Chandrakanta (novel)
Encyclopedia
Chandrakanta is a popular Hindi
novel by Devaki Nandan Khatri
. It is considered to be the first work of prose in the modern Hindi language, and may have significantly contributed to the language's popularity. The copyright on the novel expired in 1964 and it is now in public domain, along with other titles by the author.
that inspired Khatri to write the novel). Krur Singh coaxes Shivdutt to ensnare Chandrakanta at any cost. Shivdutt captures Chandrkanta and while running away from Shivdutt , Chandrakanta finds herself as a prisoner in a tilism. After that Kunvar Virendra Singh breaks the tilism and fights with Shivdutt with the help of aiyyars . Chandrakanta, the novel, has many sequels, prominent being a 7-book series (Chandrakanta santati) dealing with the adventure of Chandrakanta and Virendra Singh's children in another major tilism. The locations mentioned in the book are based on actual locations in the district Mirzapur, in current day Uttar Pradesh
and Gaya,Rohtas districts in Bihar
.
Original Novel is very much different from the TV serial "Chandrakanta" made by Neerja Guleri.
Since the Copyright of the book has been expired a long ago, several different publishers published it on their own. Some of the cheap quality variants are published by Diamond Pocket Books, AH Wheeler & Company etc. However reputed publishers in the field of Hindi Literature such as Rajkamal Paperbacks also published this novel and its sequel in cheap rates. This book is also available in Free E-book format because of its nature of being released in public domain.
Disguise is must(Aiyar/a may change him/herself into person of same or even of opposite sex but of resembling body built, by makeup).
Fighting skills are also must, for self defence. An Aiyyar/a always owerpowers any small group of ordinary soldiers.
He/she may need to spy for taking out some secrets or for finding some missing persons.
Knowledge of science and fine arts is also necessary, as it may come handy many times.
Medical Knowledge, and specially that of Anaesthesia is needed for him/her.
Chemical knowledge is also needed
In nut shell an Aiyar is Jack of all nuts. But contrary to common believe, Khatrian Aiyar/a are unfamiliar with magic and spells. He/she may join into any king's or landlord's service or may remain free.
The items must for an Aiyar/a-
Kamand (a long very strong cord used to climb over building secretly, or for tying opposite Aiyar/a or captured person/s)
Batua or purse (used to keep necessary medicines, makeup items, money and dry fruits)
Lakhlakh must also be in the 'Batua'(lakhlakha is a medicine, used to revive any unconscious person)
Khanjar or dagger (for safety and for attack)
Langot or short smart pants are usually worn by Aiyars (but not by Aiyaras) when in easy mood
Ethics of Aiyars-
Never kill or torture any other Aiyar/a(but can arrest him/her)
Never cheat your master
Never attack too many Aiyars over a single person
containing many secret locations, passages and prisons. It is intended to be "broken", or deciphered, by a person; once broken, all its doors are opened and all its prisoners are released. The person who successfully breaks the Tilism also gains the immense treasures hidden within it.
The novel depicts a number of friendly and unfriendly Aiyar.
Aiyars on the side of Virendrasingh include:
Aiyars on the side of Chandrakanta:
Aiyars on the side of Krur singh:
Aiyyars on the side of Shivdutt( All except last two later joined the Virendra Singh's side):
Later on in Chandrakanta Santati, many more Aiyyars were introduced, including mainly:
in the mid-1990s, but the serial was never completed due to financial reasons. However, the only congruence between the novel and the teleserial was in the name of a few characters, the rest of the storyline being completely different from the book. The teleserial also introduced many new characters and both these deviations were not popular with viewers. The teleserial took far too many liberties with the original script and failed to attract wide viewership.
A new serial named Kahani Chandrakanta Ki
has been started in 2011 on Sahara One
TV Channel ,Based on his next novel in Chandrakanta series named Chandrakanta Santati (story about achandrakanta's sons) by the same director Sunil Agnihotri
, with same degree of deviations from the original devki nandan khatri novel.
Indian filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra
is producing a film adaptation of the book, which will be directed by Ram Madhvani
. The film has been titled Taalismaan
and includes Amitabh Bachchan
among the cast, playing an Aiyyar.
Abhishek Bachchan will also be seen in this screen adaption of the tale of Chandrakanta. Starring in lead roles, both Amitabh and Abhishek have reportedly suggested Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's name to producers in a bid to bag her the role of Chandrakanta. However, Vidhu Vinod Chopra has refused to cast Aishwarya in this role as he feels she has already portrayed the role of a princess in Ashutoush Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar, and he wishes to give someone else a chance.
