Chaudah Phere (Hindi, Paperback, Shivani)

Chaudah Phere is a Hindi novel by Shivani.

Summary of the Book

Ahalya, the daughter of a Kumaooni businessman in Calcutta, begins to forget her mother who left her husband to live in a hermitage in the hilly Kumaoon region of Uttar Pradesh. Her father remarries, choosing a smart and well-educated Bengali woman, Mallika. Ahalya begins her education in a boarding school. Her father takes her to their hometown so as to introduce her to the rest of their family at her cousin’s marriage. She meets a man named Raju and falls for him, but he rejects her for a life as a soldier, he believes, has no place for any women. When Ahalya learns of his death in the Indo-China war, she breaks down. Soon, her father begins to try and convince her to marry a Government official, a highly egoistic and chauvinistic person. She begins teaching at the same school she studied at and gives in to her father’s demands. Three days before her marriage however, she learns that Raju is still alive. Her conflict with her heart and her respect for her father form the majority of the novel.

About Shivani

Gaura Pant, better known as Shivani, was a popular Hindi writer. She is best remembered for Surangma, Bhairvee, Krishnakali and other stories, Sunhu Taat Yeh Akath Kahani, and Aparadhini.

A Padma Shri awardee, Shivani pioneered female-centric Hindi fiction, and her novel Kariye Chima was adapted into a film. Her other novels, Surangma, Rativilaap, and Teesra Beta, were adapted into mainstream TV serials.