Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Home and The World - Rabindranath Tagore (Ghare Baire)


"The Home and the world" is tale of freedom and love against the backdrop of Indian freedom movement..The central character Bimala is a woman of high spirits but her common nature of an Indian housewife is against fulfilling her dreams.She is totally unaware of outer world and her husband Nikhil is a man from a noble society..Her existence is only confined to the household world and her husband bestowed her all the luxuries and comforts in life..The very moment Sandip (Nikhils' friend) arrives to stay with them,her sleeping passion and individuality takes shape..But Sandip is a man of selfish attitude which he tactfully hides in his fire of Idealism..Impressed by Sandip's idealism,Bimala starts spending time with him, not caring for her limitations..Soon the sacredness of "Bande matharam" disappeares in the budding passion and lust of their relationship..


Copyright A Homemaker's Utopia


Bimala's feelings,
The tone of his voice became as intimate as a touch,every look flung itself on its knees in beggary.And through it all there burned a passion which in its violence made as though it would tear me up by the roots,and drag me along by the hair..


Like Sakunthala absorbed in the memories of her lover.The guest comes unheeded,and the curse descends,depriving them of the very object of their desire..

Nikhil is an ideal husband indeed..Neverthless being aware of the outcome of Bimal's acts he allows her to experience the outer world through Sandip..But very soon Bimala figures out Sandip's jeal of earning money and power in the guise of idealism through the innocent Amulya Babu,who is a blind follower of Sandip..Bimala realizes her mistake and tries to save Amulya from the dangerous hands of Sandip....

The lines,depicting Sandip's personality..

I believe Sandip is not irreligious,his religion is of the obverse side of truth,like the dark moon,which is still a moon,for all that its light has gone over to the wrong side..

Nikhil's thoughts,

There are more things in life than the union and separation of man


Winning your kind of success,Nikhil once objected,is success gained at the cost of soul:But the soul is greater than success..

Tagore focussed on the darker corners of freedom movement in this novel..It depicts the outburst of Swadeshi movement on poor and ordinary people like Panchu and Amulya..The novel widely discusses the struggles of innocent people in the Swadeshi movement..There are very nice illustrations about the Bengali household and their customs and traditions through the characters of the women,"Bara Rani" and Bimala..Bimala's struggle in between her dreams(Sandip) and reality(husband) is the wonderful part of the story.. The Nikhil's strategy is wonderful in the book.His concept is "Nation is not its soil..but its people"..Though he seems to be a man of no importance in Bimala's view,he acts like a wonderful human being..Finally Bimala is able to see the clear picture of  the outer world and Nikhil's patience wins her heart. No need to praise more about this novel as it is branded as a 'Tagore's work'.

70 comments:

umashankar said...

That is a deeply felt and well reasoned analysis of a book focussing on complex human emotions. I keep promising myself to read it soon!

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

Yeah..The book is a wonderful portrait of human emotions..:-)I hope you surely like it.Thanks a lot for dropping by..:-)

Ruchita said...

WOW very good review... never knew abt this book... now its on my list to read

Do read mine if u get time:
http://ruchitasnotsoordinarylife.blogspot.in/2012/07/draupadis-woes-rewind.htm

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Ruchita,
Thanks a lot for dropping by...:-)All the best for your reading..:-)

Jayashree Srivatsan said...

Very nice review Nagini. Feel like reading the book after reading this.

Rajesh said...

Wonderful review.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Jaish,
Thanks a lot dear..Its a must read..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Rajesh,
Thanks a lot for dropping by..:-)

Mak said...

I liked the way you have summed up this book Nagini gaaru. Very nice.
Your review makes it more interesting. Goes on my list of must read books. Thank you

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Mak,
Thanks a lot for commenting Mak.:-) Tagore's work is always a promising delight for readers..:-)

FolkTalesUrbanLegends said...

Nice review. Must get this book.

Found In Folsom said...

Anta laavu pustakalu chadavataniki time lea dorukutundi? Oh andukena, aa painting taruvata adress leru? :P baaga rasaru? Nenu oka book pattukunna...choodam enni nelalu chaduvutano..

Haricharan Pudipeddi said...

Lovely review. Haven't checked out this one yet but guess now will take out time and read it :)

rupam sarma said...

Great to read your post.Great review.Thanks.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Sandeep Ingilela,
Thank you so much for dropping by..:-) Its a wonderful read..Don't miss it..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Found in Folsom,
ha..ha..Folsom gaaru,adhi aa photo lo unna book lo half book ye nandee..:-)Meeru easy gaa rendu rojullo chadiveyyagalaru.

Book chaalaa baagundhi..Full of emotions...:-)Thank you so much andee..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Haricharan Pudipeddi,
Thank you so much for the comment.I'm glad you liked it.:-)All the best for you reading..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Rupam Sharma,
Thank you so much for commenting Rupam..:-)I'm glad to have you here..:-)

చాణక్య said...

'success gained at the cost of soul:But the soul is greater than success..'

Liked it! Nice review! :)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

Yeah these two lines easily describe Nikhil's personality..His wish is welfare of people and society but he is always against false pride of the country..:-) Thanks for the comment Chanakya..:-)

P.N. Subramanian said...

A beautiful review. A peep into the otherwise orthodox Bengali family and relationships.
Thanks for your vote. I would appreciate to have your comments on my posts.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ P.N.Subrahmaniyan,
Thank you so much for your valueble feedback Subrahmaniyan Sir..:-)

Panchali said...

This is one novel I have read several times....It is compelling to read how Bimala, a happy zamindar's wife steps out of her 'purdah' and emotionally trips, vacillates between him and her husband, until she returns home bruised and humiliated but with a more mature understanding of both the home/self and the world...!
Satyajit Ray made a film based on this novel :)
Wonderful review ...undoubtedly!

magiceye said...

