PARINEETA (1914) BY SHARAT CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY

PARINEETA :
SHARAT CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY

1. NAME OF THE BOOK: PARINEETA
2. AUTHOR’S NAME: SHARAT CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY
3. PUBLICATION: PENGUIN PUB., DARIYAGANJ, NEW DELHI
4. YEAR OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION : 1914
5. YEAR OF THE EDITION PUBLICATION : 2005
6. NO. OF THE PAGES : 112  ( PAPERBACK )
7. COST OF THE BOOK : Rs. 584.00
8. ISBN : 0143033565 / 9780143033561
9. DIMENSIONS : 6.61 x 4.25 x 0.31 inches
10. WEIGHT : 810 GRAM

SUMMARY OF THE TITLE / BOOK:  Parineeta is a novel written by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay in Calcutta, India during the early part of the 20th century. The word Parineeta is translated in English as married woman. It is a novel of social protest which explores issues of that time period related to class and religion. Originally it is written in Bengali Language which is later translated in Hindi, English and other Languages.

Parineeta (The Married Woman) takes place at the turn of the 20th century during the Bengal Renaissance. The story centers on a poor thirteen-year-old orphan girl, Lalita, who lives with the family of her uncle Gurucharan. Gurucharan has five daughters, and the expense of paying for their weddings has impoverished him. He is forced to take a loan from his neighbour, Nabin Roy, by mortgaging a plot of land with him. The two neighbouring families share a very cordial relationship, although Nabin Roy does covet Gurucharan’s mortgaged plot. Nabin Roy’s wife, Bhuvaneshwari, dotes on the orphan Lalita and showers love upon her; the latter reciprocates even to the extent of addressing Bhuvaneshwari as ‘maa’ (mother). Roy’s younger son Shekharnath (Shekhar), a 25-26-year-old man-about-town, lately turned attorney, has a joking, bantering relationship with Lalita, his mother’s protégée. The young girl adores him like her mentor, and for some strange reasons, ratifies and accepts his possessive attitude towards her.

The advent of a supportive Girin in Lalita’s life, a certain jealousy transpired within Shekhar which tended to moderate Lalita’s increasing associations with Girin who has now extended his helping hand to Gurucharan’s finances and also assisted him in finding a match for Lalita. These situations seemed to stir the instinctual passions of Shekhar and somewhat Lalita for each other and one evening before Shekhar’s tour to the west, the duo secretly gets married with a dramatic exchange of garlands formed of marigolds. But a newly married Lalita had to conceal herself in the veil of her spinsterhood as her uncle Gurucharan quits his fight with the law and orders of Hindu society and embraces Brahmoism inspired from the angelic words of Girin. The society abandons them and the same is followed by Shekhar towards Lalita upon his return (though mixed with covetousness over Girin’s influence on her family). His jeopardies in introducing his wife amidst the society because of the differences in wealth, religion and more importantly due to a precluded marriage of marrying an under-aged woman made him harsh and arrogant towards Lalita who drowned in agony, decides to accompany her family to Munger as a means of healing her psychologically tormented uncle anguished by the sense of isolation. Girin aided them all through his journey to which Gurucharan had his dying wish of marrying his daughter (suggestively indicated to his niece Lalita) which Girin accepts wholeheartedly.

COLOURFUL MOVIE RELEASED (2019)

Years pass with the passing of both Gurucharan and Nabin Roy and an eighteen year old Lalita visits her old place one last time for the sake of selling Gurucharan’s house to Nabin Roy’s heirs since the deceased desired the plot for a long time. Shekhar has his marriage fixed in a week but Lalita’s advent questions him over his real wishes but he has heard of Girin’s promise to marry Lalita which must have been fulfilled by now. Tables turn as Girin visits Shekhar with the Legal documents of Gurucharan’s plot and amidst the conversation reveals that he indeed became Gurucharan’s son-in-law as per his promise but never married Lalita but married her cousin Annakali upon her suggestion as Lalita claimed herself to be already married. Shockingly pleased by this, Shekhar regains himself and his now realised love for Lalita goes to his mother and confesses about his marriage with Lalita. The novel ends with consent for this marriage a declaration of union for Shekhar and Lalita. Parinneta as movie first released (Black & White) in 1953 and next (Colorful) in 2019.

FILE PICTURE – MOVIE :  PARINEETA, WAS RELEASED IN 1953