Another classic by Sharatchandra Chattopadyay. This good Novel entertained me a great deal and I am actually sad that it is over.
To understand Srikanta or any Indian novel of this era we must first understand the political, social and religious aspects. Inequality, Injustice and social evils like caste system were gripping the society to its core and independence was a distant dream. It was customary to reveal your caste before you even serve food to another person as they might 'lose their caste' if you are from a lower caste. If the parents of a 13 year old girl were unable find her a groom they would lose their caste too. It did not matter if she was marrying a 65 year old man, but marry she must. Death was an everyday matter, entire townships were getting shutdown due to epidemics like cholera and plague.
Sharatchadra Chatterjee's semi autobiographical novel is set in these crazy times. It is usually taken as a triangular love story, but I find it much more than that. Somehow the vivid images of 9 year old brides 11 year old widows haunt me day and night.
Srikanta is a high born brahmin boy. In his childhood he meets a woman who is the living embodiment of sacrifice and stoic idealism. The image of this woman (his Annada didi) stays fresh in his mind as he grows up and he wows that only such a woman would find a place in his heart.
Though he is educated, Srikanta lives the life of an aimless drifter with a talent to entertain princes in their parties and hunting trips. On such a trip he meets Pyari, a mysterious 'singing woman' with ethereal beauty.
Though he is disturbed by Pyari, Srikanta chooses to ignore her.The occupation of a singing woman was considered lowly those days, almost as lowly as a prostitute's.. Later he finds out that Pyari is none other than Rajalakshmi, a girl from his village whom he used to bully as a 13 year old boy. Rajalakshmi had been married off to a 60 year old man and was later believed to dead.
Her story deeply moves him and the fact that she had been in love with him since she was a 9 year old girl gives him a strange thrill. But he moves away from her. Reason : Lowly singing girl, another man's widow, goes way low on the Annada didi scale of stoic idealism.
As fate has its own ways Srikanta finds himself in Patna for reasons unknown to him. This time he joins a group of Sanyasis only to get deserted in a village with small pox outbreak. Rajalakshmi rushes to his help and nurses him back to health. Now he sees her as Rajalashmi and not as Pyari. A strong, independent woman with social responsibilities.
This becomes the pattern of their life. He gets in trouble(mysterious fevers,tricky relatives) and she comes and helps him out. He admits that he is in love with her though he cannot do anything about it. He says he can compromise anything for her but his honor. And to her that is the only thing worth compromising.
Like any two people in love who cannot be together they find ways to torment each other.
I liked this one in particular. One day Srikanta finds himself in her darbaar where she sings for hooka smoking men. Half of him wants to storm out while the other half wants to throw all of them out. But he regains his composure and joins them with a hooka instead . He lavishly praises her voice and her beauty(every inch of it) knowing that his words would burn her eardrums. He even goes on to say that what admirers like him would do with out her. What a genius!
She on the other hand fasts most of the days and deprives her body of nutrition and blames him for all her sufferings. His physical attraction to her often puts him in agony. he wants to tell her about these turmoils but he just holds her hand and cries! ( This is what I like about old bengali novels. Its almost impossible for them to break any moral code yet they are completely believable. Then again my knowledge of Bengla literature is limited)
While in Gangamati, Rajalakhsmi gets in touch with her religious side and starts a life of sacrifice. She leaves her career as a singing woman and disposes her worldly possessions. And now its time for her to do the ultimate sacrifice before taking the widow's robes. Sacrificing him.
He goes away from her life and becomes the aimless drifter once again. He goes to the village of their childhood and finds himself in a Vaishnava ashram where he meets Kamal Lata. Kamal Lata's first words to him are 'don't you remeber me from Vrindavan?'. He is enchanted by her and finds the happiness he has never known in helping her in the simple chores of the ashram.
He leaves the ashram convinced that he is healed of all the wounds.
But Rajalakshmi waits at his door, this time not in the widow's robes. She tells him she could not find God anywhere. Srikanta tells her about Kamal Lata and now RajaLashmi wants to meet her too.
Rajalakshmi's initial intentions are to match wits with Kamal Lata. But soon she finds herself charmed by Kamal Lata and the simple ways of her superior soul. Their stay at the ashram cures the couple of their respective ailments. Rajalakshmi is not arrogant anymore and she is convinced that she does not need any religious rites to take Srikanta as her husband ;the memories of the bianchi berries she plucked for him in her childhood is sufficient for her. And Srikanta finally sees that the honor has nothing to do with what society imposes.
So the couple sets out to lead a happy normal life. Only problem now is that Srikanta loves Kamal Lata too, in a totally different way.The beauty of it is that he never resolves this equation. Kamal Lata or Rajalakshmi? As it is not a matter of choice for him.
In their happy home in Gangamati, Rajalashmi starts a school for girls and Srikanta starts writing . He often finds himself thinking about Kamal Lata though he is convinced that he cannot live with out Rajalakshmi.
When Kamal Lata leaves the ashram for her ultimate pilgrimage Srikanta begs of her to take him with her at least half the way. He cannot bear the thought of never seeing her again. "If you love me, surrender me to God" Kamal Lata says to him. .And he replies "I will not insult you by calling you mine again."
I admire the profound honesty of the ending. May be love in its purest form, the kind Srikanta felt for Kamal Lata is not a thing to be ashamed of.
Editing... I cannot believe how many spelling mistakes I make..
Editing again,
Forgot to mention the array of supporting characters which makes this novel even more interesting. Indranath the wanderer , Abhaya the brave, Sukanya the just, Ghahar the poet and my favourite Ananda the young doctor in safron robs. And of course Annada didi the sad, ideal woman.
