Chandrakanta – Aiyyar Prison – {Ep.198} – Stories From India – Podcast

We continue the story of Chandrakanta with a new Aiyyar, a prison that’s more like a vacation spot, and also features a nepo-baby plotting multiple assassinations

Welcome to “Stories From India”. This is a podcast that will take you on a journey through the rich mythology, folklore and history of the Indian subcontinent. I am Narada Muni, the celestial storyteller and the original “time lord”. With my ability to travel through space and time, I can bring you exciting and fascinating stories from the past, the present, and the future. From the epic tales of the Mahabharata and Ramayana to the folktales of the Panchatantra to stories of Akbar-Birbal and Tenali Raman, I have a story for every occasion.

The purpose of the stories is neither to pass judgment nor to indoctrinate. My goal is only to share these stories with people who may not have heard them before and to make them more entertaining for those who have.

Today’s Story

In this episode, we’ll be following up on popular demand with the story of Chandrakanta, a fantasy/historical science fiction novel written by Devaki Nandan Khatri. Although the book was written in the 19th century, it takes place in a time period centuries before that, where magic and sorcery are portrayed as possible.

Let me recap the story so far.

Prince Virendra of Naugarh and Princess Chandrakanta from neighboring Vijaygarh are hopelessly in love. The Kingdoms weren’t at conflict, not in the beginning. In fact when the two of them were kids, their parents had even arranged their marriage. But now the Kingdoms were in a cold war. This was largely instigated by Kroor Singh who was in Chandrakanta’s father’s court. His motive was love, money, and power. Kroor Singh wanted to marry Chandrakanta, become King of the land and get access to Vijaygarh’s treasury. Kroor Singh was a nepo-baby – not a minister himself, but his father was a minister. And he was sure to get the job.

Each of the main characters had some very special sidekicks. They were Aiyaars. You could even argue that the Aiyaars were the real heroes. Because they did all of the real work.

In Chandrakanta, rival Aiyyars are locked in a cat and mouse game – trying to outwit each other. Aiyyars are the professionals of this game – they are like a cross between Mystique from X-Men, Ethan Hunt from Mission-Impossible and Sherlock Holmes. Because they can shapeshift, they have access to technology from a future century, and they are experts at chemistry. 

Virendra Singh and Chandrakanta were pining for each other. But Virendra was banned from entering Vijaygarh, thanks to the Cold war. So he sent his Aiyyaar Tej Singh to deliver a message. 

Nazim, Kroor Singh’s Aiyyaar, disguised as Champa, was spying on Chandrakanta. But Chapla, Chandrakanta’s other aiyyaar friend spotted this deception. She arrested Nazim and rescued Champa. Ahmed, Kroor Singh’s other aiyyaar, rescued Nazim, but the two were tricked by Ketaki, Chandrakanta’s maid. Only, it wasn’t Ketaki. It was Tej Singh, who had just finished delivering Virendra’s letter to Chandrakanta and was now carrying her reply. 

Ketaki, really Tej Singh, captured Ahmed and took him away, while Nazim went to wake up Kroor Singh. That’s where we’ll continue the story.

Ketaki had hoped to capture both Ahmed and Nazim. That would have left Kroor Singh aiyyaar-less. But she had to settle for just Ahmed. Quickly she transformed back into Tej Singh. Tej Singh put Ahmed in his bag and hoisting the heavy aiyyaar on his back, made his way back to Naugarh.

Meanwhile, back in Naugarh, Virendra Singh was experiencing news-deprivation anxiety. This was well before 24-hour news cycles were set up. Normally, Virendra would have had Tej Singh to talk reason into him. But right now Tej Singh was out there somewhere. Maybe he had delivered the message, maybe he had a reply. Or maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he had been caught! It seemed unlikely since Tej singh was just so competent, you know. But then again Kroor Singh had two Aiyyaars and Tej Singh was by himself.

Virendra didn’t eat or drink or sleep properly. And when the palace staff observed their future King behaving this way, naturally it caused them a bit of worry. Their anxiety was because of the possibility of a stock market crash. Well, that was not going to happen. And mainly because Tej Singh returned at dawn before the hypothetical stock market opened.

Virendra looked at the big sack on Tej Singh’s back and had many questions. “Is that a present for me? Is it from Chandrakanta? Is that her, inside the sack? Did you really carry the sack all the way?”

Tej Singh put down the sack and took a small neatly folded letter from inside his pocket and handed it to Virendra. Here, this was Chandrakanta’s reply. That should keep Virendra busy for a few hours while Tej Singh did something important with this Aiyyaar of Kroor Singh whom he had imprisoned in the sack and carried for several hours. And that something important was to carry him for several more hours and imprison him somewhere else. A secret place. One day Virendra would know. But Virendra wasn’t paying any attention to Tej Singh. He was reading the letter.

Normally, if you or I had to carry a person for several hours across hard and difficult terrain, we’d at least sit down, or drink some water, eat some food. But not Tej Singh. He knew the flimsy jute sack wasn’t an effective prison for Ahmed. So, he was going to move on. But first, he wanted to summon Agent 007. Devi Singh. Who was another aiyyaar.

