Chander Pahar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chander Pahar

Signet Press edition cover
Author	Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay
Translators	Santanu Sinha Chaudhuri, Pradeep Kumar Sinha (2002 translation, reprinted 2007)
Illustrator	Shyamalkrishna Bose
Cover artist	Satyajit Ray
Country	India
Language	Bengali
Genre	Adventure/
Publisher	M. C. Sircar & Sons Limited (Bengali), Orient Blackswan (English translation, 2002)
Publication date	1937
Published in English	1 July 2002
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	175 pp (Eng. trans. edition)
ISBN	978-81-250-3069-0

Chander Pahar (Bengali: চাঁদের পাহাড়, meaning Mountain of the Moon) is an exciting adventure novel. It was written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and first published in 1937. The story is about a young Bengali man's thrilling adventures in the wild forests of Africa. This novel is one of the most popular adventure stories in Bengali literature. It is also one of Bibhutibhushan's most famous books. The book even led to a series of films and comics.

What is Chander Pahar About?

Shankar facing a lion.

This novel tells the story of Shankar Roy Chowdhury. He is an ordinary young man from Bengal, India. His adventures take place in Africa between 1909 and 1910. After finishing college at age 20, Shankar's family faced money problems. He almost had to take a boring job in a jute mill. Shankar really did not want to do this.

Shankar loved geography and dreamed of exploring. He wanted to follow famous explorers like Livingstone and Marco Polo. He was very keen to learn about African forests and animals. Luckily, he got a job as a clerk for the Uganda Railway. He quickly moved to Africa to start his adventure.

Shankar's Early Challenges in Africa

After working on the railway for a few months, Shankar faced his first danger. It was a man-eating lion! Later, he became a station-master at a lonely station. This station was in the middle of the Veldts, which are wide open grasslands. Here, he barely escaped a deadly black mamba snake.

While at this post, Shankar met Diego Alvarez. Alvarez was a Portuguese explorer who looked for gold and diamonds. Shankar rescued and cared for him. Alvarez's arrival changed Shankar's life forever.

The Search for the Diamond Mine

As Alvarez got better, he told Shankar about his adventures. He and his friend, Jim Carter, had searched for priceless yellow diamonds. These diamonds were said to be in caves on the Mountain of the Moon (Chander Pahar). This mountain was in the Richtersveld area. People whispered that a mythical monster, the Bunyip, guarded the mine.

Alvarez and Carter had gone into the thick jungle. Villagers had warned them not to go. Sadly, Carter was killed in a terrible way, supposedly by the Bunyip. Shankar was very inspired by Alvarez's stories. He quit his job and decided to join Alvarez. They would search for the diamond mines together.

Dangers and Discoveries

Shankar and Alvarez faced many difficulties. They met a mean gambler and heard legends about another monster, Dingonek. They also had to deal with a powerful, active volcano. Eventually, they got lost in the forests. There, Alvarez was killed by the Bunyip.

Feeling very sad, Shankar tried to find his way back to people. By accident, he found the Bunyip's cave. This cave was actually the diamond mine! He almost got lost inside. He then found the remains of an Italian explorer named Attilio Gatti. From Gatti's notes, Shankar learned that this was indeed the famous diamond mine.

Returning Home and Future Plans

Leaving the mine, Shankar got lost in the Kalahari Desert. He nearly died of thirst. Luckily, a survey team found him and took him to a hospital. From there, he sailed back home to India. Before leaving Africa, he wrote about his adventures for a newspaper. This earned him some money. He named the volcano after Alvarez, to honor his friend.

Shankar ends the book by saying he plans to return to the cave one day. He wants to go with a large team. He hopes to continue the legacy of Alvarez, Carter, and Gatti, and explore more.

Who are the Main Characters?

• Shankar Roy Chowdhury — He is the main hero of the story. Shankar is a young man from a village in Bengal. He is smart, brave, and loves adventures.
• Diego Alvarez — A Portuguese explorer. He becomes a good friend and guide to Shankar. Together, they explore the deepest parts of Richtersveld to find the Mountain of the Moon.
• Jim Carter — A British explorer. He was Alvarez's partner on an earlier trip. Alvarez told Shankar that the Bunyip killed Carter while they were exploring the Mountains of the Moon.
• Attilio Gatti — An Italian explorer. He found the diamond mine caves around 1879. He died in a cave (which Shankar later found) on his way back. His own followers betrayed and killed him.

Chander Pahar in Movies and Comics

The exciting story of Chander Pahar has been made into movies and graphic novels.

Movies Based on the Book

• A film called Chander Pahar was released on December 20, 2013. It was directed by Kamaleshwar Mukherjee. The movie was filmed in different parts of Africa. It was one of the most expensive films made in the Bengali film industry.
• Director Kamaleshwar Mukherjee said Chander Pahar was his "Dream Project." The film used special computer effects to make it look like big Hollywood movies. Dev played the main character, Shankar. Most of the other actors were from South Africa. It took a long time to choose who would play Diego Alvarez. Finally, South African actor Gérard Rudolf was chosen.
• The movie was filmed in amazing places like Kruger National Park, the Drakensberg mountains, and the Kalahari Desert.
• A sequel film, Amazon Obhijaan, was released in 2017. It was also directed by Kamaleshwar Mukherjee and starred Dev. This film continued the adventures of the characters from Chander Pahar.

Graphic Novels

• Moon Mountain is a Graphic novel from 2014. It is an adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's classic Chander Pahar. Penguin Books India published it. Saurav Mohapatra wrote the story, and Sayan Mukherjee created the drawings.
• Another graphic novel called Amazon Obhijaan was released. This was to promote the movie of the same name. The film's director, Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, wrote it.

Images for kids

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  Signet Press edition cover