Choker Bali – Rabindranath Tagore

Since her husband’s death, nobody in the world, or in society, meant anything to her, except Mahendra. She was annoyed at Binodini’s suggestion that some social stigma might be attached to Mahendra. She had known Mahendra all his life; where would one find such a good boy? If people dared cast aspersions on a person such as Mahin, may their tongues fall off! When it came to acting upon her own judgment and her own preferences, Rajalakshmi stubbornly ignored what all the people in the world might say.

When Mahendra returned from college, he was amazed to see his own bedchamber. As soon as he opened the door, he found the room redolent of sandalwood and incense. The mosquito net was festooned with pink silk tassels. A dazzling white bedspread covered the divan, and on it, in place of the old pillows used previously, were square English-style cushions, embroidered in silk and wool. The intricate designs were the product of Binodini’s labour; she had spent days embroidering them.

Asha would ask her, ‘Who are these items meant for, my friend?’ ‘For my final bed, the cremation pyre,’ Binodini would laugh. ‘Death is my only beloved.’ Mahendra’s framed photograph on the wall was embellished with expertly tied bows of coloured ribbon on all its corners. Below the picture, at the base of the wall, were bunches of flowers arranged in two vases placed on either side of a teapoy, as if Mahendra’s image had received the prayer offerings of some unknown devotee. The room looked altogether different.

The bed had been moved slightly from its place. The room had been divided in two; lengths of fabric had been hung on two clotheshorses placed before the bed to create a secluded space, separating the night-time bed from the divan on the floor.

Published by Random House India in 2012 Copyright © Radha Chakravarty 2012 Random House Publishers India Private Limited Windsor IT Park, 7th Floor, Tower-B A-1, Sector-125, Noida-201301, U.P. Random House Group Limited 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 2SA United Kingdom This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law.Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN 9788184003635 1kitap1.com/en To Ma and Baba 1kitap1.com/en INTRODUCTION ‘The literature of the new age seeks not to narrate a sequence of events, but to reveal the secrets of the heart. Such is the narrative mode of Chokher Bali.’ In these words from his Preface to Chokher Bali, Tagore announces the arrival of the modern Indian novel. Emphasizing psychology above plot and external action, Chokher Bali marks a radical break with literary tradition, a bold and self-conscious attempt at steering the novel form in new, uncharted directions.

Chokher Bali was serialized in the periodical Bangadarshan from 1902 to 1903. In 1903, it was published as a book. The novel was long in the making: Tagore had been working on it as early as in 1898 or 1899. He completed the draft version in his notebooks in 1901. Tagore’s letters suggest that he had earlier used the working title Binodini, changing it to Chokher Bali shortly before its publication in Bangadarshan.

When the novel first appeared as a book, Tagore deleted certain passages from the original serialized version. Several of these excised passages were restored, with Tagore’s approval, in the first edition of Rabindra Rachanabali (1941) and some more in the independent Visva-Bharati edition of 1947. The first English translation of Chokher Bali appeared in The Modern Review in 1914. Translated by Surendranath Tagore, this version was named Eyesore.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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