Beautifully reviewed Nagini.

sathish said...

well precised review... Kudos

Unknown said...

Thank you for this gift :)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Panchali Jee,
Kudos to your comment.I can see you really enjoyed reading..:-)Thanks a lot for your precious comment..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Magic eye,
Thank you so much Deepak..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Satish,
Thank you so much Satish..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Ghazala,
Thanks for the comment dear..Its a return gift from you..:-)

Maitreyee Bhattacharjee Chowdhury said...

Nice post. Tagore somehow seems modern even placed way back in time..& yet having read his 'Stree Patra' I wondered at his own life & his own marriage. Would like to know your take on it too. Also hope you have seen the film :)

Rachna said...

Wow, that is such a good review. I need to catch hold of this book.

Privy Trifles said...

Excellent review... I am a huuuggee fan of Rabindranath Tagore

Sudhagee said...

I have seen the film, but not read the book. After reading your wonderful review, maybe its time to read the book now.

Anonymous said...

I really loved the way you summed it all up. Even I have read it but was too la lazy to write a proper review. Really liked it. :D

Ashitha said...

Beautiful review mam...Gona read the book.

Shalu Sharma said...

Very nice analysis. Thank you for this.

Ramakrishnan said...

That is a splendid review and makes me feel I should pick this book and read this interesting story !

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Maitreyee,
Totally agree with you..:-)I haven't seen the movie yet..I'm hearing about Streer Patra for the first time..Thanks for letting me know..I'm much interested to read that one too.Thanks for dropping by...:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Rachna,
Thank you so much for dropping by..:-)I'm glad you liked it.:-)

@ Privy Trifles,
Thanks a lot for your sweet comment dear..:-)Me too..:-)

@ Sudhagee,
Thank you so much for your precious comment Mam..:-)

@ Shalinijena,
Would love to read your review too..:-)Thanks a lot for dropping by..:-)

@ Ashitha,
Thank you so much for your lovely comment dear..:-)Yeah don't miss.. :-)

@ Shalu Sharma,
Thank you so much for dropping by..:-) Nice to hear from you..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ R.Ramakrishna Sir,
Thank you so much for your valueble feedback..:-)

Anonymous said...

This encourages me to read it.

Anonymous said...

wonderfully reviewed :) :)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Modishashank,
Thank you so much for dropping by..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Vinisha shah,
Welcome to my blog Vinisha..:-) Thank you so much for the comment..:-)

Santosh Namby said...

This review is great. I never knew about this book and I used to consider myself as having a wide knowledge. This goes on my reading list and I do hope to read it soon...
Thanks for sharing it....

Bikram said...

I have always loved reading books which have the backdrop of freedom fighting , and especially those written now as a lot of Truth is coming out..

This looks like a good book and Rabindranath Tagore after all is a legend ..

Bikram's

Anonymous said...

Your insight into the works of Tagore is truly commendable. I remember reading your post on red oleander some time back and loving your summary of it. This too is on dot. Thanks for all the efforts you are making to make Tagore more accessible to contemporary generations.

Anonymous said...

i am bad at listening to stories ..and thats what Rabi Tagore was best at ... and while following ur perception..i feel like borrwing the book and know the characters a lil more better .. THanks :) for the post and developing my interest to hang out with the legend's work !

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Santa,
Thank you so much for being here.:-)I'm a big fan of Tagore,so trying to share my interest with all of you...:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ BikramJit,
Yeah its a wonderful book..Thanks a lot for dropping by..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Subhorup,
I can quote it as the best comment/compliment I've ever received..Subhorup,Thanks you so much for your kind words..:-)

I sincerely feel this generation is less familier with some of our legendary writers..Tagore's works are one of them.My effort is to put a little focus on my favourite writer's works..:-)Once again Thanks a lot for your precious comment..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Mysay.in,
If my post really made you feel like reading the book,I think I'm successful..:-)Thanks a lot for dropping by..:-)

http://mindlesslampoons.blogspot.com/ said...

Was roped in here when searching for book reviews.
I have not laid my hands on the book,but the recount did not come across as a third person narration.The involvement was simply scintillating.

Anupama K. Mazumder said...

Great review. Thanks!

My Unfinished Life said...

Tagore is unparallel!!

http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.in/

Anonymous said...

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A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ All friends,Thank you so much for dropping by..:-)

~ Jenna ~ said...

Thanks so much for the follow! I'm now following you back. :) This novel sounds really interesting!

-Jenna
http://novelundertaking.blogspot.ca/

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Jenna,
Thanks a lot for dropping by..:-)

Anonymous said...

I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what all is needed to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet smart so I’m not 100% sure. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

A.satubuana said...

nice information... thank

Mak said...

Nagini gaaru, here is the acknowledgement of your award to me. Thank you so much.

http://maks-journy-nevr-ends.blogspot.in/2012/08/awards-tags-awards.html

Unknown said...

You may wish to see Satyajit Ray's rendition of the book. It is equally absorbing....I don't know if it can be obtained with English subtitles.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Mak,
Thanks buddy..:-)Congratulations to you..:-)

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Roshni,
I'm unable to find the one with English subtitles neverthless I would like to see the movie..:-)Thanks a lot dropping by..:-)

Anonymous said...

You captured the essence of it.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

@ Shovonc,
Thank you so much for dropping by :-)

Unknown said...

thanks!:)
I've read the book
but this review is too much helpful for preparing the quotations of its characters for my viva voice;)

Unknown said...

thanks'
it'll be helpful for my preparation.................:):)