Deo Langkhui

Deo Langkhui
The Cover Page of Deo Langkhui
Author(s)	Dr Rita Chowdhury
Country	Assam, India
Language	Assamese
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Jyoti Prakashan, Guwahati
Publication date	2005
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	416

Deo Langkhui (The Divine Sword) is an Assamese novel written by Dr Rita Chowdhury. The book unveils some important aspects of then contemporary Tiwa society and also a series of their customs and traditions. The novel is based on historical evidence of then Tiwa kingdom, but the main protagonist is the royal lady Chandraprabha, queen of Pratapchandra. The book is a detailed account of the time of then Assam. It is full of romance, conflict, betrayal, aggression and loyalty. The novel can be read as a fantastic story or as a historical novel or as an epic.^[1]

The novel brought its author the Sahitya Akademi Award for Assamese, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.^[2]

Synopsis

The story is about the life-struggle of Chandraprabha, the banished queen of king Pratapsingha. She was banished by him to the Gova kingdom for she made merry with the Gova king in the Jonbeel Mela. The Gova king reveals his chivalry by accepting Chandraprabha as one of the members of his kingdom. In the Gova kingdom, Chandraprabha makes herself familiar with the customs of the people, and she even changes her former identity to Konchari, a Tiwa name for women. Starting from Chandraprabha, the story goes till her great grandson and thus in between there are lots of characters who are fairly rich in their own qualities.^[1]

Plot summary

The writer's approach

The writer has shown dexterity in depicting all the characters, their actions, inner conflicts, etc, and gives us a message that sex and beauty are not the root of all relations. Besides she gives a detailed account of that particular time of Assam. She throws light on social, cultural and some other important aspects of Assam’s history. She also refers to Jonbeel Mela, a symbol of union between the upper and lower Assam, which becomes not only a place of exchanging merchandise, but also a place for exchanging hearts. Through the writer’s dexterity of descriptive power, the novel delves into the readers’ mind like a vivid picture, meticulously reflecting all the aspects of every incident.^[1]

Kingdoms

Characters

• Chandraprobha/Konchari : Chandraprabha is the queen of Pratapsingha, banished by him to the Gova king for she had made merry with the latter. In Gova kingdom Chandraprobha is highly respected by the subjects and she makes familiar herself with its customs and traditions and also changes her identity to Konchari.

• Pratapsingha/Mayamatta :

• Xadhukumar: Xadhukumar, the Gova king, is an exceptional character with boundless respect for women. He gives shelter to Chandraprabha with immense respect. He even never married with a view to give the throne to the child which is yet to born from Chandraprabha.

• Jongal Balahu :
• Arimatta :
• Gangawati :
• Ratnasingha :
• Lakhaitara :
• Fa Badacha :
• Xukumola :
• Ratnawali:
• Dhaneswar:
• Samol:

Awards

Rita Choudhury has won the Kolaguru Bishnuprasad Rabha Award in 2006^[3] and Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008 for this much-acclaimed novel.^[4][5][6][7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Saikia, Samiran. "Between the lines". http://www.assamtribune.com/mar1309/mosaic1.html. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
2. ^ "Sahitya Akademi Awards listings". Sahitya Akademi, Official website. http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/sahitya-akademi/awards/akademi_awards.jsp. 
3. ^ "Chowdhury, Narzary given Akademi award". The Assam Tribune. Wednesday, February 18, 2009. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1809/at05. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
4. ^ "Sahitya Akademi Awards for Choudhury, Narzary". 2008-12-23. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1617166911.html. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
5. ^ Editor, Assam Times (2008-12-23). "Sahitya Academy award to 2 Assamese litterateurs". http://www.assamtimes.org/knowledge-development/2474.html. Retrieved 2009-08-02. 
6. ^ Bhattacharjee, Subhamoy (2009-01-26). "Royal allowance to community kings of Assam". http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=156608. Retrieved 2009-08-02. 
7. ^ "Literary feats lauded". The Assam Tribune. Monday, December 29, 2008. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=dec2908/City2. Retrieved 2009-10-22.