Chandni Begum / چاندنی بیگم

by Qurratulain Hyder

An award winning Urdu novel that spans the period from Partition to the Mandir - Masjid dispute in the 1990s.

Genres: Fiction

424 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2012

About the author

Qurratulain Hyder was an influential Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for her magnum opus, Aag Ka Darya (River of Fire), a novel first published in Urdu in 1959 from Lahore, Pakistan, that stretches from the 4th century BC to post partition of India. Popularly known as "Ainee Apa" among her friends and admirers, she was the daughter of writer and a pioneer of Urdu short story writing Sajjad Haidar Yildarim (1880–1943). Her mother, Nazar Zahra, who wrote at first as Bint-i-Nazrul Baqar and later as Nazar Sajjad Hyder (1894–1967), was also a novelist and protegee of Muhammadi Begam and her husband Syed Mumtaz Ali, who published her first novel.

She received the 1967 Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for Patjhar Ki Awaz (Short stories), 1989 Jnanpith Award for Akhir-e-Shab Ke Humsafar, and the highest award of the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1994. She also received the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 2005.

Reviews

[مومنہ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating on the basis of how much I understood (and thus how much I enjoyed). But I really wish someday I'll be able to fully grasp her writings (if they are THAT good, as people claim them to be).

[Osama Siddique · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writer of sheer genius like Qurat ul ain Haider cannot be grasped and fully appreciated in a single assessment or review. So many are the facets of her writing, so many vistas does she reveal to the reader, that she has to be approached from multiple vantage points and read and reread. Take Chandni Begum for instance. It is simultaneously a moving story about love, longing, loss and quiet despair; a highly astute exploration of class, class mobility and class prejudice; a sarcastic critique of property, worldly possessions and the notion of legitimate ownership; a probing study of time and how no one escapes its ravages; a wonderful rendition and remembrance of traditional Lukhnow and broader UP culture; a perceptive examination of partition and its disruptive impact on families that were broken up or partially migrated; a cultural, literary and philosophical reservoir in which Haider brings forth her vast knowledge of classical and contemporary western literature, traditional Hindu religious and secular scripts, various non-Hindustani literary and religious traditions, Islamic doctrine, culture and practices, south asian politics, colonial history, and more, to dwell on the ideas of creation, life and death, time, human existence, morality, tradition and modernity; and then so much more.

Add to this her unique diction that happily marries Lakhnavi Urdu with Awadhi, Braj, Poorbi, Dakkani, Hinglish, English, Persian and Arabic and her employment of proverbs, adages, sayings and lore, with equal mastery of the colloquial and the every day common. She possesses amongst Urdu writers a unique and distinct style - not just in terms of her creating layers upon layers of themes and linking the present with the past but also by dint of her particular use of language - that makes her so easy to distinguish. Her dialogue is crisp and varies suitably with the education and background of the speaker, in terms of diction as well as references and ways of putting things. There are few in the language who can lay claim to such distinctiveness and originality. A brilliant maverick, a writers' writer and masterful are the only ways to explain her.

Haider is particularly adept at depicting aristocratic upper and upper middle class households that are modern and yet also steeped in tradition. The household central to the story is that of the successful Barrister Azhar Ali, his prominent social worker wife Badrunnisa Azhar Ali (Bittu Baji) and their urbane, mild-mannered, leftist student leader son Qanbar Ali that lives in a mansion amidst sprawling grounds and by the river. In the neighborhood is the mansion of Raja Anwar Hussain (whose ancestor once fed three cups (katori) of a beverage (sattu) to a sadhu and hence the estate that was subsequently endowed on him by a king came to be called Teen Katori or three cups (since it was believed that the largesse was the outcome of that earlier kindness); Raja sahib's three daughters were called Teen Katorian by those who were resentful of his wealth (an instance also of Haider's quintessential wit and love for wordplay).

The story unfolds with the development of the characters of the Barrister Ali household (called Red Rose) as well as the Teen Katori household, with its three Katoris and two sons. Unrequited love, marriage matches that didn't work, contemplations on post independence India and its brands of politics, erosion of old values, life under the Raj, conflicting political notions and contestations, and reflections on the richness of the syncretic local culture characterize the first half of the novel. Neither overtly romantic and nostalgic nor dismissive of the archaic, Haider is calibrated and sensitive in her treatment of evolving social and political milieus, exploring all available perspectives.

The novel's titular character is an attractive, highly educated, bespectacled young recently orphaned girl who is forced to seek refuge with these grand families after running out of other options. Haider depicts her and her dignified battle with the indignities of poverty with affectionate adeptness and great sensitivity. However, just when one starts getting to know Chandni Begum and indeed rooting for her, one encounters one of the most dramatic turn of events in contemporary literature. A devastating conflagration rudely upends everything. Subsequent chapters are built on memories, recollections, interpretations and reinterpretations of the events leading up to the middle of the novel and consequences of the events that take place there. Underlying it all is the fickleness of earthly life and how worldly fortune changes hands, often when one least expects it. While the first half of the novel is tightly woven and plot driven, the second half is more contemplative and involves a lot more of the narrator's voice and reflections. Both have their strengths and high points that ultimately makes this a powerful and deeply evocative novel.

