#the return of chandu

[weirdlookindog]

Bela Lugosi and Maria Alba in The Return of Chandu (1934)

[contentabnormal]

Here is the 7th issue of Content Abnormal magazine!!! Happy Halloween everyone!!!!

[faustiandevil]

In honor of Father’s Day I started watching The Return of Chandu and I am loving the bad guys’ little cat hoodies. I want one too!!

[visplay]

Chris The Return of Chandu is an hour film cut from the 3 hour serial, The Return of Chandu, they also cut Chandu and the Magic Island from this serial which is boring, I watched the hour version not the serial, this second cut version is much better, still not a film but this has good imagery and music, involving the cat worshipping island of Lemuria and Bela Lugosi’s Chandu, the psychic superhero, I will still pursue the original uncut serial, Watch: On Subscription Service.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Zanado / ザナド, Shambhala / シャンバラ, and Agartha / アガルタ

Zanado (JP: ザナド; rōmaji: zanado), also known as the Red Canyon, is the site of ruins that the Nabateans once called home in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. This name comes from ザナドゥ (rōmaji: zanadu) Xanadu, more traditionally known as 上都, Shàngdū. Literally meaning "Upper Capital," Shàngdū was the summer capital of China's Yuan dynasty. When it was first constructed, the city was called 開平, Kāipíng; less than a decade later, it would be Kublai Khan who gave it the name we use today. In a century's time, Shàngdū would be abandoned, the people driven off or killed when the Ming dynasty wrested power from Toghon Temür, the last ruler of the Yuan.

Before its collapse, Shàngdū was a great city that even the Western world had heard of. Infamous Venetian explorer Marco Polo had visited during the reign of Kublai Khan. He referred to the city by the name Chandu or Ciandu, and thoroughly recounted the intricate, artistic structure of the city, remarking of rooms gilded and rich with paintings. The city held two palaces—one of marble, one of wicker—as well as a great park containing vast meadows, lovely fountains and brooks, and a plethora of flora and fauna. Three centuries later, the English cleric Samuel Purchas published a work that, for brevity's sake, we'll simply call Purchas his Pilgrimes, which collected descriptions of various locations and religions. Amongst this was a rewording of Marco Polo's account of Shàngdū, which Purchas instead called Xandu.

It was Purchas' documentation that reached English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797. He was struck by an intensely vivid dream after reading of Xandu, and from this begot his famed Kubla Khan. He exaggerated the beautiful land that Marco Polo wrote of, and gave the world the Xanadu. He also conjured up a canyon that ruptured, the burst releasing a great river through the land. In that moment, Kubla Khan received a prophecy of war. The poem is most commonly thought to portray Xanadu as an idyllic paradise, and that interpretation persists to this day, with the name being synonymous with paradise and being conflated with similar concepts like Shangri-La. Curiously, the concept of Shangri-La is a paradise hidden away in a Tibetan valley.

The Red Canyon leans into the idea of Shàngdū being this long lost paradise. Even the fact that is a canyon of all things is likely derived from the Coleridge's poem. It could be interpreted that both the destruction of Shàngdū by the Mings and the explosion of the canyon relate to the atrocity that befell the Nabateans. Similarly, the fact that Shàngdū was utterly abandoned and forgotten, and is now largely remembered for this idealized image made by someone who only read someone else's account could tie into how the actual significance of Zanado is lost throughout Fódlan.

Shambhala (JP: シャンバラ; rōmaji: shanbara) is the underground city that the Agarthans use as their stronghold. The name Shambhala originates from Hinduism: according to the Vishnu Purana, it is in this city that Kalki, the final incarnation of the god Vishnu, is supposed to be born. It is said that he will end a dark era of unrighteousness and bring about the most virtuous age before Mahapralaya, the end of the universe.

The concept of Shambhala would later be adopted into Tibetan Buddhism, first mentioned in the Kalachakra tantra. In the story, King Manjuśrīkīrti banished thousands of people of his unnamed kingdom for practicing Surya Samadhi, the worship of the sun. As it turned out, these sun-praisers, were the wisest people of the land, and Manjuśrīkīrti was soon begging them to return. The majority of the exiles would found a city called Shambhala, which is prophesized as the origin of a savior similar to the Hindu city. It is said that when the world is overrun with violence and avarice, the Kalki king Maitreya would come from Shambhala and bring about defeat to evil and peace to the world.

Western esotericism would twist Shambhala into another form. Rather than an actual city, it was common for individuals like Alice Bailey to interpret Shambhala as a realm on another spiritual plane where the deity presiding over Earth resides. Further building off the ideas presented in Buddhism, others will interpret Shambhala as a land of a mysterious faction that do good throughout the world.

The Shambhala seen in Three Houses is very much a twisting of the classic prophecies. The Agarthans, while exiled by the Goddess to their subterranean lands like in the Buddhist text, instead use their great capabilities as a way to bring war, chaos, and darkness to the world. They also corrupt the "mysterious faction" found in esoteric works, but that more has to do with the last name to talk about today.

Agartha (JP: アガルタ; rōmaji: agaruta)was a highly-advanced civilization whose people were driven underground into Shambhala. Agartha is a mystical land found at the earth's core appearing in various occult and esoteric beliefs. Despite this, the name is very transparently derived from modern literature: Louis Jacolliot's Les Fils du Dieu told of the rise and fall of a lost Indian capital of Asgartha. The story followed no Indian traditions, instead styling for a historic account of Norse mythology based on various preexisting theories. In fact, Asgartha is derived from the Norse Ásgarðr, the land of the gods.

