Tagore's 'Chokher Bali' & Freedom of Thought- A Film Analysis

Tagore's 'Chokher Bali' & Freedom of Thought

Rabindranath Tagore’s Chokher Bali portrays a society in a way that is realistic and on point. Tagore is considered to be one of the greatest writers in modern Indian Literature. The poet, the composer, short story writer, playwright, essayist, and artist, has achieved proficiency in almost all forms of literature. One of his greatly celebrated stories ‘Chokher Bali’ deals with and tries to study the condition of people and the societal set up at the time. He showcased issues that are even relevant till now.

Stories by Rabindranath Tagore Includes Chokher Bali | Credits: Netflix

Chokher Bali: Synopsis

Chokher Bali, a story enveloped in aesthetics of Kolkata depicts the pain of widows, the societal setup which ignores the needs of women and considers widows as a bad omen and keeps them away from happiness. Through this, he also highlighted the issues of women’s education, child marriage and shows how psychologically confused a person can be because of the pressure by society. The story revolves around four characters Binodini, Ashalata, Mahendra, and Behari.

Radhika Apte as Binodini in Stories by Rabindranath Tagore(2015)

Binodini, an educated woman who witnessed the death of her husband at a very young age. She was forced to live her life as a widow for the rest of her life. She was first rejected by Mahendra and he then marries a beautiful but uneducated woman, Ashalata. Binodini’s life became as colorless as her saree. But when she met Behari, a friend of Mahendra, they were drawn towards each other, but these feelings were never admitted. Binodini came to know how happy Ashalata and Mahendra were together, causing her to envy Ashalata for having something that she couldn’t.
Conflicted thoughts in her brain made her think that Ashalta is living a life that Binodini deserves. These thoughts gave purpose to her otherwise empty life; later she wanted Mahendra to realize the mistake he had made by rejecting Binodini. She uses Mahin’s mother Rajlaxshmi’s dislike of Asha to manipulate her way into their lives. The feeling of envy for Ashalata and Mahin dominated the feeling of attraction towards Behari.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but add color to my sunset sky”.

Mahindra represented the part of a superficial male-dominated society, which ignores the needs of others. He loved Ashalata very much but after meeting Binodini, his interest shifted. He started taking her for granted.

On the other hand, Ashalata was uneducated but an innocent soul, she was unaware of Bindoni’s intentions and she considers Binodini her friend. She worships her husband and is helpless as she must always depend on the man in her life, first her uncle and then her husband. Due to this dependence, we can witness the patriarch of society and the vulnerability of women because of the lack of education and liberation that comes with it.

Binodini and Ashalata: Victims of Patriarchy

Stories by Rabindranath Tagore (2015) | Available on Netflix

Tagore’s story acts as a lens into the worlds of the educated and the uneducated through Binodini and Asha. Even though Binodini is left without any financial provision, her education allows and helps her with the liberty to think freely. She represents a new female subjectivity whose western education transforms her into a woman with her own heart and mind. One who isn’t bound with traditional customs. Binodini to an extent had that sense of differentiating between right and wrong. Tagore structured the story in such a way that all the decisions by Binodini seem rational and all her desires appear to be natural. Society has restricted her to live in a specific way and she’s liberated to mould her life in accordance with her needs and desires.

Chokher Bali: An attempt to educate people about the needs of women.

A century after Chokher Bali, education is still a struggle for many women to access easily throughout the world. Tagore’s novel presents an unconventional viewpoint that is ahead of the conservative times of 19th and 20th century India. Through the story of Binodini, Tagore questions most of the societal norms. He condemns all kinds of taboos that are being fed to humans from the start of life.

Tagore, a man from a privileged background, his understanding of the emotions of Indian women and his empathetic attitude towards them is sensational.

Chokher Bali has been adapted several times in films, television. Most notable examples: Chokher Bali by Rituparno Ghosh in 2003, and the television series Stories by Rabindranath Tagore in 2015 directed by Anurag Basu.

Stories by Rabindranath Tagore (2015) | Available on Netflix

Chokher Bali, a work of art presented by Tagore beautifully puts a light on issues related to women, which he witnessed in the 19th century. These social evils are so difficult to get rid of as those issues are even relevant till now. Chokher Bali perfectly encapsulates how gender plays a large role in a person’s treatment and perception by society. Tagore made us understand that education molds a person to be independent of the chains of societal conditioning.

Education can emancipate a woman to stand on her own two feet. It is through education, women can find true liberation and get rid of the patriarchal structure which is imposed on them from birth.