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Chandrakanta - a wonderful surprise

This is the hardback cover of the novel as picked from library



Title - Chandrakanta
Author - Devki Nandan Khatri
Genre - Mystery Novel
Status - First time read

Don't judge the book by its cover, the saying is true for this masterpiece. A few weeks ago I read an article about the upcoming TV serial based on this novel. The writer went on and on about how great the story was and how the first TV serial of some twenty years ago based on this book was blockbuster success. I remembered the 1994 serial but had never read the book. This article spiked my interest and I went in search for it.

Finding this book in MJ library was harder than I thought, mainly because very few of his books are actually there. Secondly, the cover is misleading and does not strike as suitable for a classic of this stature. But I found it, obviously, and decided to read it in next two weeks. However, almost a week went by before I even opened it.

Story started literally from the first page as no note or prologue was written by the author. The inside page of the hardback cover claimed that people went and learnt Hindi in order to read this novel, a pretty bold claim, I thought then. This book defied another common belief that first five chapter of a novel are most important and reader can judge the book by then.

First five or may be eight chapters were not really captivating. Events were happening at a rapid pace and in a new language which was hard to follow. Don't get me wrong, Hindi is my mother tongue but the book is not in pure Hindi. Rather Hindi is fused with Urdu and a mixed language is presented. Besides, most of the books I read now are in English so reading pure Hindi or Urdu requires getting used to.

Moreover, the fantastic events take place without explanation or preparation. Let me try to explain my meaning by quoting a modern classic. If you have read Harry Potter books, you know that all seven books are interlinked and are essentially one story. However, each book starts with an explanation of the history and background of the characters and also a brief of events taken place so far. That allows you to connect the dots in the story and enjoy each book on its own. But in case of Chandrakant, background is hardly of four pages and magic starts to take place, aiyar (spy / magician) start to perform fantastic tasks. While it is entertaining, it takes some time to acquaint with the jargon.

But, if you manage to go through these hurdles, you are in for a treat. Every page you read from there on makes the book interesting. I practically binge read it in next two days. The pace is most exhilarating. Rarely you might find a book that can cram so much content in only 255 pages. Any modern retelling of this story would at least be a trilogy, and it might still miss the charm of original work. This is the beauty of this novel from Babu Devki Nandan Khatri.

It is a must read for every Hindi speaking person.

I am pretty excited to have read this story and determined to read as many Hindi books as possible. So, next one I'll read is "Gaban" by Premchand.

Will share what I felt about this one soon.
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