However, the book (and its two sequels) were incredibly popular in Jacolliot's homeland of France, and the way he framed to books as being derived from ancient manuscripts led to the idea of Agartha evolving into its own entity. Just over a decade later, occultist Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre would popularize the modern ideas of Agartha in his Mission de l'Inde en Europe. He claimed to have astral projected to an underground city with a population in the millions, all ruled by a powerful master of magic and advanced technology. From there, many occultists and esoterics would interpret Agartha as housing a Grand Lodge made up of the secret rulers of our world. It's easy to see how the concepts of Agartha and Shambhala are now commonly conflated with one another.

The Agarthans of Fire Emblem wear their inspirations on their dubstep-playing sleeves. They are a highly advanced people living under the earth's surface. They infiltrate the political scene of the overworld, manipulating the world to bring about a scenario that will let them claim revenge and utter domination of the world. Not to mention that their leader is a powerful spellcaster with actual missiles at his disposal. And in a sense of irony, all three of the locations we've looked at today are named after lands that have been viewed as paradise. Likely both the Nabateans and Agarthans thought what they once had was that perfect, idyllic life.

[belalugosi1882]

Bela Lugosi and María Alba in The Return Of Chandu 1934 (serial)

[ronmerchant]

the RETURN OF CHANDU (1934)

[vermiliondreams]

Béla in The Return of Chandu 1934 and Chandu on Magic Island 1935..He gets to play the romantic and noble hero for a flipping change... 😉

Ps look at the first photo, publicity still with two of the cast. Omfg Lugosi is a frickin TREE 😳

[ronnymerchant]

Lugosi- the RETURN OF CHANDU (1934)

[raynbowclown]

The Return Of Chandu

Oddly, in this sequel to Chandu the Magician, Bela Lugosi is “promoted” from the villain of the first movie serial to the hero, Chandu! Here, his true love, the Egyptian Princess Nadji, is in danger of being kidnapped by a cult from the ancient continent of Lemuria. And become a human sacrifice, to revive an ancient, evil, high priestess — and raise the sunken continent! The home of black magic…

[weirdlookindog]

The Return of Chandu (1934)

[contentabnormal]

Bela Lugosi as Frank Chandler, a.k.a Chandu, The Magician in The Return Of Chandu

Watercolors on Paper, 8.5" x 11", 2024

By Josh Ryals

[faustiandevil]

//points// Meow meow!!

[common-man]

Nenjai Thottadha (Unforgettable Memories)

Our Madhyamar group administrator gave us a beautiful and touching topic—“Nenjai Thottathadha” (Touch the Heart)—and encouraged us to share memories that truly moved us. Experiences differ from person to person, but the essence, the emotion, must reach the heart. Here's one such moment from my own life that still lingers in my memory like it happened yesterday.

It was during my school days, sometime in the 1960s. A highly anticipated cricket match between India and Pakistan was to be played at the Madras Corporation Stadium, which I believe was located behind Moore Market. Like most young boys back then, my friends and I were thrilled. One of my close friends assured me that he would take me along, as he had some influence with the gate authorities.

The big day came, but to my surprise and dismay, he took two of our friends and forgot me by oversight. I was left behind.

As was my routine, I went to Tambaram Ramar Kovil that morning. There, I ran into another friend who was with his uncle. Seeing me there, he asked, “Why haven’t you gone to the match?” I told him, a bit shyly, “Our friend forgot me by mistake.”

His uncle looked at me with kindness and asked, “Aren’t you disappointed?”

I replied, “No sir, he's a good friend. It was just an oversight. Maybe I’m just not lucky today.”

He smiled and said something that still echoes in my heart: “Don’t worry. Tell your parents you're going for the match—there’s still time. Go to Park Station, get down, and head to the stadium. At the 'M' stand gate (Chair Gallery), ask for Sergeant Swaminathan and tell him my name and the code I’ll give you.”

I had just three rupees in hand and a third-class season ticket. I quickly set off, full of hope. Once I reached the stadium, I nervously approached the gate and mentioned the code and the Sergeant’s name. To my amazement, I was immediately allowed in. I walked inside and found myself comfortably seated in the third row of the Chair Gallery.

The match began, and the atmosphere was electric. I was overjoyed—not just because I got in, but also because my favorite player, Chandu Borde, scored a fantastic 177 runs! It was like a dream.

Since re-entry wasn’t allowed, I stayed till the end. After the match, I went to the railway station canteen, had a cup of tea, and returned home to enjoy my mother’s delicious rice uppuma.

This wasn’t just a memorable experience—it was a touching life lesson. Sergeant Swaminathan, though I met him only briefly, recognized my calm and forgiving nature and gave me a seat in the Chair Gallery. His gesture, combined with the kindness of my friend’s uncle, still lives in my heart.

Some people don’t just help—they become part of your story. Even decades later, this memory continues to touch my soul.

K.Ragavan

22-4-25

[lyricsolution-com]

Did You Know Kartik Aaryan Mastered The Iconic 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' Title Track In Just 30 Minutes? | People News

Kartik Aaryan’s 2024 has been nothing short of spectacular, with back-to-back hits like ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ and ‘Chandu Champion’ cementing his place as one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars. His return as the quirky and fearless Rooh Baba in ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ received immense love from fans, propelling the film to box-office success.  It’s not just his acting that has captured hearts, but…

[belalugosi1882]

Bela Lugosi, Maria Alba and Clara Kimball Young in The Return Of Chandu 1934 (serial)