Parineeta
Encyclopedia
Parineeta is a 1914 Bengali language
novella
written by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
and is set in Calcutta
, India
during the early part of the 20th century. It is a novel of social protest which explores issues of that time period related to class and religion.
. The story centers around 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 each dowry has impoverished him. He is forced to take a loan from his neighbor, Nabin Roy. Roy's son Shekhar, is a twenty five year old successful lawyer who is close friends with Lalita. While she is infatuated with him, the differences in wealth and class (and later religion) preclude marriage (as Swagato Ganguly states in the introduction to the 2005 English translation, "child marriages were the norm during much of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's life time...and did not attract any penalties from the law at the time of Parineetas publication in 1914", pp.v-vi).
Shekhar is nonetheless jealous of Girish, a student who is the uncle of Lalita's friend, Charubala (her mother's cousin). Girish, Charubala and the rest of their family are Brahmos
and Girish exerts a great deal of influence over Lalita's family. Girish helps Gurucharan repay the loan to Nabin Roy. He also convinces Gurucharan to convert himself and his family from Hinduism
to Brahmoism
as it forbade the giving of dowry in a marriage (a move which so enrages Nabin Roy that he builds a wall between the two houses). As a triangle develops between Girish, Shekhar, and Lalita, tragedy ensues in the wake of a number of misunderstandings.
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
written by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is one of the most popular Bengali novelists and short story writers of early 20th century.- Background and writing :Sarat Chandra was born into poverty in Debanandapur, Hooghly, India...
and is set in Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
during the early part of the 20th century. It is a novel of social protest which explores issues of that time period related to class and religion.
Title
The word Parineeta is translated in English as married woman. The literal meaning comes from "Parinay" - "marriage".Plot
Parineeta takes place at the turn of the 20th century during the Bengal RenaissanceBengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
. The story centers around 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 each dowry has impoverished him. He is forced to take a loan from his neighbor, Nabin Roy. Roy's son Shekhar, is a twenty five year old successful lawyer who is close friends with Lalita. While she is infatuated with him, the differences in wealth and class (and later religion) preclude marriage (as Swagato Ganguly states in the introduction to the 2005 English translation, "child marriages were the norm during much of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's life time...and did not attract any penalties from the law at the time of Parineetas publication in 1914", pp.v-vi).
Shekhar is nonetheless jealous of Girish, a student who is the uncle of Lalita's friend, Charubala (her mother's cousin). Girish, Charubala and the rest of their family are Brahmos
Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
and Girish exerts a great deal of influence over Lalita's family. Girish helps Gurucharan repay the loan to Nabin Roy. He also convinces Gurucharan to convert himself and his family from Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
to Brahmoism
Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
as it forbade the giving of dowry in a marriage (a move which so enrages Nabin Roy that he builds a wall between the two houses). As a triangle develops between Girish, Shekhar, and Lalita, tragedy ensues in the wake of a number of misunderstandings.
Lalita's family
- Lalita: the protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the novellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
. Lalita came to live with her uncle's family after she was orphaned at the age of eight. At the beginning of the novella, she is thirteen years old and is close with her cousin Annakali (Kali) and her neighbor, Charubala (Charu). Lalita is considered a member of not only her uncle's family but of Charu's and of Shekhar's as well. Shekhar's mother Bhuvaneshwari is so attached to Lalita that she tells Lalita to call her "ma". At a time (1914) when young women were typically married at the age of thirteen, Lalita becomes the object of a triangle between her neighbor Shekhar and Charu's uncle, Girish. - Gurucharan: Lalita's uncle is a bank clerk with a small salary and five daughters, as well as Lalita, to support. He becomes impoverished due to his attempts to follow social custom and pay large dowries for the weddings of his daughters. Indeed, the marriage of his second daughter was paid for by Shekhar's father, Nabin. In lieu of returning the money with high interest, Gurucharan's house was mortgaged to Nabin.
- Lalita's aunt: She is never named in the novella and has only a minor role.
- Annakali or Kali: Gurucharan's ten year old daughter and Lalita's cousin and playmate. It is during Kali's imaginary "doll-wedding" that Lalita and Shekhar exchange garlands.
Shekhar Roy's family
- Shekhar: The youngest son of the Roy family, Shekhar is twenty-five years old. He has a master's degree as well as a law degree and is working as a teacher. From the time of her arrival to Gurucharan's house, Shekhar had taken an interest in Lalita's upbringing. While Shekhar contemplates marrying Lalita, he is restrained by social customs as well as by the resistance of his father who wants him to marry a wealthy woman with a large dowry.
- Nabin: Shekhar's father, who is a millionaire and an unscrupulous businessman. He becomes so enraged when Gurucharan's debt is repaid and when Gurucharan converts himself and his family to BrahmoismBrahmo SamajBrahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
, that he builds a wall between the two houses. - Bhuvaneshwari: Shekhar's mother, who is an advanced thinker. She wants Shekhar to choose his own wife rather than marry the woman whom Nabin selects. She also accepts Lalita as her daughter despite the difference in wealth and position.