Hindi
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...
novel by Devaki Nandan Khatri
Devaki Nandan Khatri
Devaki Nandan Khatri was an Indian writer, who belonged to the first generation of popular novelists in the modern Hindi language. Also known as Babu Devakinandan Khatri, he was the first author of mystery novels in Hindi. Chandrakanta is the most popular of his works.- Biography :Khatri was born...
. It is considered to be the first work of prose in the modern Hindi language, and may have significantly contributed to the language's popularity. The copyright on the novel expired in 1964 and it is now in public domain, along with other titles by the author.
Story
The story is a romantic fantasy about two lovers who belong to rival kingdoms: the princess Chandrakanta of Vijaygarh, and the prince Virendra Singh of Naugarh. Krur Singh, a member of the Vijaygarh king's court who dreams of marrying Chandrakanta and taking over the throne. When Krur Singh fails in his endeavor, he flees the kingdom and befriends Shivdutt, the powerful neighboring king of Chunargarh (a re-naming of "Chunar-fort", referring to the fort in ChunarChunar
Chunar छुनर شُنَر, located in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh state, India, is an ancient town. The railway tracks passing through Chunar leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, Tatanagar and Varanasi. National Highway number 7 also passes through Chunar...
that inspired Khatri to write the novel). Krur Singh coaxes Shivdutt to ensnare Chandrakanta at any cost. Shivdutt captures Chandrkanta and while running away from Shivdutt , Chandrakanta finds herself as a prisoner in a tilism. After that Kunvar Virendra Singh breaks the tilism and fights with Shivdutt with the help of aiyyars . Chandrakanta, the novel, has many sequels, prominent being a 7-book series (Chandrakanta santati) dealing with the adventure of Chandrakanta and Virendra Singh's children in another major tilism. The locations mentioned in the book are based on actual locations in the district Mirzapur, in current day Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and Gaya,Rohtas districts in Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
.
Original Novel is very much different from the TV serial "Chandrakanta" made by Neerja Guleri.
Publication Variants
Chandrakanta comprises a single volume, whereas its sequel Chandrakanta Santiti comprises six volumes and Bhootnath comprises in total seven volumes.Since the Copyright of the book has been expired a long ago, several different publishers published it on their own. Some of the cheap quality variants are published by Diamond Pocket Books, AH Wheeler & Company etc. However reputed publishers in the field of Hindi Literature such as Rajkamal Paperbacks also published this novel and its sequel in cheap rates. This book is also available in Free E-book format because of its nature of being released in public domain.
Tilism and Aiyyars
Chandrakanta is notable for introducing the concepts of "Aiyar" and "Tilism" to Hindi literature.Aiyar/a
According to Devaki nandan Khatri, An Aiyar (male) or Aiyara (female) is a secret agent cum spy cum fighter.He/she is expert in many arts like-- Disguse
- Fighting skills
- Spying
- Science
- Fine arts
- Medical
- Chemistry
Disguise is must(Aiyar/a may change him/herself into person of same or even of opposite sex but of resembling body built, by makeup).
Fighting skills are also must, for self defence. An Aiyyar/a always owerpowers any small group of ordinary soldiers.
He/she may need to spy for taking out some secrets or for finding some missing persons.
Knowledge of science and fine arts is also necessary, as it may come handy many times.
Medical Knowledge, and specially that of Anaesthesia is needed for him/her.
Chemical knowledge is also needed
In nut shell an Aiyar is Jack of all nuts. But contrary to common believe, Khatrian Aiyar/a are unfamiliar with magic and spells. He/she may join into any king's or landlord's service or may remain free.
The items must for an Aiyar/a-
Kamand (a long very strong cord used to climb over building secretly, or for tying opposite Aiyar/a or captured person/s)
Batua or purse (used to keep necessary medicines, makeup items, money and dry fruits)
Lakhlakh must also be in the 'Batua'(lakhlakha is a medicine, used to revive any unconscious person)
Khanjar or dagger (for safety and for attack)
Langot or short smart pants are usually worn by Aiyars (but not by Aiyaras) when in easy mood
Ethics of Aiyars-
Never kill or torture any other Aiyar/a(but can arrest him/her)
Never cheat your master
Never attack too many Aiyars over a single person
Tilism
A Tilism is a kind of mazeMaze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
containing many secret locations, passages and prisons. It is intended to be "broken", or deciphered, by a person; once broken, all its doors are opened and all its prisoners are released. The person who successfully breaks the Tilism also gains the immense treasures hidden within it.
