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Shashti/Punishment by Rabindranath Tagore
*****Spoilers Ahead*****
Two brothers Dukhiram and Chidam and their wives, Radha and Chandra. In a moment of rage, Dukhiram killed his ever quarrelsome wife, Radha and Chidam blurted out that it was Chandra who did it, when a neighbour walked in the scene. And, the lie took a solid form and a flabbergasted Chandra was asked by her husband to take the blame. On being advised to save his wife, Chidam reacted with, "If I lose my wife I can always get another one, but if my brother hangs I cannot get another brother."
Chandra turned into a stone and admitted the crime of killing her sister-in-law thwarting her husband's attempts to save her. Guilt-ridden, both Chidam and Dukhiram pleaded guilty of the crime after meandering through different stories, bu the judge listened to Chandra - petite, graceful, with eyes full of curiosity and mischief, not even 20 Chandra, who never wavered from her story unlike others. She was found guilty and given death penalty.
Before being hanged, she said she loved her husband but on being informed that he wanted to see her one last time, she cried for death.
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When Anand pronounced that it was Bela who would leave the house, this is the story that flashed in my mind.
Wise, progressive, calm, content, gentle he may be, but in the end he also turned out to be product of a patriarchal society.
Anand immensely disappointed me yesterday.
His brother can get away with murder (the phrase fits so well here), but his wife - his loving, thodi naadan-nasamaj but one whose heart is firmly in right place wife, she did a mistake in a moment of anger, and he banished her from her home.
Her home - how easily he said get out of my home. Because, a home is a husband's not a wife's according to him and many.
His brother twisted every word uttered by everyone present, but he could go unchecked because he was the brother. While his wife gets the bitterest punishment for a married women of the time (rather even now for many women), for a slip of tongue.
I am not saying that Bela did not do any wrong. Uttering Rakesh's truth before the whole world was not right. She should have a better self-control. She is not Taiji but a much better woman.
Nor she is the wisest cookie on the board. She is a simple - even simpleton, god-fearing woman, making mistakes like ill-treating a christian girl at first meeting and yet welcoming her on being guided by her husband. Bela...Bela..my heart went out to you.
And, I get when Anand said that a good person hurts deep, when his trust is broken. Anand loves his wife just like Chidam loved Chandra; loves, cares, respects, pampers - all that a good husband should do, but he doesn't treat her as other half of his being.
Anand taught a lesson to his three daughters today - their husbands can always throw them out, if they cast even a finger to his relatives and oh God forbid their elders, how much ever at fault they may be. Bravo, Anand! đ
Just being an elder doesn't given anyone right to do as they please and hurt others. Anand, you also got lessons to learn.
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Chandra in Shashti is a much stronger woman and refuses to accept her remorseful husband. Bela is not Chandra and will be back in a heartbeat. But, still what both faced is the same. Only that Tagore's female characters of more than a century ago were much stronger.
At least, Naina has a better backbone. I am wondering if grown-up Naina ever looked back on this day and reminded her beloved chachaji that he was in wrong that day.
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