sidekick. Ganesh was initially assisted by a female assistant Niraja, but later on he was paired with Vasanth. The exact ages of Ganesh and Vasanth were not mentioned by the author and they remain immortal in the minds of the readers. The ages of the duo are assumed to be in between late twenties and early thirties with Vasanth being few years younger than Ganesh. The marital status of the duo was also not mentioned in any of the novels. According to the last few interviews of the author in the early 2000s, Vasanth is still an eligible bachelor searching for a suitable bride for himself.

Ganesh is portrayed as a serious person while Vasanth is a jolly, social, yet an intelligent guy who lives as right-hand man to his boss Ganesh. Vasanth loves to flirt with women, trying to impress them, and he cracks adult jokes especially the famous mysterious and untold adult joke 'Mexico Salavaikkaari' (Mexican washerwoman), much against the likes of his senior. He is also shown as a brave guy who involves himself in dangerous stunts on his boss' instructions.

The novels were made into films and television shows where the character Ganesh is enacted by well known actors Rajnikanth in Priya (1978 film), Jaishankar in Gaayathri etc. A television series of the duo was broadcast where Ganesh and Vasanth were enacted by actors Suresh and Vijay Athiraj respectively.

Works

The duo appeared as solo and together in more than 25 novels many of which listed below:

Novels
1. Nylon Kayiru (Nylon Rope) - Ganesh in solo
2. Gayathri - a thriller based on a married woman Gayathri who is abused by her in-laws - made into a film as 'Gayathri' with Jaishankar portraying the character of Ganesh
3. Priya - a thriller based on a film actress Priya's life - made into a film as 'Priya' with Rajnikanth portraying the character of Ganesh
4. Kolaiyuthir Kalam (Autumn of Murders)- a science fiction thriller based on 3D Holography
5. Aah (Aah - a way of screaming) - a science fiction thriller based on Auditory Hallucination
6. Pesum Bommaigal (Talking toys) - a science fiction thriller based on downloading in medical field
7. Ithan Peyarum Kolai (This is also called as 'Murder') - a crime thriller of chasing a serial killer who is in the hunting spree of unfaithful wives
8. Vasanth! Vasanth!
9. Marupadiyum Ganesh (Ganesh Again) - Ganesh in solo
10. Marina
11. Nirvana Nagaram (Nude City)
12. Kolai Arangam (Murder Stage)
13. Iynthavathu Athiyayam (Fifth Chapter)
14. Aayirathil Iruvar (Two in a thousand)
15. Nillungal Rajavae (Please Stop! Raja)
16. Yedhaiyum Orumurai (Anything one time)
17. Odaathe! (Do not run)
18. Maerkae Oru Kutram (A crime at West (Western Country)) - a thriller where a chasing from India to Germany begins with a murder of a young girl.

Short Stories
1. Maya
2. Maelum Oru Kutram (An another crime)
3. Meendum Oru Kutram (Once again a crime)
4. Vidhi (Fate)
5. Oru Vibathin Anatomy (An anatomy of an accident)