What is "durgeshnandini"

Durgeshnandini (, Doorgeshnondini, Daughter of the Feudal Lord) is a Bengali historical romance novel written by Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1865. Durgeshnandini is a story of the love triangle between Jagat Singh, a Mughal General, Tilottama, the daughter of a Bengali feudal lord and Ayesha, the daughter of a rebel Pathan leader against whom Jagat Singh was fighting. The story is set in the backdrop of Pathan- Mughal conflicts that took place in south-western region of modern-day Indian state of Paschimbanga ( West Bengal) during the reign of Akbar.

Durgeshnandini is the first Bengali novel written by Bankim Chandra as well as the first major Bengali novel in the history of Bengali literature. The story of the novel was borrowed from some local legends of Arambag region, Hooghly district, Paschimbanga, collected by Bankim Chandra’s great-uncle. Although the conservative critics mocked the lucidity of Bankim Chandra’s language, Durgeshnandini was highly praised by most of the contemporary scholars and newspapers.