Chitralekha is a 1934Hindinovel by Indian writer Bhagwati Charan Verma. The novel is about the philosophy of life and love, sin and virtue. The novel was written, while the author was still practicing law at Hamirpur and brought him immediate fame, starting his literary career.
It is said to be modeled on Anatole France's 1890 novel Thaïs but is set in an Indian background.[1] However, the author in preface to the book said
"The difference between Chitralekha and Anatole France's Thaïs, is as much as there is in me and Anatole. In Chitralekha, there is a problem, it is my own perspective of seeing the virtue and vice of human life, and it is also the music of my soul."[2]
Chitralekha is a slim volume of literary work that explores the very essence of the universal truths of human life in a social setup. Woven around an intense love story that reflects on and flashes out not just the various aspects of human nature but also the myriad dilemmas that we face in our lifetime, Chitralekha - the novel and protagonist - is riveting from first sight and word. The story starts with a dialogue between the great hermit Ratnambar and his disciples, Shwetank and Vishaldev, about sins committed by humans. They ultimately conclude that humans become victims and slaves of circumstance. So, according to Ratnambar -there is no sin and virtue per se. Everyone does deeds according to circumstances that befall them in their lifetime. The author also propounds the views that sin may be in action but never in thought and also that anuraag (attachment/passion) is in desire, and viraag (alienation/lack of passion) comes from gratification (tripti). Through the various twists and turns in the plot, Bhagwaticharan Varma displays a candour and liberalism not otherwise associated with Hindi literature of pre-independence India. Through Chitralekha's character, the author describes the life of a truly empowered woman: beautiful and strong from within, materialistic by choice, largehearted by nature, and honest to the core. Chitralekha busts many myths surrounding a real and humane woman. She firmly holds the reins of her own life and is commanding in not letting society/ social pressure influence her. Her honesty with herself through introspection and her refusal to let an ego come in the way of atonement lead her to victory in life since she attains peace within passion and passion within peace.
This novel is a love story about a young general, Bijgupta, who leads a luxurious life while serving under the Mauryan Empire and King Chandragupta Maurya (340 BCE – 298 BCE) and the beautiful dancer and young widow, Chitralekha. Kumargiri -a hermit- also falls in love with Chitralekha and becomes a victim of his circumstances. Shwetaank and Vishaldev wish to find the truth about the holy and the unholy in life, as suggested by their guru, Ratnambar. They too, become slaves of circumstances, as does Bijgupta. The other characters are Yashodhara, the princess, and Yashodhara's father, the aged Mritunjay. The character, Chanakya, has been woven into the novel to make it interesting.
The novel has twenty-two riveting sections that clearly demonstrate the futility of being judgmental.
Bhagwati Charan Verma (1994), Chitralekha, New Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan.
Mohan Lal (2006). The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature, Vol. 5. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN81-260-1221-8.
External links
Chitralekha ,Hindi sahitya
August 21, 2023
chitralekha, novel, this, article, contains, wording, that, promotes, subject, subjective, manner, without, imparting, real, information, please, remove, replace, such, wording, instead, making, proclamations, about, subject, importance, facts, attribution, de. This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject s importance use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance June 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Chitralekha is a 1934 Hindi novel by Indian writer Bhagwati Charan Verma The novel is about the philosophy of life and love sin and virtue The novel was written while the author was still practicing law at Hamirpur and brought him immediate fame starting his literary career ChitralekhaAuthorBhagwati Charan VermaCountryIndiaLanguageHindiSubjectPhilosophyGenreNovelPublisherRajkamal PrakashanPublication date1934Media typeBoundDewey Decimal891 433It is said to be modeled on Anatole France s 1890 novel Thais but is set in an Indian background 1 However the author in preface to the book said The difference between Chitralekha and Anatole France s Thais is as much as there is in me and Anatole In Chitralekha there is a problem it is my own perspective of seeing the virtue and vice of human life and it is also the music of my soul 2 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Translations 3 Adaptations 4 References 5 External linksSynopsis EditChitralekha is a slim volume of literary work that explores the very essence of the universal truths of human life in a social setup Woven around an intense love story that reflects on and flashes out not just the various aspects of human nature but also the myriad dilemmas that we face in our lifetime Chitralekha the novel and protagonist is riveting from first sight and word The story starts with a dialogue between the great hermit Ratnambar and his disciples Shwetank and Vishaldev about sins committed by humans They ultimately conclude that humans become victims and slaves of circumstance So according to Ratnambar there is no sin and virtue per se Everyone does deeds according to circumstances that befall them in their lifetime The author also propounds the views that sin may be in action but never in thought and also that anuraag attachment passion is in desire and viraag alienation lack of passion comes from gratification tripti Through the various twists and turns in the plot Bhagwaticharan Varma displays a candour and liberalism not otherwise associated with Hindi literature of pre independence India Through Chitralekha s character the author describes the life of a truly empowered woman beautiful and strong from within materialistic by choice largehearted by nature and honest to the core Chitralekha busts many myths surrounding a real and humane woman She firmly holds the reins of her own life and is commanding in not letting society social pressure influence her Her honesty with herself through introspection and her refusal to let an ego come in the way of atonement lead her to victory in life since she attains peace within passion and passion within peace This novel is a love story about a young general Bijgupta who leads a luxurious life while serving under the Mauryan Empire and King Chandragupta Maurya 340 BCE 298 BCE and the beautiful dancer and young widow Chitralekha Kumargiri a hermit also falls in love with Chitralekha and becomes a victim of his circumstances Shwetaank and Vishaldev wish to find the truth about the holy and the unholy in life as suggested by their guru Ratnambar They too become slaves of circumstances as does Bijgupta The other characters are Yashodhara the princess and Yashodhara s father the aged Mritunjay The character Chanakya has been woven into the novel to make it interesting The novel has twenty two riveting sections that clearly demonstrate the futility of being judgmental Translations EditLanguage Translator Publisher TitleSanskrit Niranjan Mishra Rashtriya Sanskrit Sahitya Kendra Jaipur ChitralekhaGujarati Kamal Sindha Gurjar Sahitya Prakashan ChitralekhaTelugu Lanka Narayana Rao Classic Books ChitralekhaMarathi Hemant Godse Rajhans Prakashan ChitralekhaMarathi Malati Cholkar ChitralekhaEnglish Pratibha Vinod Kumar and AK Kulshresth Cernunos Books The dancer Her lover and the YogiAdaptations EditA Hindi movie named Chitralekha released in 1964 directed by Kidar Sharma was based on this novel It starred Ashok Kumar Meena Kumari and Pradeep Kumar in lead roles Previously the same director had made Chitralekha 1941 which was also based on the same novel 3 4 References Edit Mahendra Nath Bakshi 1954 Prefaces to Hindi Letters from the Earliest Times to the Present Day Bakshi Brothers p 212 Chitra Lekha Bhagavati Charan Verma Gulzar Govind Nihalani Saibal Chatterjee 2003 Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema Popular Prakashan p 335 ISBN 81 7991 066 0 Chitralekha at IMDb Bhagwati Charan Verma 1994 Chitralekha New Delhi Rajkamal Prakashan Mohan Lal 2006 The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature Vol 5 Sahitya Akademi ISBN 81 260 1221 8 External links EditChitralekha Hindi sahitya Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chitralekha novel amp oldid 1170011564, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
