Chokher Bali

No amount of words is enough to praise Tagore and his works. His works have garnered such respect all over the world, it's no wonder many of our admiration towards him borderlines devotion. When I read Chokher Bali I felt that there was nothing fictitious about it. It's because Tagore's works are always rooted in reality. Set in the pre-independence era, colonisation is not very obvious in the book. It's shown in a very subtle form.

Coming to the storyline, I wouldn't bother you by going on and on about the premise. The story is centred around the newly married couple -Mahendra and Asha; Binodini- a young widow and Bihari- best friend of Mahendra. It's about how the entry of Binodini changed the course of their lives.

Tagore's exploration of characters and their emotions, however horrid they are, is what captured me throughout the book. The flow of the story is so even and sure. I never felt disconnected from the story or with the characters. The essence of the story was never lost in the translation. Another thing I admired the most in this book was Tagore's emphasis on women's education that was projected in a nuanced way.

The women of this book. This brings a different discussion altogether. It's no secret that the women in earlier centuries led a plightful life and some still do, unfortunately. This book is a glaring insight into their lives. Ashalata, married off at a very early age is very naive and gullible. It was a difficult task to bear with her throughout the book. But I still had sympathy for her situation because she's still a child that's been thrust into this whole new world, eager to please and forgive. Widowed very young, Binodini's whole life was snatched away from her. The type of life she led made her miserable and jealous of Asha's life. The way she sets out to prove that she's better than Asha to Mahendra was downright pitiful. Nevertheless, Binodini is hands down one of the best characters that have ever been written. I hate and love her at the same time. Her views and opinions were a contrast to the time she lived in. Her character arc was one of the best things in this book.

When it comes to the talk of characters I hated, Mahendra takes all the positions. He's a chauvinistic arrogant man-child. Right from his introduction to the end of the book, I hated him. His manic obsession with Binodini, yet still tagging along with Ashalata while deceiving her was so disgusting. I didn't care about his redemption arc one bit. He's still distasteful. One of my major qualms with this book was how easily he was forgiven by Ashalata.

I am keeping the best to last because if I've ranted about it in the beginning, this whole thing would be about it. 'It' being Bihari, the best thing to happen in this book after Binodini's character arc. In the beginning, I thought he was an inconsequential character. How wrong was I!! He's the real MVP of this book, in my opinion. If there's one thing I would change in this book, it is the ending. I never expected to come out of this book heartbroken. I understand why it had to be that way, but an alternate ending would have been good for my sappy heart.