What is striking amidst the usual wistfulness, nostalgia and brooding sense of loss that generally permeates Haider's writing is actually the humour that this novel also offers. Through comical situations, at times Dickens-like characterization, choice of names and clever dialogue, time and again Haider displays her lighter side, and it is very enjoyable. At the same time, what starts off as a chapter with characters that initially appear like caricatures and somewhat ridiculous - the chapter titled Sanobar Film Company - develops into a remarkably empathetic depiction of traditional artists and performers of talent but highly uncertain income and low social status, dependent on the largesse of the rich, and frequently reduced to lives of great economic uncertainty and hardship. In Master I.B. Mogray, his wife, the once beautiful Chambeli Devi, their intelligent, complexed and sulking daughter Gul Abbass (also known as Baila Rani), and their caddish son Parizada Gulab (also known as Lotan Kabootar) Haider creates everlastingly enticing characters that are highly believable and brilliantly conceived.

Haider's great strength as a writer is to be able to capture multiple perspectives, predicaments and social attitudes. This comes to the fore as she traces the troubles and travails of the Mogray family, its resilience and loyalty to each other while facing adversity, the degrading attitudes often employed towards them and indeed other such entertainers and artists, and the eventual decline of such artists and their art with the advent of newer forms of entertainment. Baila's successful social climbing can easily be dealt with mere contempt. But Haider has the brilliance and the heart to conceive and convey where she is coming from, what she has had to encounter, and how and why she reacts strongly to the snobbery of old, landed elite families and their minions.

The novels abounds in many other memorable characters: such as the struggling but eventually successful and ever gallant and thoughtful poet Bahar Phoolpuri, the family accountant, poet and old associate Munshi Bhawani Shankar Sokhta, the old, adroit and loyal housekeeper Alhamdo, the senile jewish widow Hannah, the actor Chakotra Gharwali (who often acts as a black dev) and becomes a godman called the Mountain god, the household help Illaichi Khanum and Batashan Buwa, Bhola Nath the poor thief, the Parsi household of Qasr-e-Shireen, especially Mrs Dhondhi and her literal and hilarious translations of English expressions into Urdu, the bohemian girl Maggie Mem aka Aasman Sai Toota Sitara Safaid ul Zaman i Ghaleecha Begum, the semi-invalid, melancholic and romantic youngest Katori Safia Sultan Begum who is also a successful education entrepreneur, and the romantic and mystical (one time deemed lunatic) and Katori House's eldest son Waqar or Vicky, and many more.

The novel has additional gems such as a wonderfully lucent chapter about Tipu Sultan and his gallant defiance of the British, evocative references to the ancient play Kadambri, great satire on colonial looting and the colonists' local collaborators, toadies and native emulators, luminous evocation of religious rituals, the Shia tradition and spirituality as practiced in Hindustan, a striking description of the devastation caused by a flood in the river Gomti, loving mention of flora and fauna, trees and birds, and the changing seasons, and much else.

Nothing quite like the heady experience of reading the great Qurat-ul-ain-Haider. Her juxtaposing of past & present, tradition & modernity, & east & west, is brilliant, her diction rich, her style distinct, her literary aplomb irresistible, her voice grand. This is a novel to be savored and wondered about and brooded over and then revisited again. And then again.


Some quotes

ہم ایک تو رئیس زادے۔ اور انقلابی۔ لہٰذا بہت ہی رومینٹک۔ بقول پطّرس ایک تو کُتا۔ اور بکری کی جسامت کا کُتا۔ گویا بہت ہی کُتا!



ناول چاندی بیگم کے ایک باب صنوبر فلم کمپنی میں جب کچھ بے حد فلمی کردار قنبر علی سے ملنے آتے ہیں تو منشی بھوانی شنکر سوختہ آمد کا اعلان یوں کرتے ہیں
بھیا۔یک طائفہ کنجراں آمدہ است
بھیا ان سے مشہور مغنیوں بابت گفتگو کرتے ہوے ان کی کسمپرسی دیکھ کر ہمدرد ہو جاتے ہیں

But like any great writer with a universal outlook, empathy & humanism her characters are not reduced to caricatures. As the novel progresses the reader is introduced to their perspectives and the kind of social degradation and exploitation they are subjected to

[Maliha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book moves fast and quite with a relish untill the main charactor dies in an uexpected fire even before mid book.It doesn't affects the interest in the novel but it does takes a turn and effects the pace and the direction of the story . Even after that it is still worth reading and deserves 3-stars.If i had to give stars before the middle of the book then it would have deserved 4-stars.