- Abnash: Shekhar's married elder brother, a lawyer, who is mentioned in passing but never appears in the novella.
Charu's family
- Charubala or Charu: Lalita's neighbor and playmate. She introduces Lalita to her uncle Girish.
- Manorma: Charu's mother and Girish's cousin. She is an active card player and involves Lalita in many card games.
- Girish: Manoroma's cousin and a university student who as been away for many years. He, as with the rest of the family, is a BrahmoBrahmo SamajBrahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
, and convinces Gurucharan to convert himself (and his family). As a Brahmo, Gurucharan will no longer have to pay large dowries for the weddings of his daughters. In addition to repaying Gurucharan's loan, Girish repeatedly proves himself to be a man of integrity who acts according to the common good rather than his own self-interest.
Translations
- 2005:English editionEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(Penguin India), translated by Malobika Chaudhuri, with an introduction by Swagato Ganguly http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/Books/BookDetail.asp?id=5880. - 1937: GujaratiGujarati languageGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
edition - 1934: MarathiMarathi languageMarathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
edition
Film adaptations
Parineeta has been adapted to film a number of times:- Parineeta (2005 film)Parineeta (2005 film)Parineeta is a Bollywood musical film adaptation of the 1914 Bengali novella, Parineeta by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Directed by debutant Pradeep Sarkar, the film was based upon a screenplay by the film's producer, Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film featured Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt...
(BollywoodBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
version), directed by Pradeep SarkarPradeep SarkarPradeep Sakar is a writer and director who works in the Bollywood industry.He began his career with Vinod Chopra Productions, the production company of acclaimed director Vidhu Vinod Chopra....
, based upon a screenplay by Vidhu Vinod ChopraVidhu Vinod ChopraVidhu Vinod Chopra is an Indian director and producer. Chopra is the head of his own company, Vinod Chopra Productions, and is particularly known for producing the Munna Bhai films and 3 Idiots.-Early life:Born in a Punjabi family of Kashmir,...
, starring Sanjay DuttSanjay DuttSanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
, Saif Ali KhanSaif Ali KhanSaif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....
, and Vidya BalanVidya BalanVidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....
. - Sankoch (1976 film), directed by Arun Ganuly, starring Sulakshana PanditSulakshana PanditSulakshana Pratap Narain Pandit is a Filmfare Award winning Playback Singer & Actor.Her brothers are the composing duo Jatin Lalit and her younger sister is Vijeta Pandit who achieved fame with her debut movie Love Story. Her uncle is the accomplished classical vocalist Pandit...
. - Parineeta (1969 film)Parineeta (1969 film)Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1914 novel Parineeta was adapted into a 1969 film by Ajoy Kar. The English title for the film is The Fiancee. ...
, directed by Ajoy Kar, starring Soumitra ChatterjeeSoumitra ChatterjeeSoumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay is an iconic Bengali actor from India, known among other things for his frequent collaborations with the great Bengali film director Satyajit Ray and his constant comparison with the Bengali screen idol Uttam Kumar.-Background:Soumitra graduated from...
and JeetendraJeetendraJeetendra born Ravi Kapoor is an Indian actor and television producer...
. - Parineeta (1953 film)Parineeta (1953 film)Parineeta is a 1953 film based upon the 1914 novel by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The film was directed by Bimal Roy. This version of the film is considered by many to be the most faithful adaptation of the novella, particularly due to Meena Kumari's interpretation of the role of...
, directed by Bimal RoyBimal RoyBimal Roy was one of the most acclaimed Indian film directors of all time. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema...
, starring Ashok Kumar and Meena KumariMeena KumariMeena Kumari , born Mahjabeen Bano, was an Indian movie actress and poetess. She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses to have appeared on the screens of Hindi Cinema...
. - Parineeta (1942 film)Parineeta (1942 film)Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1914 novel Parineeta was adapted into a 1942 Bengali film by Pashupati Chatterjee. The English title for the film is The Fiancée....
, directed by Pashupati Chatterjee.
See also
- DebdasDevdasDevdas is a Bengali Romance novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Essentially, it is a retelling of the Krishna, Radha, and Meera myths, the relationships between its three protagonists - Devdas, Parvati, and Chandramukhi - paralleling the Hindu deities'.-Plot summary:Devdas is a young man from...
/DevdasDevdasDevdas is a Bengali Romance novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Essentially, it is a retelling of the Krishna, Radha, and Meera myths, the relationships between its three protagonists - Devdas, Parvati, and Chandramukhi - paralleling the Hindu deities'.-Plot summary:Devdas is a young man from...
, 1917 (written in 1901) - Nashtanir - contemporary novel
- Bengal RenaissanceBengal RenaissanceThe Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...