Devi appeared immediately when summoned, and said. “Singh. Devi. Singh”

“Knock it off, Devi” Tej Singh replied “I know who you are, seeing as you are my brother in law and my student. And why are you wearing a Tuxedo and a bow-tie?”

Devi apologized and said that the self-introduction was automatic because he was in character. He couldn’t seem to help it. And the Tuxedo was because why not? He had a license to chill after all.

Anyway, Tej Singh they had a mission and they should go right away. He also overrode Devi Singh, when Devi asked to get some new gadgets from Agent Q. Tej also made Devi Singh carry the sack, over Devi’s protests that the jute fibers would spoil his Tuxedo and they might charge him extra at the store he had rented it from. Again, for several hours through mountains and valleys and forests the two of them walked. Until finally they reached the base of a hill. Cleverly hidden behind some boulders was a cave. It was pitch dark in the cave until Tej Singh lit a torch. As they walked past the inscriptions and finally reached a stone door, Devi Singh remarked that he would have gotten major Lord of the rings vibes here if it weren’t for the fact that the books hadn’t been written yet.

Tej Singh turned to Devi and said. “Look I’m going to show you how to open and close this secret door. You are going to go on a new secret mission, and you may arrest other aiyyaars and if you do, you are to bring them here and lock them in”

What other aiyyaars? Devi Singh wondered. You’ve got Ahmed and Nazim is the only one left.

But Tej Singh cautioned that everyone powerful seemed to have multiple Aiyyaars manufactured on the spur of the moment to advance the plot. For example, Devi Singh hadn’t been mentioned earlier in the story and yet he suddenly sprung into today’s episode didn’t he?

It was hard to argue against that. Devi Singh accepted that argument. He followed Tej Singh’s instruction and put his hand inside a lion statue and pulled and twisted the tongue that was inside it. Instantly, the door opened.

Devi Singh had been expecting to see a dingy prison cell block with a tiny shaft of light, maybe a little slot in the bars for food to be passed in. But what he saw was mind blowing.

They were in a beautiful valley, lush green grass, trees ripe with all kinds of fruit, a stream with fresh cool water nearby. Devi wondered if Tej had brought them to the right door. This seemed the type of place that Devi wouldn’t mind coming to on holiday.

Tej Singh let Ahmed out of the sack. He was still unconscious so Tej Singh used a special salt to bring him back. When he woke up and looked at the beautiful walls around him, the first thought Ahmed had was that he was in heaven. I’d have to agree with you there Devi Singh said, with more than a twinge of jealousy. 

He asked Tej Singh – was this really meant to be a prison? Was it only a metaphorical prison, designed to make people lazy and decadent?

Not really, Tej said. If a prison of the mind was the theme he had been going for, he’d have added a McDonald’s, added a giant TV showing Netflix shows all day. This was definitely a physical prison. Ahmed would have a very loose, very long chain here. He could untie it, but it was really not necessary. Where could he go? All around them were tall peaks. Impossible to scale those, even with specialized climbing equipment.

Ahmed and Devi Singh looked around and realized it was quite true. It was, in fact, a physical prison. A self-organizing one, meaning no one had to look in periodically to give the prisoners food or water. The prisoners could themselves pick any fruit they wanted, and drink the water from the stream. Ahmed settled in and prayed for Devi Singh to arrest a few more people, because while this place had all the glamor of a vacation destination, it would be very boring if he was here all by himself.

Tej Singh and Devi Singh left the place and locked the door again, again using the Lion’s tongue.

Tej also explained that the two of them were the only ones who knew about this place. His own aiyyaari guru had shown him. And that guru was now no more.

They walked back to the palace again, where Virendra was waiting anxiously.

Tej Singh announced that Devi Singh needed to take a vacation.

Virendra didn’t care about that, or that Tej Singh had italicized the word vacation or winked at Devi Singh when saying that. He had something much more important to discuss.

Tej Singh dismissed Devi Singh to go talk to Agent Q before going on his secret miss..- I mean vacation. Tej Singh knew exactly what Virendra had on his mind that was so important: Chandrakanta. Or rather that he wanted to sneak into her palace to meet her. 

Virendra was surprised that Tej knew what Virendra had wanted. Had he dared to read Chandrakanta’s letter to the Prince? Tej Singh dryly called it a lucky guess. Maybe it was the fact that the Prince was dressed in his hunting outfit and was carrying a backpack, which he normally wouldn’t unless he was hunting far away. Like right by the Vijaygarh border. And that he was wearing the perfume that he always did when meeting Chandrakanta. Anyway, they’d better get started soon.

You aren’t going to try to talk me out of it? Virendra asked, surprised.

“What’s the point? You’re going to override me. Words alone will not convince you, maybe what I’m hoping for is a close shave that’ll teach you”

Virendra looked at the stubble on Tej’s face, “You do need a shave, but I don’t see how that’ll teach me”

Tej threw up his hands in exasperation. “It was an expression. I haven’t rested a moment since this story began. I’ve been constantly on the move, walking back and forth to Naugarh, walking to the secret cave and back. I didn’t sit, I didn’t eat, I didn’t drink. My personal appearance is the least of my concerns! Especially if my goal is to be as invisible as possible when we’re in Vijaygarh”

Meanwhile there was a political storm brewing at their destination. Kroor Singh was at the heart of it, of course.

