Charitraheen..

Charitraheen…by sharat Chandra chatterjee


I would like to start with apologizing to ppl who think I am committing blasphemy by writing about it in english but trust me I read, appreciated, dreamed, smiled and felt kicked about the’ upanyas’ in Hindi..now I feel an earnest desire to put my thoughts out and though I would not be able to figure out hindi fonts and write here in Hindi what I want atleast is to write..but then it is a debate better left for another day. Is an idea only in thought better than a partial execution of the idea in practice..

I have been wanting to read charitraheen for quite many years now and I finally managed to read it about two weeks ago..i have just moved to gurgaon from mumbai and since my tv wasn’t operational I had no choice but to pick up a book and read it..but man o man was I happy I picked this up..i have always believed woman are a lot stronger in matters of heart than us guys..they do not corrupt the beauty that the heart is by being fickle and don’t allow it to corrode the purity of it by rationalizing things..and just like many bangla novels of that genre this too had stronger female characters..

4 female characters..Savitri , Kiranmayi, sarojini and surbala..and three guys around whom the story revolves..Now savitri and Kiranmayi are branded charatreiheen while surbala and sarojini are holding eh fort fort for piousness and idealism..

the virtuous and giving central character of Savitri..branded charitraheen-she remained the epitome of true love which be the way is quoted very often by idealists..the love which does not ask and only gives..trust me it is a really painful exercise and I must dissuade readers from it..it is also used by many to preach a one way flow when they find it difficult to return the compliment back to the source..statements like who says a love has to necessarily translate into some concrete relationship..it can just be by itself..pious..this my dear friends is the 21st century decodation of the innocent love of Yore which I do not quite subscribe to..i suggest always see if the juice is worth the squeeze..

the other character Kiranmayui- the stunningly beautiful yet neglected in love wife of a dying scholar...she has put across a lot of thoughts which challenge the existing notion of right and wrong..one very simple argument she gives is what is not claimed as yet rightfully in heart by anyone is open to a civil manner of approach..i like it  it is even better than ‘goal keeper theory’..this theory I heard in the corridors of the my ivy league B-school between discussions on ‘put’ and ‘call’..in short goalkeeper theory states, there is always one legitimate and lots of side kick defenders (Bf or husband or wannabe bf’s ) for every women and there are always some strikers who would want to score a goal..every striker who scores a goal then inevitable turns a defender for the next bunch of strikers.. YYYY I guess would justify a lot of attempts ppl made in college and which were looked down upon..

the third character was Sarojini..she was less described but again a powerful character who stood for what she believed in..not so sure if it works out fine everytime..well every time I have done this in my personal trysts with love I have definitely not come out grinning..may be I have yet to acquire a notion of what belief is right and what is wrong but guys if the notion has not been acquired by 27 it will not happen now..so I shall die a sinner without the proper ‘notion’..

I suggest this as a very strong reading for people who want to fall in love with hindi again. The beauty of the characters which might seemed flawed from many perspectives will only be appreciated if you read it as a ‘romantic poet’ and not a judgmental scholar..i though have one grudge against charitraheen...the two ‘charitriheen’ characters are suffereing a lot through the novel nad in the end too..the men are just there to confuse an complicate and are weak and gullible characters all through but seem to have the better deal…After challenging the boundaries of rational and beautifying it with the purely emotional all through the book, the author eventually allows rationality to win on all counts..Savitri doesn’t get the love of her life and ends up almost a saint and sanyasi and Kiranmayi who stepped beyond the boundaries of society goes mad..wish he didn’t had to make it appear real..still for the warmth it generated in my heart I salute thee sharat babu..