14 Years of Sherlockiana - Happy Birthday, SHSI!

(May 28, 2015)

How time flies!

May 28, 2001 - Mr Sumal Surendranath, current President of the Sherlock Holmes Society of India, decided to create this group for fellow Indian Sherlockians to have a platform to discuss the master detective.

14 years later, SHSI has about 200 members, a bi-annual publication, a Facebook page, a blog and many, many, many international friends.

Quite something, eh?

So, cheers to SHSI and Indian Sherlockians, and a special toast to Sumalji!

BSI Weekend Day #1: ASH Wednesday

(January 8, 2015)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So I took plenty of them!

A bit of background before the goodies: ASH Wednesday is the informal dinner of the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes, and is held on the first Wednesday of each month and kicks off the BSI Weekend each year. BSI (Baker Street Irregulars) has its annual BSI Weekend (around Sherlock's birthday) - well, it's the most awesome birthday party ever, with people from all over the world and goes on for days.

This is my first time - both in New York as well as at the BSI Weekend. Obviously, I'm wide-eyed and open-mouthed most of the time - and so it occurred that I thought of taking pictures (despite lugging my big camera all the way to NY just for this purpose) only after a bellyful of chicken fingers, fries and sauvignon blanc.

A roomful of interesting Sherlockians - a truly colourful variety of people, ranging from veterans to newbies, with talks of Rathbone to Brett to Cumberbatch - I can think of no better way to have spent my first evening in New York. Even though I'd only met only about four people in the entire hall previously (and knew perhaps four more through emails) - it didn't end up with me sulking in a corner by myself (quite the norm at large gatherings for the socially-awkward me); the folks at ASH are incredibly friendly and make you feel so welcome!

Now, without further ado, here are the promised pictures:

That's David Stuart Davies (yup, the well-known British Sherlockian pastiche-writer - all the way from Yorkshire!) with his lovely wife - and being photo-bombed by Maria Fleishhack (yup, the Baker Street Babe herself!).

Evelyn Herzog and Susan Rice - the driving forces of ASH!

Ursula Moran (the best dinner conversationalist ever) and Christopher Zordan (the man behind the Gaslight Gala)

Catherine Cooke - all the way from London! Amazin' lady.

Lyndsay Faye (oh yes, the Baker Street Babe herself), Scott Monty (heard of I Hear of Sherlock? the very same) and Maria with her autographed mug - sent to her by Benedict Cumberbatch! Awesome, ain't it?

Al Gregory, BSI - a most charming gentleman!

Fun pictures at ASH Wednesday, 7 January 2015, New York - oh, right, the location: Annie Moore's (50 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017). Look, that's me in there, too!

Sherringford Holmes

(November 1, 2014)

Interesting article - thanks to Prajakta Hebbar, SHSI member and a leading columnist!

Book Launch - Petr Kopl: The Hound of the Baskervilles

(October 16, 2014)

Petr Kopl, Master of Sherlockian Art, strikes again.

After the resounding success of the English translation of "A Scandal in Bohemia" from the original Czech, MX Publishing has taken up "The Hound of the Baskervilles" next. The Kickstarter Project, of course, was oversubscribed within days. Only a handful of copies remain, and with five days to go, if you haven't booked it yet, I'd suggest doing so right away! Pick up your book here.

Anyhow - about the book launch. On 22 November 2014, Steve (Emecz) has organised a book launch at the quaint Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes Hotel on Baker Street. Petr is flying down from the Czech Republic - so you can meet Petr in person and get him to sign your copy. Bundled signed copies are available, too - I am eyeing the bundle of four. It has two of Petr, and two of Luke (Benjamen Kuhns) - the entire MX graphic novel collection so far...and all signed! (And I can attest to the excellence of all four - yup, read them all!) Plus, Petr, Luke and Steve are lovely people to meet. You can also make a contribution to the Undershaw Preservation Trust and feel good about yourself! Generous as ever, Steve gives away raffle tickets as usual, and the prizes are amazing! Book your tickets here - before they are sold out!

Here's the cover - gorgeous, isn't it? And as one of the privileged few to have glimpsed the inside, I can confirm that the entire book is just as beautiful. If you follow MX Publishing, you would have seen some of the panels Steve has put up, and you would know exactly what I am talking about. And if you have already read Petr's "A Scandal in Bohemia", I don't need to say another word. Yes, here is a book you can judge by its cover!

