Author: Anant Pai
Illustrator: Souren Roy
Publisher: India Book House
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 96
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8175082992
Description
This special issue of Amar Chitra Katha comics features three stories from Bangla Classics. The stories are: Anand Math ; Kapala Kundala ; and Devi Choudhurani.
Ananda Math is considered to be a milestone in the history of modern fiction. It received such wide acclaim in the late nineteenth century that Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, its author, was referred to as the Walter Scott of India. Translations appeared in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Urdu.
The song, 'Vande Mataram', which Bankim Chandra first wrote in this novel, echoed through the freedom movement; during the non-Cooperation movement the song was heard on the lips of many, while they braved the lathis of the British police force.
Bankim Chandra wrote Kapala Kundala, his second novel, when he was only twenty eight years old. The name Kapala Kundala has been taken from the Sanskrit play, Malati-Madhava. In the play, Kapala is the associate of the evil kapalik, Aghora Ghanta, and she is as heinous as her mentor. But through our heroine was also brought up by an evil Kapalik, she is full of human affection and kindness.
The third Chitra Katha in this special issue is Devi Choudhurani. Both Devi and her mentor, Bhavani Pathak, are historical characters who figure in the report of Lieutenant Brennan, quoted by Hunter in his 'Statistical Account of Bengal'. There is no historical explanation of what made Devi turn to dacoity in the first place and later, what made her give it up. However, Bankim Chandra's fertile imagination has provided answers to these puzzling questions in his novel, on which our tale is based.
Contents
Ananda Math
Kapala Kundala
Devi Choudhurani