Read by your self to decide.
Regards
Maliha.

[Tariq Ahmad Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

تقسیم ہند کے بعد ہندوستان میں بسنے والے مسلمانوں کی زندگیوں میں بالعموم اور لکھنؤ کے باسی مسلمانوں کی زندگی میں بالخصوص آنے والے معاشرتی اور تہذیبی بدلاؤ کے گردا گرد لکھا گیا یہ ناول اردو ادب کا ایک شاندار نثر پارہ ہے۔ لکھنؤ کا جاگیرداری مسلم معاشرہ، اس معاشرے کے اندر رچی بسی تقسیم ، وقت کے ساتھ ساتھ اس سارے نظام میں در آنے والا زوال اور کمزروری، اس نظام کا حصہ لوگوں کے رویے اور وقت کے ساتھ ان میں آنے والا بدلاؤ اس ناول کے اہم تھیم ہیں۔
قراۃالعین حیدر کا ہر ناول ان کے وسیع مطالعے اور گہرے مشاہدے کا غماز ہے۔ اس ناول میں بھی آپ کو جہاں لکھنوی مسلم تاریخ و ادب سے بہت سے حوالے نظر آئیں گے وہیں آپ کو ضرورت کے مطابق بدلتی بولیاں اور بھاشائیں بھی دیکھنے پڑھ ے کو ملیں گی
۔
ریڈ روز اور تین کٹوری کے میں رہائش پزیر دو مسلم جاگیردار خاندانوں اور ان کی نئی نسلوں کی یہ کہانی پڑھنے لائق ہے جو قرآۃ العین حیدر کے روایتی خوبصورت انداز اور نثر میں بیان کی گئی ہے

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"اللہ کی شان دیکھو ۔ پھول پتے درخت - چرند پرند سب لاکھوں برس سے ویسن ہیں جیسے تھے ۔ لیموں ہے تو اس کی مہک مزا وہی ۔ آم ہے۔ جامن۔ کروندہ۔ بھٹا جو پھل تر کاری چکھو ۔ ویسن ۔ بس آدم زاد خراب گیا۔"
" دنیا کی کوئی چُولَے ٹھیک نہیں بیٹھتی۔ کیوں منشی جی ؟"
"ہاں امدو باجی ۔ دنیا مقام عبرت ہے ۔ آدمی اپنے آپ کو اچھے برے الفاظ میں ، نیک و بد اعمال میں۔۔۔۔ سُروں میں ڈھال لیتا ہے کبھی بے سُرا ہو جاتا ہے۔"


قرۃ العین حیدر کے ناول "چاندنی بیگم" کا موضوع تقسیم کے بعد، ہندوستان کا خصوصاً لکھنؤ کا، مسلم معاشرہ اور اس معاشرے کو درپیش مسائل ہے۔کہانی میں ایک طرف ریڈ روز اور تین کٹوری ہاؤس میں بسنے والے دو جاگیردار خاندان ہیں اور دوسری طرف ایک پست طبقہ ہے۔ یہ ناول ان دو خاندانوں کی پرانی اور نئی نسل کی کہانی ہے جو ایک دوسرے سے قطعی مختلف ہیں۔ کہیں بھی ان نسلوں کے حالات، نظام، نظریات، سوچ اور خیالات میں مطابقت نہیں ہے۔

قرۃ العین حیدر کا مشاہدہ انتہائی باریک بین ہے، اس ناول میں انہوں نے ایک وسیع تاریخی اور سماجی منظرنامہ پیش کیا ہے اور معاشرتی مسائل کو 430 صفحات میں نہایت عمدگی کے ساتھ سمیٹا ہے۔ کہیں کہیں مزاح کا عنصر بھی موجود ہے۔ کردار بہت زیادہ ہیں لیکن جاندار ہیں۔ مصنفہ کا اسلوب بلاشبہ پیچیدہ اور علامتی ہے لیکن ایک بار کہانی پر گرفت آجائے تو مطالعہ کا لطف آجاتا ہے۔


"معاملات سے واقفیت ح��صل کرنے کے بعد ہمیں اپنی رائے بدلنی چاہیے۔ لیکن عموماً ہم ایسا کرتے نہیں کیونکہ اس طرح ہم اپنے نظریات غلط ثابت ہونے کی تو ہین برداشت کرنا نہیں چاہتے۔۔ "

[Mehfooz Siddiqui]

I want To Read This Book

[Senjuti · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is for the English translation.

I've never been so frustrated with not being able to read a book in its original language. The translation was jarring, to the point of being incoherent in parts.

The book, however, is so brilliant that I stuck with it. It is a breathtakingly ambitious novel, peopled with interesting, fully fleshed out characters. The social and political commentary is sharp and astute. The setting is beautifully evoked - an important document of a part of Indian culture and history that is receding rapidly from public consciousness.

I'm now very excited to read this author's other works, hopefully I'll have better luck with the translation.