Devaki Nandan Khatri (18 June 1861– 1 August 1913) was an Indian writer who lived in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

and wrote the historic fiction fantasy novel '' Chandrakanta''.

Biography

He was born on 18 June 1861 in a Punjabi family in Pusa village of

Samastipur district Samastipur is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar in India. The district headquarters are located at Samastipur. The district occupies an area of 2904km² and has a population of 4,261,566. Samastipur was the largest milk producing distr ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(present day

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

). His father's name was Lala Ishwardas. His forefathers were residents of Punjab (

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

) and held high positions during the reign of the Mughals. Lala Ishwardas settled in Banaras during the reign of Sher Singh, son of

Maharaj Ranjit Singh Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

. Khatri's early education was in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

- Persian. Later he also studied

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and English. After finishing his early education, he reached Tekari Raj in Gaya and got a job with the king there. Later, he established a printing press called 'Lahari Press' in Varanasi and started the publication of Hindi monthly ''Sudarshan'' in 1900. He died on 1 August 1913.

Popular Works

Devaki Nandan Khatri contributed some of the most popular novels that not only helped to introduce a new genre in Hindi literature, but also led to the enrichment of the Hindi language as a whole. Some of the most important works of Devaki Nandan Khatri are: * '' Chandrakanta'' * '' Chandrakanta Santati'' * '' Bhootnath'' * ''Kajar Ki Kothari'' * ''Narendra-Mohini'' * ''Kusum Kumari'' * ''Virendra Veer'' * Katora Bhar Khoon * ''Gupt Godna''

Death

Devaki Nandan Khatri passed away in 1913, leaving behind a collection of Hindi mystery novels that continue to captivate young readers. One of his notable works, 'Chandrakanta,' was transformed into a television series in the mid-90s, albeit with significant alterations to suit the television audience in terms of plot and characters. 'Chandrakanta' stands out as Khatri's most beloved novel, and there are rumors of its imminent adaptation into a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

film. If all goes as planned, we may witness

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan taking on key roles in the cinematic rendition of Devaki Nandan Khatri's 'Chandrakanta,' helmed by filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

References

External links

Complete Chandrakanta at Gadya Kosh

at columbia.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Khatri, Devaki Nandan Hindi-language writers 1861 births 19th-century Indian novelists 1913 deaths Writers from Varanasi Novelists from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian novelists Indian male novelists 20th-century Indian male writers Writers from British India People from the Bengal Presidency People from the United Provinces of British India