Kapal-Kundala
This is a compilation of two historic translations – one by an Englishman and the other by a native Indian – of Bankim Chanda Chatterjee's phenomenal romance 'Kopal-Kundala' along with several supporting materials that explore the intellectual and other important aspects of the original work as well as its renditions in other foreign languages. The book contains some new findings regarding the textual variations of the novel.
Kapal-kundala, also known as 'Mrinmoyee', is a Bengali romance novel by Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Published in 1866, it is a story of a forest-dwelling girl named Kapalkundala, who fell in love and got married to Nabakumar, a young gentleman from Saptagram, but eventually found that she is unable to adjust herself to city life. Following the success of Chattopadhyay’s first novel Durgeshnandini, he decided to write about a girl who is brought up in a remote forest by a Kapalika (Tantrik sage) and never saw anyone but her foster-father. The story is set in Dariapur, Contai in modern-day Purba Medinipur district, Paschimbanga (West Bengal) where Chattopadhyay served as a Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector.
