Nonte Phonte
Encyclopedia
Nonte Phonte also spelled as Nonte Fonte, is a Bangla comic-strip (and later comic book
) creation of Narayan Debnath
which originally was serialized for the children's monthly magazine Kishore Bharati . The stories featuring in the comic strips focusses on the trivial lives of the title characters, Nonte and Phonte, along with a school-senior, Keltuda, and their Hostel Superintendent. The comics have appeared in book form and have been recreated since 2003 in colour. A popular animation series based on the characters has also been filmed.
, India
. The younger characters live in a hostel
of a boarding school
. The teachers of the school are rarely seen but the headmaster is sometimes depicted. The superintendent and the staff of the hostel are often picturized. All of the characters have whimsical nicknames that add to the amusement of the readers.
He is the only student who is said to be in the list of good students of Superintendent and is often insulted by the Superintendent sir.For bullying Nonte and Fonte in front of sir,he often says that Nonte and Fonte do not want sir's good health.He often conspires against them and at last he himself gets caught in sir's hands.
Although ,there are some stories where they all work together which is very rare and can be found in only two or three stories .
, Marathi
, Gujarati
and Punjabi
. He calls Nonte Nantua and Fonte Fantua and calls Babua of his owner The Superintendent.
, and Dhaka
i, and many students like Nepchada, Lengcha, Boncha.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
) creation of Narayan Debnath
Narayan Debnath
Narayan Debnath is the creator of popular Bengali comics including Batul The Great, Handa Bhonda and Nonte Phonte. Having contributed to the early development of Bangla comics and its growth in a career spanning more than fifty years, he is still read in West Bengal, India and Bangladesh...
which originally was serialized for the children's monthly magazine Kishore Bharati . The stories featuring in the comic strips focusses on the trivial lives of the title characters, Nonte and Phonte, along with a school-senior, Keltuda, and their Hostel Superintendent. The comics have appeared in book form and have been recreated since 2003 in colour. A popular animation series based on the characters has also been filmed.
The characters
All the characters belong to an unnamed semi-rural mofussil town in West BengalWest Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The younger characters live in a hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
of a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
. The teachers of the school are rarely seen but the headmaster is sometimes depicted. The superintendent and the staff of the hostel are often picturized. All of the characters have whimsical nicknames that add to the amusement of the readers.
Nonte
Nonte is immediately distinguishable 16 year old boy, wearing orange shirt, from Phonte due to his longer hair and a tuft of hair sticking out from the back of his head. Apart from that, in terms of character development, both characters are similar in appearance and mannerisms.Phonte
Phonte is a 15 year old boy, wearing a blue shirt, shorter crew-cut hair. He is similar to Nonte in physical appearance though neither are related to each other. They seem to think alike as well.Keltuda
Keltuda is a 19 year old tall boy, very greedy, thief, and a liar , a senior bully in Nonte and Phonte's class. He's the only student who wears trousers instead of shorts probably on account of his advanced years. In one comic strip the reader learns that he has failed the class six times and the governing body of the school wants to get rid of him. He is shown variously as having curly hair and a stubby nose and is a bit taller and stronger than Nonte and Phonte. Often he threatens and coaxes them into doing work for him but invariably gets busted. He also rats on the other students to curry favor with the superintendent and is in general quite boastful.He is the only student who is said to be in the list of good students of Superintendent and is often insulted by the Superintendent sir.For bullying Nonte and Fonte in front of sir,he often says that Nonte and Fonte do not want sir's good health.He often conspires against them and at last he himself gets caught in sir's hands.
Although ,there are some stories where they all work together which is very rare and can be found in only two or three stories .
The Superintendent
The 50 year old hostel superintendent is an obese balding man who loves to eat and discipline his students. He is shown as not being particularly courageous, lazy, and greedy. He definitely enjoys corporal punishment and canes the students often. Usually he is the butt of most pranks. He is always heckled by the students.Thakur
Thakur is a 42 year old man, who he is servant of his owner The Superintendent. He likes to dance in his house with radio, and he hates Nonte and Fonte. He speaks Bengali with the many quotes of HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
and Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
. He calls Nonte Nantua and Fonte Fantua and calls Babua of his owner The Superintendent.
Minor characters
Minor recurring characters include the headmaster who is quite benign, the cooks at the boarding school hostel who speak Bangla with accents that vary from Bihari, OriyaOriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
, and Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
i, and many students like Nepchada, Lengcha, Boncha.
Recurring themes
- All the major characters in Nonte Phonte are fond of eating. Often the compulsion behind an action is to eat a good meal or to stash away some goodies, something many who have lived in hostels in India (or elsewhere) may be able to relate to.
- In many of the earlier strips and comic books, Nonte and Phonte do not always get along. Their tension is akin to that of Handa and Bhonda in the Handa BhondaHanda BhondaHanda Bhonda , also referred to as Hada Bhoda is a Bangla comic-strip creation of Narayan Debnath which originally was serialized for the children's monthly magazine Shuktara. The comics have appeared in book form...
strips. They may fight but often some good comes to a bystander under amusing circumstances. - The superintendent is a loathsome, corrupt, and lazy individual who believes in beating the students. However, he is usually tricked by Keltuda and then ultimately deceived by Nonte and Phonte in the end of many story panels and decides to thrash Keltuda.
- Keltuda is usually quite greedy and malicious towards Nonte and Phonte. Many times, he succeeds in getting the duo into trouble but they always get back at him sometime. He comes off as being extremely clever, but in each story this cleverness is invariably revealed as being foolhardiness.
- Nonte and Phonte often perform social services to the community and in many cases end up uncovering crooks who are often under disguises and have beguiled Keltuda and/or the hostel superintendent.
- In some cases, they are friends with Keltuda and the three of them do good things, or get in trouble.
- Some of the comics are recycled into Handa BhondaHanda BhondaHanda Bhonda , also referred to as Hada Bhoda is a Bangla comic-strip creation of Narayan Debnath which originally was serialized for the children's monthly magazine Shuktara. The comics have appeared in book form...
comics featuring Bhonda's friend Bocha, with Keltu, Nonte & Phonte being replaced with Handa, Bocha & Bhonda respectively.