{"product_id":"chandrakanta-a-novel-of-enchantment-and-intrigue-9798259158481","title":"Chandrakanta: A Novel of Enchantment and Intrigue","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Romesh Sarkar | Devki Nandan Khatri\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Asian - Indic\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe book that taught a generation to read.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Devki Nandan Khatri published \u003ci\u003eChandrakanta\u003c\/i\u003e in 1888, something unprecedented happened: readers across India - many of whom had never read Hindi before - taught themselves the language simply to follow the story. The novel became the first great bestseller of modern Hindi literature, and its world of rival kingdoms, master spies, and enchanted labyrinths has never left the imagination of its readers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNow, for the first time in a complete and unabridged English translation, that world is open to all. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Story\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePrincess Chandrakanta of Vijaygarh and Prince Virendrasingh of Naugadh are in love - and separated by five kos, a jealous minister's son, two armies of aiyyars, and a tilism that has swallowed men whole. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTheir letters travel by night. Their spies counter every move. But the tilism - an enchanted labyrinth of impossible architecture and buried sorcery, built by a master artificer who has been dead for generations - stands between them. And whoever holds its secret holds the kingdom. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt the heart of the story are the aiyyars: master spies trained in disguise, deception, and a hundred forms of trickery, bound by a code of honour as strict as any warrior's. Chief among them is Tejsingh - clever, vain about his craft, and completely devoted to his prince. Against him: Krursingh's aiyyars, working for the man who wants Chandrakanta by any means necessary. Their battle of wits drives every twist of the plot. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Novel\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eChandrakanta\u003c\/i\u003e occupies a singular place in literary history. Written in accessible, colloquial Hindi at a time when Persian and Sanskrit dominated literary culture, it democratised reading across north India. Khatri drew on the ancient \u003ci\u003edastan\u003c\/i\u003e oral tradition - the great Persian-Arabic storytelling form - and transformed it into something entirely new: a modern novel with cliffhanger episodes, a cast of fully-drawn characters, and plots within plots that reward close attention. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe novel's spy-tricksters, its enchanted labyrinth, and its impossible romance have inspired television adaptations, a planned Bollywood epic, and more than a century of devoted readers. It has never, until now, been available in a complete, unabridged English rendering that preserves the energy and wit of the original. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout This Translation\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis translation works directly from Khatri's original 1888 Hindi text. The aim throughout has been fidelity to the original's voice: its speed, its comedy, its capacity for sudden darkness, and the distinctive theatrical register of the aiyyar scenes. Where previous English versions have condensed or simplified the novel, this edition gives the reader the complete text - all four parts, every episode - without omission. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA translator's introduction, character guide, and glossary of key terms are included. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eForgotten Classics of India\u003c\/b\u003e is a series dedicated to recovering the great novels of the Indian tradition for the English reader. Each volume is translated directly from the original language, unabridged, with scholarly apparatus that places the work in its literary and historical context.","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47883200725143,"sku":"9798259158481","price":1416.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798259158481.webp?v=1781100202","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/chandrakanta-a-novel-of-enchantment-and-intrigue-9798259158481","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}