Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Durgeshnandini - Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

'Durgeshnandini' is a popular Bengali novel written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.It was in my reading list since long time as the title itself fascinated me..This romantic historical fiction is the first novel by the author..Durgeshnandini literally means the daughter (nandini) of the lord of the fort (durgesh)..But the English title 'The Chieftain's daughter' is well suited in the given context.The story is a blend of  love,passion,war and vengeance..The historical background of the story is the Mughal-Pathan rivalry in the time of Akbar's ruling.

Copyright A Homemaker's Utopia
Here are few lines from the book,
'Some people have a propensity for presenting themselves as unyielding individuals,lest they acquire a reputation for kindness;even as they deride compassion as a feminine trait,they come to the aid of other people.If they are asked why,they say it was for their own benefit..Ayesha knew only too well that Osman was such a person.'

'The sharp pain of the knife in his heart was replaced by the dull ache of despondency.It is agonizing to abandon hope;but once dejection has rooted itself,the suffering is not as acute.A blow from a weapon is similarly painful,the ache from the wound that follows is constant,it is true,but not as extreme.Jagatsingh now endured the lesser agony of hopelessness.'

The story starts in a Shiva temple with the accidental encounter between Jagatsingh and the two woman Bimala and Tilottama..Bewitched by the eminent beauty of Tilottama,the prince fall in love with her instantly.. Here Jagatsingh is the son of Akbar's general Mansingh and Tilottama is the daughter of Virendrasingh,Master of Fort Mandaran..One night maid Bimala arranges a secret meeting for the lovers in the Fort Mandaran ..Unfortunately,the same night Fort Mandaran was invaded by Pathan armies,Jagatsingh was seriously wounded and imprisoned..The master of the fort Virendrasingh was executed while the maid Bimala and Tilottama were moved to Katlu Khan's harem as his concubines..On the flipside,Katlu Khan's daughter Ayesha irresistibly drawn to the prince Jagatsingh,while she nurses him back to health..Osman Khan,general of Katlu Khan loves Ayesha,but she treats him like a brother..Now,whether Jagatsingh and Tilottama come together ? What about Ayesha's love ?? Why do Bimala wants to avenge the death of Virendrasingh ? You will find the answers of all these questions in the coming part of the story..The story moves further with so many interesting twists and turns.You must read the novel to grab the complete essence of it.

It's an engaging read.The author's writing style is very captivating.I was not bored at any point of the story..There are some wonderful illustrations about the beauty of woman..It is nearly 180 pages book,so you can easily finish it at once.The novel also adapted as a movie in 1956 with the same title,starring Pradeep Kumar,Bina Rai,Ajit & Nalini Jaywant.

Pages      :184
Publisher : Random House India
Price       :299/-

27 comments:

magiceye said...

Wow! Does sound very interesting!

AmitAag said...

Great review, Nagini!

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@Magiceye,
Thanks a lot Deepak :-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Amitaag,
Thank you so much Amit Jee :-)Nice to hear from you after a long long time :-)

Ramakrishnan said...

Nice review review Nagini. Has kindled interest in reading the book !

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Ramakrishnan,
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback Ramakrishnan Sir :-)

Indrani said...

Original was in Bengali or English?
I want to pick it up.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@Indrani,
The original version of the book is in Bengali.It's a translated version by Arunava Sinha :-)

Reubenna Dutta said...

Great review :-). Whenever I used to read the book, I wish someone comes up with a good movie based on it.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Jhilmil D saha,
Thank you for your visit and comment Jhilmil.The novel adapted as a movie in 1956 (hindi)starring Pradeep Kumar.

తృష్ణ said...

పుస్తకం గురించి చాలా కొద్దిగా రాసినట్లనిపించింది :) తనది ఆనంద్ మఠ్ కొన్నానండి లాస్ట్ ఇయర్..సగం చదివాను మళ్ళీ సర్దుళ్లలో ఎక్కడో ఉందిపోయింది పుస్తకం. 'ఆనంద్ మఠ్' హిందీలో సినిమాగా కూడా తీసారు. లతా పాడిన "వందేమాతరం" పాట చాలా బావుంటుంది ఇందులో! ఆ ప్రేమతోనే పుస్తకం కొన్నా..

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ తృష్ణ గారు,
అవునండీ కావాలనే అలా రాశాను.అనేక మలుపులున్న చాల పెద్ద కథ కావడంతో అంతా చెప్పేస్తే చదివేవాళ్ళకి ఇంట్రెస్ట్ పోతున్దనిపించింది..అందుకే దీన్ని రివ్యూ లా కాకుండా ఒక చిన్న పరిచయం గానే ఉంచేద్దామని అనుకున్నాను.అందుకే ఇంత చిన్న పోస్ట్ అన్నమాట :-) ఆనందమఠ్ చదవలేదండీ.చదువుతాను..థాంక్ యు సో మచ్ తృష్ణ జీ :-)

Anonymous said...

One of my mom's favorite books. Very captivating story.

sm said...

nice review

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Musafiraheart,
Ohh..Nice to know.Thank you so much for the comment :-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ SM,
Thank you so much :-)

Unknown said...

This is a very interesting. I saw the Hindi movid Durgeshnandini. In spite of a very good story, the movie was not so successful.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Usha Menon,
Thank you so much for the info Maa'm :-)

Vimala Ramu said...

I used to be a staunch fan of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, gobbling all his books in Kannada translation.
Thanks for visiting my site, Nagini.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Vimala Ramu,
Thanks a lot for your precious comment Vimala :-)

Kokila gupta said...

Dear Nagini,I know this one is a translated work still its too bad that I know only hindi/English and am devoid of pleasures/wisdom of many excellent books and movies.I saw you mentioning some telagu movies in your profile.Hopes to catch the subtitled versions,as I am sure your choices will definitely be mine too!Thanks a lot for visiting and joining me <3 <3 Love n wishes, Kokila

Sabyasachi Patra said...

This is one of the books that had captured my imagination during my childhood days. Hope to make a film one day.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ My Unfinished life,
Thank you so much for dropping by :-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Kokila Guptha,
Thank you so much Kokila for joining me..Your appreciation and love really made my day :-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Sabyasachi Patra,
Thank you so much..Would love to see the movie version...:-)

Dr.VPL said...

I am Dr.VPL , pl tell me the book publisher address in south ,i want book called Durgesha nandini, by Bankima chandra, in kannada or English language. Since it is a old book i am not getting it , so do the needfull.
puttu_v2005@yahoo.com

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Dr.VPL,
You can buy the book at Flipkart,
Here is the link,
http://www.flipkart.com/durgeshnandini/p/itmdumyqysjfttdv?pid=9788184001310&otracker=from-search&srno=t_1&query=durgesh+nandini&ref=70c694f1-06db-4048-8613-5e2ca17b5594
Thank you :)