Kroor Singh was talking to Nazim and cursing Ahmed for getting caught so easily. Umm Nazim said awkwardly, because not long before, he had gotten caught easily, that too by Chandrakanta’s own Aiyyaar. And because that Aiyyaar was a girl, that in Kroor Singh’s chauvinistic mind was even more insulting.

And now he felt powerless. He wasn’t even officially the minister yet. He couldn’t even take stealthy action against Chandrakanta or her dad and he couldn’t take direct action against Virendra Singh. All because it was a lot  of work to convince/threaten/coerce/badger the chump minister in power right now to do things his way.

“But boss, wait a minute” Nazim said “what if the chump minister was you?”

Kroor Singh snapped that Nazim wasn’t making much sense here and if he had a point, he should get on with it.

“Well, boss. What if you were the chump minister? Then you could easily convince/threaten/coerce/badger yourself to take stealthy action against Chandrakanta and her dad, and take direct action against Naugarh”

“Don’t be silly, Nazim. I can’t become the minister while my father is still around. Oh ah!”

Kroor Singh got it. His father was a robust chap, and seemed to be ready to go to par. What Nazim was implying was that maybe between the two of them they could hasten his father’s ahem, journey to the afterlife. The way Kroor Singh saw it, he was actually doing a service. Hadn’t his father often said as he dangled the baby Kroor singh on his knee that he only wanted the best for his child. That baby, now all grown up into an evil mastermind, was ready to take over the best – the best princess for his wife, the best kingdom to rule on. So why should his father stand in the way? 

Kroor Singh lost no time, he went straight to his father’s drinks cabinet and liberally laced the drinks there with some poison that Nazim had given him. There was unfortunately some collateral damage – when the cook, who had secretly been drinking from the family’s liquor cabinet took ill the very next day. Kroor Singh’s father began the search for a replacement cook but there was no need. Because the next day, the minister passed away.

That threw the Kingdom into a bit of chaos. Kroor Singh, the cold blooded killer, took advantage of the traditional days of mourning to stay cooped up in his home, plotting his next moves.

When he emerged, the King would make him minister, it was already there. He had also carefully destroyed the remaining poisoned bottles in case the coroner or the insurance agent suspected foul play.

Soon, he would have the Kingdom in his grasp. As minister, he would command the armies, the treasury. He would practically hold the keys to the Kingdom. At that point, it would be easy to arrange another “accident” that would rid him of the King and Queen. Then with apparent reluctance he would marry Chandrakanta. And that’s it. He didn’t think too far beyond that.

What of Naugarh? Kroor Singh would crush their armies with his vastly superior ones at Vijaygarh. And meanwhile Virendra Singh and Tej Singh might try something more subtle meanwhile – like sneaking into the palace and meeting Chandrakanta. If they did, Kroor Singh was ready, because he had deployed Nazim on surveillance duty. Chandrakanta was to be observed at all times. If Nazim spotted Virendra Singh or Tej Singh, he was not to interfere. He might get caught like last time. Instead he was to fetch Kroor Singh and alert the guards to trap them in. Once they were caught, the current King would naturally order a swift execution if they were caught in the act, so to speak.

He grinned his evil mastermind laugh as he realized that for the first time in a while, he was happy.

That’s all for this time.

Some notes on the show

Aiyaars according to Devaki Nandan Khatri were not really magical unlike how they were portrayed in the television series. Aiyyars were just really really good using the three things I mentioned – futuristic technology, chemistry, and stealth. 

A huge appeal of the book is in how Khatri keeps us guessing about who’s using Aiyyari and what their true intentions are, like a murder mystery where you keep changing your guess about whether it was the butler or the cook or the driver or the mailman who did it.

The previous Chandrakanta episodes were Episode 130 and Episode 137 and Episode 174. They are linked on the site sfipodcast.com. Check them out

That’s all for now. 

Next Time

In the next episode, we’ll go back to the Ramayana as many of you have been asking for it. We’ll see Ram, Laxman and the army of Vaanars find a way across the Ocean to Lanka.

Feedback

Thank you all for the comments on Social Media and on Spotify’s Q&A! I can’t directly reply to the questions there, but I’ll address them here on this show.

Thank you to Ani Kar, Prasanna, Aarush, Rajul, Vamsi for the feedback. I’ve also noted your story requests and added them to my ever-growing backlog.

I might create a poll here so I can start prioritizing between all these areas. Look out for that in the next episode or two.

If you have any other comments or suggestions or if there are particular stories you’d like to hear, please do let me know by leaving a comment or a review on the site sfipodcast.com, or tweet @sfipodcast, or reply to the questions on Spotify Q&A. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.

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A big thank you to each of you for your continued support and your feedback.

The music is from Purple Planet.

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next time!