IS IT about the status of widows towards the end of nineteenth century in Bengal? Has it something to do with the significance of amorous needs? Does it stress on philanthropic work a rich man finds peace in, in the absence of simple and granted favours or is it about the occult attraction, which beauty holds over man? Yes, the novel deals with each one of these and several other hidden and visible themes at different levels by stringing them together in a story that appeals to heart and mind equally. Somewhere, though it is not clear whether author intended or not, the role of destiny too creeps into the story.

One feeling stifled underneath the veneer of another gets manifested like the colour of a chameleon. Every character goes through a gamut of emotional and behavioural changes throughout the course of the book. Mahendra, a head strong man full of vanity goes through the ordeals of a hapless lover only to be snubbed. Bihari, a close confidante of Mahendra, vacillates between friendship and confesses, granted but unrequited love. Asha, the devoted ingenuous wife plays a typical traditional Indian house wife, Annapurna, the aunt, exemplifies the reckoned character of a widow in Bhadra lok Bengal. Rajalakshmi, the mother of Mahendra, gives us a glimpse of a dotting mother and a haughty character at the same time whose venomous ploys pales into insignificance before her own tricks. And Binodini, the protagonist, a repressed widow dogged by misfortune, finally finds herself in Kashi after having been in and out of perverse attempts at quenching what was never to be quenched: Seems fatalistic.

Three widows entangled with each other bring to the fore three different faces of widowhood. One quite content to put up with the rules set by the society. Another taking charge of the house like a traditional matriarch and the third, a young girl with the exquisite beauty, confronting a quandary between being a widow, an arrogant woman and a femme fatale. Superficially, all three widows seem completely in control of their lives but once we scratch the surface, not even one out of three have the leash of their lives in their hands. Rajalakshmi, though a penchant well wisher of her son, helplessly works towards unsettling his conjugal life. Annapurna, an immaculate and level headed character is compelled to leave house. And Binodini, never quite clear of her intentions, witnesses her soul being wrenched out of her body more often than not. Besides these three widows, the two men who populate the novel turns out to be two poles tied with a bond, which was never there to be seen in its most sacred form but whose illusions left the reality amazed and relieved. And one last but equally important character Asha, the wife, dumb witted but pure hearted, illustrate the duties of a wife regardless of being wronged or hard done by.

This brief story of Binodini takes us through a course where we see the human vulnerabilities pitted against the lure and bait of ancient old flesh and as almost always happens, it is the lure that wins. It is not the first time that we see such battle of morals in Tagore’s work. In Nashtneer, it is not the Bhupati, busy but loving husband, but Amal, the young litterateur brother-in-law that finds favour with the affection of Charulata, the wife of Bhupati, though relationship remains platonic just like as it does here. One thread of this simple storyline also wants us to believe that we, human beings, are consigned to the ways of our fate. It is this fatalism, illustrated quite vociferously, that works towards making characters acquiescing after having been through a phase of some willful decisions and colouring the story with a colour that so undeservingly mars the depth of an otherwise tale of deep emotions playing at different levels to show us an interplay of emotions in the echelons of depth of human soul.

The abysmal plight and pathetic state of widowhood shorn of any right of remarriage and conflict of carnal desires and morals of a young unrequited flesh forms the basic plot of this novel, originally in Bengali that Tagore claimed as his first full-length work of literature. As the translator, Sukhendu Ray admits in his note, some liberties have been taken by excisions where the subtleties of one language came into conflict with another. Though some expurgations too have been exercised, this gem keeps its radiance alive even in translation, thanks to the translator’s stupendous work. I made it a point to read the novel before watching the film and I think this is the best way to approach cinema based on a piece of literature.