This German virus is getting the better of all of us. Its the third week of passing the tissue box back and forth. But I am strangely happy today.
To understand Srikanta or any Indian novel of this era we must first understand the political, social and religious aspects. Inequality, Injustice and social evils like caste system were gripping the society to its core and independence was a distant dream. It was customary to reveal your caste before you even serve food to another person as they might 'lose their caste' if you are from a lower caste. If the parents of a 13 year old girl were unable find her a groom they would lose their caste too. It did not matter if she was marrying a 65 year old man, but marry she must. Death was an everyday matter, entire townships were getting shutdown due to epidemics like cholera and plague.
Sharatchadra Chatterjee's semi autobiographical novel is set in these crazy times. It is usually taken as a triangular love story, but I find it much more than that. Somehow the vivid images of 9 year old brides 11 year old widows haunt me day and night.
Srikanta is a high born brahmin boy. In his childhood he meets a woman who is the living embodiment of sacrifice and stoic idealism. The image of this woman (his Annada didi) stays fresh in his mind as he grows up and he wows that only such a woman would find a place in his heart.
Though he is educated, Srikanta lives the life of an aimless drifter with a talent to entertain princes in their parties and hunting trips. On such a trip he meets Pyari, a mysterious 'singing woman' with ethereal beauty.
Though he is disturbed by Pyari, Srikanta chooses to ignore her.The occupation of a singing woman was considered lowly those days, almost as lowly as a prostitute's.. Later he finds out that Pyari is none other than Rajalakshmi, a girl from his village whom he used to bully as a 13 year old boy. Rajalakshmi had been married off to a 60 year old man and was later believed to dead.
Her story deeply moves him and the fact that she had been in love with him since she was a 9 year old girl gives him a strange thrill. But he moves away from her. Reason : Lowly singing girl, another man's widow, goes way low on the Annada didi scale of stoic idealism.
As fate has its own ways Srikanta finds himself in Patna for reasons unknown to him. This time he joins a group of Sanyasis only to get deserted in a village with small pox outbreak. Rajalakshmi rushes to his help and nurses him back to health. Now he sees her as Rajalashmi and not as Pyari. A strong, independent woman with social responsibilities.
This becomes the pattern of their life. He gets in trouble(mysterious fevers,tricky relatives) and she comes and helps him out. He admits that he is in love with her though he cannot do anything about it. He says he can compromise anything for her but his honor. And to her that is the only thing worth compromising.
Like any two people in love who cannot be together they find ways to torment each other.
I liked this one in particular. One day Srikanta finds himself in her darbaar where she sings for hooka smoking men. Half of him wants to storm out while the other half wants to throw all of them out. But he regains his composure and joins them with a hooka instead . He lavishly praises her voice and her beauty(every inch of it) knowing that his words would burn her eardrums. He even goes on to say that what admirers like him would do with out her. What a genius!
She on the other hand fasts most of the days and deprives her body of nutrition and blames him for all her sufferings. His physical attraction to her often puts him in agony. he wants to tell her about these turmoils but he just holds her hand and cries! ( This is what I like about old bengali novels. Its almost impossible for them to break any moral code yet they are completely believable. Then again my knowledge of Bengla literature is limited)
While in Gangamati, Rajalakhsmi gets in touch with her religious side and starts a life of sacrifice. She leaves her career as a singing woman and disposes her worldly possessions. And now its time for her to do the ultimate sacrifice before taking the widow's robes. Sacrificing him.
He goes away from her life and becomes the aimless drifter once again. He goes to the village of their childhood and finds himself in a Vaishnava ashram where he meets Kamal Lata. Kamal Lata's first words to him are 'don't you remeber me from Vrindavan?'. He is enchanted by her and finds the happiness he has never known in helping her in the simple chores of the ashram.
He leaves the ashram convinced that he is healed of all the wounds.
But Rajalakshmi waits at his door, this time not in the widow's robes. She tells him she could not find God anywhere. Srikanta tells her about Kamal Lata and now RajaLashmi wants to meet her too.
Rajalakshmi's initial intentions are to match wits with Kamal Lata. But soon she finds herself charmed by Kamal Lata and the simple ways of her superior soul. Their stay at the ashram cures the couple of their respective ailments. Rajalakshmi is not arrogant anymore and she is convinced that she does not need any religious rites to take Srikanta as her husband ;the memories of the bianchi berries she plucked for him in her childhood is sufficient for her. And Srikanta finally sees that the honor has nothing to do with what society imposes.
So the couple sets out to lead a happy normal life. Only problem now is that Srikanta loves Kamal Lata too, in a totally different way.The beauty of it is that he never resolves this equation. Kamal Lata or Rajalakshmi? As it is not a matter of choice for him.
In their happy home in Gangamati, Rajalashmi starts a school for girls and Srikanta starts writing . He often finds himself thinking about Kamal Lata though he is convinced that he cannot live with out Rajalakshmi.
When Kamal Lata leaves the ashram for her ultimate pilgrimage Srikanta begs of her to take him with her at least half the way. He cannot bear the thought of never seeing her again. "If you love me, surrender me to God" Kamal Lata says to him. .And he replies "I will not insult you by calling you mine again."
I admire the profound honesty of the ending. May be love in its purest form, the kind Srikanta felt for Kamal Lata is not a thing to be ashamed of.
Editing... I cannot believe how many spelling mistakes I make..
Editing again,
Forgot to mention the array of supporting characters which makes this novel even more interesting. Indranath the wanderer , Abhaya the brave, Sukanya the just, Ghahar the poet and my favourite Ananda the young doctor in safron robs. And of course Annada didi the sad, ideal woman.
This German virus is getting the better of all of us. Its the third week of passing the tissue box back and forth. But I am strangely happy today.