The novel depicts a number of friendly and unfriendly Aiyar.
Aiyars on the side of Virendrasingh include:
- Tej Singh
- Jeet Singh (Tej Singh's father)
- Devi Singh;
Aiyars on the side of Chandrakanta:
- Chapla
- Champa
Aiyars on the side of Krur singh:
- Nazim
- Ahmed
Aiyyars on the side of Shivdutt( All except last two later joined the Virendra Singh's side):
- Badrinath
- Chunnilal
- Pandit Jagannath
- Pannalal
- Ramnarayan
- Ghasita Singh
- Bhagwan Dutt
Later on in Chandrakanta Santati, many more Aiyyars were introduced, including mainly:
- Bhootnath
- Nanak
- Bhairo Singh
- Tara singh
- Indra Dev
- Kamla
- Kamini
- Sher Singh
- Kamalini
- Ladili
- Dhanpati
- Tara(not to be confused with Tara Sing)
- Harnam Sing (only name in this epic alloted to two totally different characters)
- Bihari Singh
- Gopal Singh
Magic ,spells and ghosts
In Devaki Nandan Khatri's Chandrakanta and Chandrakanta Santati, There is no space for these things. Devaki Nandan Khatri did not believe in them eitherUse of Gadgets
Although written over more than 120 years ago, this epic describes many gadgets, like- light sabres(Tilismi khanjar/neja),door lock hving alphabetic key pad, wheel operated lifts, lever operated secret doors, massive DC generating batteries, robots doing a limited set of prefixed actions.Adaptations
Chandrakanta was made into a television serialChandrakanta (TV series)
Chandrakanta is an Indian fantasy television series partly based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's novel Chandrakanta. It was originally telecast on Doordarshan in the early 1995 and was produced by Nirja Guleri and directed by Sunil Agnihotri....
in the mid-1990s, but the serial was never completed due to financial reasons. However, the only congruence between the novel and the teleserial was in the name of a few characters, the rest of the storyline being completely different from the book. The teleserial also introduced many new characters and both these deviations were not popular with viewers. The teleserial took far too many liberties with the original script and failed to attract wide viewership.
A new serial named Kahani Chandrakanta Ki
Kahani Chandrakanta Ki
Kahani Chandrakanta Ki is an Indian fantasy television series based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's second novel Chandrakanta Santati. The series is premiered on Sahara One on June 6, 2011, and is produced by known television producer Sunil Agnihotri.-Plot:...
has been started in 2011 on Sahara One
Sahara One
Sahara One is an Indian Hindi general entertainment channel based in Mumbai. It is operated by Sahara India Pariwar, a company formed by Subrato Roy Sahara who is a managing worker and chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar....
TV Channel ,Based on his next novel in Chandrakanta series named Chandrakanta Santati (story about achandrakanta's sons) by the same director Sunil Agnihotri
Chandrakanta (TV series)
Chandrakanta is an Indian fantasy television series partly based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's novel Chandrakanta. It was originally telecast on Doordarshan in the early 1995 and was produced by Nirja Guleri and directed by Sunil Agnihotri....
, with same degree of deviations from the original devki nandan khatri novel.
Indian filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra is an Indian director and producer. Chopra is the head of his own company, Vinod Chopra Productions, and is particularly known for producing the Munna Bhai films and 3 Idiots.-Early life:Born in a Punjabi family of Kashmir,...
is producing a film adaptation of the book, which will be directed by Ram Madhvani
Ram Madhvani
Ram Madhvani is an Indian film director from Mumbai best known for directing several award-winning commercials in India. With over 20 years of experience in the profession Ram Madhvani has worked with every important advertising agency in the country to become one of India’s most respected filmmakers...
. The film has been titled Taalismaan
Taalismaan
Taaalismaan is an upcoming Hindi romantic fantasy adventure film, directed by Ram Madhwani, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Ram Madhvani and Swanand Kirkire. Starring Amitabh Bachchan in the leading role...
and includes Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
among the cast, playing an Aiyyar.
Abhishek Bachchan will also be seen in this screen adaption of the tale of Chandrakanta. Starring in lead roles, both Amitabh and Abhishek have reportedly suggested Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's name to producers in a bid to bag her the role of Chandrakanta. However, Vidhu Vinod Chopra has refused to cast Aishwarya in this role as he feels she has already portrayed the role of a princess in Ashutoush Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar, and he wishes to give someone else a chance.