My Ma introduced me to literature and Saratchandra made me fall in
love with it.
On learning about my fetish with stories, my father''s friend gave
me Badi Didi''. I won''t say I wept like hell when Surendranath died, but
the story was good. And when I read Ramer Sumati, I couldn''t help
imagining myself in Ram''s place. Same thing happened when I was reading
Parinita''. Only this time I was Lalita. Such is his style of writing
that every word became alive. For a long time I read his stories and
novels for their sheer romantic appeal. But Sesh Prashn (Final
Question) opened my mind''s eyes. t took me to another
world, of right
and wrong, of arguments, criticism. Kamal, the heroin of the novel,
urged me towards asking questions.
I was in my final year of graduation ,when we were asked to write an
essay on Taj Mahal in Russian. when I started writing, I thought about
Kamal . She denounced Taj Mahal as
epitome of eternal'' love. She said
if Taj Mahal was a token of love of Shahjahan for his wife Mumtaz then
how come he had hundreds other wives in his harem. Shahjahan, like any
other emperor, wanted to prove his greatness in front of the whole
world. Mumtaz was only a medium to serve his purpose. As I fully agreed
with Kamal I penned down my'' thoughts. Though my family and especially
my brother doubts my literary ability, but (fortunately) my teacher had
other opinion. I got an A in that test.
Depiction of
women was Saratchandra''s forte. With an accurate and
deep insight he could bring out subtle shades in the psychology of the
contemporary Bengali
woman whether an educated Brahmo girl of Calcutta,
or an unsophisticated rustic housewife, or a prostitute. His sympathy
for and understanding of their sufferings, their often unspoken loves,
their need for affection, their fight for emancipation, made them stand
out as authentic pieces of portrayal. Although he could never
completely break away from certain traditional values and sentimental
fads like admiration for enlightened landlords or a wistful longing for
virtues in so-called fallen women, one has to admit that Saratchandra
created a world of fiction where every woman could find a place for
herself.Kamal surprises men by her rational thinking and independence, be it
of ideas or
life. She is accused of parroting Shivnath''s immoral
thoughts. It doesn''t bother her. Imagine the accusations of high and
mighty of society not worrying a woman! Here I m reminded of Anna
Karenina .Who yearns to be free from a life of pretence and lies, finds
love but succumbs to the pressure of living a life of pariah and
inacceptance. Kamal couldn''t have met the same fate because she lives
what she believes and she has the courage to stick to her beliefs,
which is thought as a man''s prerogative even today. Kamal says she is
not anybody''s property. he owns herself and no other human can own her.
At one point Nilima says, "had Kamal married traditionally, if she had
husband and kids, then she would have totally devoted herself to her
family. But if she felt that her husband is trampling her "self", she
would leave all the happiness in a second." I agree with Kamal that
marriage is one of the many things happening in life. The day it was
made the sole purpose of woman''s existence, the biggest tragedy of her
life started. Free spirited Kamal is not a symbol of Today''s twisted Feminism but it''s a yearning to live a life of peace and tranquility without having to subdue oneself. The Final Question is, will women find this peace?Other Novels by Saratchandra :1. Parinita2. Devdas3. Vijaya4. Ramer Sumati5. Grihdah6.Viprodas