Chokher Bali on widowhood
“I first read Chokher Bali when I was 18 at the insistence of my mother,” says Director Tannistha Mukherjee, but she could not identify with or understand the motivations of the novel’s lead character- a young widow called Binodini.
But as she grew up and reread the story, says Mukherjee, “I could understand the nuances and layers presented.” Chokher Bali became Mukherjee’s second directorial venture with the Bay Area Drama Company whose mission is to present meaningful theater.
Tagore wrote Chokher Bali (a grain of sand in an eye) in 1903. The novel highlights the limited options available to women in patriarchal 19th-century India. Marriage existed as an institution of survival for women, and widowhood destroyed a woman’s place in society. Chokher Bali addresses the plight and pain of widows at that time.
Adapting a beloved classic
By any measure, adapting and showcasing a classic is a herculean undertaking. But that task was made more challenging because many cinematic and on-stage adaptations of Tagore’s beloved literary classic have preceded the Bay Area Drama Company production. The task of adapting Chokher Bali fell to Partha Chatterjee.
The 90-minute play in English opens with a dramatic sequence portraying the marriage and quick widowhood of the main protagonist-Binodini (played by Prajvi Malhotra). Binodini is beautiful and well-educated, but circumstance forces her to the fringes of society. She remains at the mercy of her benefactors.
We are introduced to a wealthy family that includes a widowed matriarch Rajlakshmi (Anju Prakash) and her childless, widowed sister-in-law Annapurna (Chandreyee Mukherjee). They dote on Rajlakshmi’s son Mahendra (Pulkit Gulati), a medical student, and his best friend Bihari (Neeraj Kulkarni).
An Unsuitable Bride
Rajlakshmi suggests Binodini as a possible partner for Mahendra but he refuses the match not wishing to be tied down in matrimony. Soon after Mahendra marries Ashalata – a naive girl whom his aunt Annapurna had suggested as a bride for Bihari and whom Bihari had also liked as a future wife.
Ashalata and Mahendra are passionate newlyweds, but the new bride falls out of favor with her mother-in-law because she fails at household chores.
Frustrated by her son’s neglect, the matriarch visits her ancestral village where she meets Binodini. The young widow cares for her aunt Rajalakshmi, who is impressed. She returns to Calcutta with Binodini in tow.
An illicit love
In Calcutta, Binodini befriends Ashalata and the young women christen their secret friendship Chokher Bali, after a popular practice at the time. Binodini is witness to Ashalata’s conjugal bliss – an unfortunate reminder of her marital loss.
As the story progresses, Ashalata introduces Binodini to Mahendra who becomes besotted with her beauty and intellect. Meanwhile, Bihari gives in to societal pressure and does not marry Binodini. despite his affection for her and progressive views on widowhood.
Eventually, Binodini and Mahendra begin a clandestine affair.
Bihari confronts Mahendra about his infidelity and leaves town after their final altercation. When their affair is discovered, Mahendra elopes with Binodini, deserting his wife and family.
Widow remarriage
Binodini, Bihari, and Mahendra reunite in Allahabad where Binodini confronts Bihari to make him understand her situation. Bihari offers marriage, but Binodini refuses to protect him for an unforgiving society that regards widow re-marriage as taboo. Eventually, Mahendra returns home to Ashalata and his gravely ill mother.
The story is presented as a narrative from the point of view of four narrators, who have watched the scandal unfold. Despite the rich storyline and plot, the cast misses opportunities to do the story justice; the hurried script limits chances for the characters to flesh out their emotions or for the audience to connect.
While the play serves as a good introduction for first-timers to Tagore’s works, this production falls short of the levels set by other theatrical adaptations and movies.