Interesting bit of trivia - The Hound was actually the first Sherlock Holmes graphic novel created by Petr in Czech.

To sum up the book launch:

• Book: Petr Kopl's The Hound of the Baskervilles
• Date: 22 November 2014 (Saturday)
• Time: 1500 - 1700 hrs
• Venue: Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes, 108 Baker Street, London
• Tickets: Buy here

Hope to see you there!

Petr Kopl: A Scandal in Bohemia

(June 30, 2014)

SHSI Annual Meet #2: Registration Form

(June 27, 2014)

SHSI Annual Meet #2 - Calendar

(June 20, 2014)

All right, folks - here are the promised details of the SHSI Calendar - specially made for our upcoming Annual Meet #2! Do save the date/place - 24 August 2014 (Sunday), New Delhi, India. Venue details will be uploaded later, when we have a better idea of how many people will turn up.

Before I start throwing in the pictures that everyone has been waiting for, do take note of a few features:

1. It is a wall calendar, spiral bound and folded in half. When folded, it is slightly smaller than an A4 sheet. For those who understand these things (I don't!), the paper stock is: Premium Glossy 200-210 g/m² paper, and the specifications are: Document Trim Size: 279 x 216 mm; 1648 x 1276 pixels and Full Bleed Size: 282 x 219 mm; 1666 x 1294 pixels.
2. It is very (very!) colourful. (What can I say? I like colours!) There are photos, artwork and cute images on the marked dates.
3. The months covered are August 2014 to July 2015.
4. I have included as many Sherlockian events as I could get my hands on. The biggest round of thanks has to go to Mr Ron Fish, who maintains Sherlockian Calendar. Besides Mr Fish, I had a lot of help from our Sherlockian friends across the globe, too! If there are any mistakes, I take full responsibility and forward my apologies to everyone. The uncertain events are marked with a "TBA" - "to be announced".
5. The Indian holidays/festivals are marked with a smiley. I didn't do it, they came pre-arranged. I just added the smiley!
6. The Sherlockian events have different markers, depending on the kind of event they are.
7. Every month, along with a set of images, has a quote from the canon. Do not worry - the photographer/artist is always acknowledged. If you follow our e-magazine, you would have seen most of the images earlier.
8. Each calendar costs Rs 235 + shipping. We save on shipping charges of the manufacturer if we order a good number at once, so, in turn, we will be able to give/ship it to you for less. Do note that whatever the expense, you're paying at actuals. If we have, say, about 25 people picking up their copies at the Annual Meet in Delhi - those 25 will have to pay no shipping charges at all.
9. There is absolutely no obligation on anyone to buy these for the Annual Meet #2. There isn't any limit on the number of copies you want to buy, either. What we do need, however, is some time to get the calendars made (because we don't want to order too many and then be stuck with them). Barring force majeure, you should be able to get yours in a few weeks (or earlier!) after you make your payment.
10. We have not yet worked out the payment mechanism. Give us the weekend, and we shall figure something out. Suggestions are more than welcome.

And now, on to the images!

• The front cover - recognise the images?

• August 2014 - images are of our Annual Meet #1 in Mumbai last August

• September 2014 - London, the city of Sherlock Holmes!

• October 2014 - Sherlock Wrap at Speedy's, London. Then there are our SHSI Sherlockian drinks - Sherlock's Stupor and Watson's Wish! ;)

• November 2014 - artwork from our SHSI members - gorgeous, aren't they?

• December 2014 - Art from the lovely Marilena Duca, of Italy!

• January 2014 - Happy Birthday, Sherlock Holmes!

• February 2014 - up for some Sherlockian tourism? Ooty (Tamil Nadu, India) and Lucens (Switzerland) featured here.

• March 2014 - Sherlock and Sherlockians of Bohemia!

• April 2014 - Meiringen, Switzerland. One of the loveliest places I have ever seen.

• May 2014 - *shudder* Reichenbach. The star marks the spot where Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty fell.

• June 2014 - yup, those are our e-magazine covers!

• July 2015 - what better way to end the calendar than put in pictures by the best Sherlockian artist I know?

• Back cover - just a B&W image of the front

Happy now? For any further details, get in touch with Sumalji or me.