Stories by Rabindranath Tagore (2015): Season 1, Episode 19 - Mrinal Ki Chitthi - full transcript
A young woman finds herself trapped in a world filled with backward thinking and conservative views. She tries to defeat the system by helping her downtrodden sister-in-law, but realizes that society is unforgiving to women of her era. She escapes her turmoil and tries to put her thoughts to paper and send a message to her husband.
Have you packed the stuff?
Yes.
I am leaving.
You shouldn't say
that you are leaving.
It is inauspicious.
Say, that I am coming.
"Dearest husband. I touch your feet."
Sir, letter for you.
Listen!
Yes, coming.
A letter has arrived from Puri.
I think it is from the
youngest daughter-in-law.
Brother-in-law!
Brother-in-law. Letter from Mrinal.
Mrinal has sent these offerings.
"Today is the 15th
anniversary of our marriage."
"We have never been separated
in all these years."
"We must have spoken
so much to each other."
"But we never found
a chance to write letters."
"Kolkata is not a city.
It's a heartbeat."
"And you cannot live without it."
"That's why, you didn't even
request for leave to visit Puri."
"I requested it from you.
And I got it too."
"Maybe this was God's will."
"I have left house and am
away from you for the first time."
"And I have crossed many
rivers to reach this shore."
"After getting estranged from you all,
I feel as if I am just like the small.."
"..spot similar to the
setting sun in the horizon."
"Today I feel that I am vast.
I am complete."
"I am not just the youngest
daughter-in-law of your house. I am me."
The buggy is ready.
You go ahead.
I will be late today.
"My poor parents who
stay in the village.."
"..had never even dreamt that I would
get married into such a rich family."
"The entire village used to
think that I have a rich fortune."
"Even I would have thought the same."
-"But I have studied too much.
-Mrinal."
-"That's why I never was the one..
-Mrinal."
"..to get emotional and
thank luck for everything."
"Otherwise maybe I would have.."
"..never written this
letter to you today."
Mrinal.
Mrinal
Mrinal.
-Mother, have you seen Mrinal around?
-No.
Mrinal.
Coming.
What are you doing there? Hurry up.
She lolls around that
place the entire day.
I suspect even her lineage.
Someone ask her father.
Was he a scholar?
Where are you?
I have been screaming since
long for you to fix the buttons.
But you are not paying heed at all.
You are just ignoring me.
Since the beginning of harvesting,
the servants are all on leave.
I am not able to find time at all.
Is it?
But you can find time for this.
Ponds, lakes, wells, rivers.
Sea, earth. Everyone looked sad.
Everyone was experiencing drought.
This doesn't rhyme at all.
Happiness is hidden.
Happiness is hidden?
Sadness is hidden too.
The poem has no sense of rhythm.
The poem is in a bad state.
"Besides being the youngest
daughter-in-law of your house.."
"..I do have other qualities too."
"You have never noticed it."
"I look for the darkest
corners in your house.."
"..and would try to find
the light of poetry there."
"Because this was the only
way for me to express myself."
"My small world of
poetry was only mine."
"And it was not surrounded
by the walls of your mentality."
-Mrinal.
-Yes.
What is all this?
You had left back the
accounts book yesterday.
So I was going through it.
The calculations have some mistakes?
Shall I tell you?
Look.
This accounts book contains
calculations of the business.
It is not your household expense book.
I am very good in accounting.
I can help you..
Mrinal, this is the work of
the men of this house.
Do what is expected
from the women of the house.
Anywaym mother was complaining that
you hardly enter the kitchen nowadays.
What will I do there?
There are so many servants.
Mrinal, pay attention
to household work.
And in future, don't
ever touch my account books.
Women should refrain
from using their brains.
"God has given me more intelligence.."
"..than the intelligence
required in.."
"..the youngest daughter-in-law
of your house."
"Now tell me,
how can I return Him all that?"
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Come. Come inside.
Bindu.
Sister, she was standing outside
and getting wet in this rain.
Aunty.
Sister, these are not
marks inflicted of beatings.
These are wounds inflicted by burns.
That.. I was being
beaten by firewood.
I had fever since two days.
I was cleaning the glass vase.
And I started feeling dizzy.
But I didn't break it on purpose.
I had done everything else.
I had even chopped the wood.
I had also swept the house.
And the utensils. I was about
to wash them when sister-in-law said..
..that wash the glass flower vase.
And I felt dizzy.
The flower vase was also expensive.
Sister-in-law,
don't send her back to that home now.
She can stay here with us.
How will we explain to the family?
What will I tell mother?
They won't agree.
"Sister cared less about Bindu.."
"..she worried more that.."
"..what will happen when the
family will come to know of the same."
Eat. Eat some more.
The girl is poor.
Where will she eat
if not at her aunt's house?
She is hungry.
Even God cannot fill
the stomach of the poor.
No matter how much we feed them,
their hunger is always insatiate.
And daughter-in-law. Tell Bishwa.
He will get more groceries this time.
Because the expenses have increased.
Now we are people
who indulge in charity.
We don't even allow
a dog to go when he comes..
..and she is the relative
of the eldest daughter-in-law.
Bindu.
Are you okay, dear?
Look. Take care of yourself.
Did you eat properly?
Look, dear. Don't mind her.
Why haven't you
cleaned your plate yet?
Should I engage servants for you now?
"Sister used to consciously
show everyone.."
"..and misbehave with Bindu."
"She wanted to prove that.."
"..even she is unhappy
because Bindu is here."
The clothes are yet to get washed.
"I was feeling pity
on sister's helplessness."
"Sister didn't have
any say in your house."
Look around and run some errands.
Why hasn't she gone to sleep yet?
What is she doing here?
"Sister, used to portray repeatedly.."
"..that she was not
fit for this household.."
"..and thus destroyed
her remaining self-respect."
"Your mother never left
any opportunity to comment on.."
"..sister's dark color
and her poor family."
"I still don't understand.."
"..that how is beauty
defined in your house?"
"Your mother wanted a pretty
youngest daughter-in-law."
"Otherwise you can find diseases.."
"..and brides for free
at every corner in Bengal."
"And that also for life."
"Our village was 27 miles
away from the station."
"Your uncle had come
to our house travelling.."
"..16 miles on the chariot
and then 11 miles on palanquin."
"To find a pretty youngest
daughter-in-law for your house."
Dear, what's your name?
Yes? Mrinal.
Mrinal. What does Mrinal mean?
The lotus stem.
Lotuses bloom in mud.
Have you prepared all this food?
"A small question increased
the rate of my father's heart beats."
"Mother started praying
to Goddess Durga in her mind."
"And the entire village
was watching the show."
"That day our house had an
atmosphere of the Spring festival."
"In the Spring festival.."
"..villagers go to
auction their produce."
"Buyers come from far and wide."
"People have a similar
expression even then."
"Everyone waits what
price will the buyer pay?"
Dear, have you prepared all this?
Yes. The curry and the fish.
The rest has been prepared by mother.
Very good.
You have prepared delicious food.
"After a thorough examination,
your uncle chose me."
"And I entered your house
as the youngest daughter-in-law."
"After the wedding,
the women of the house.."
"..left no stone unturned
to find flaws in me."
"But everyone agreed on one thing."
Tell me, how do you
find my daughter-in-law?
-Vimla.
-Yes.
Where did you find such
a pretty daughter-in-law?
Do you know? I have brought
her from across the river Padma.
Goddess Durga has been benevolent.
And we found her from
the same community as ours.
-She is very pretty.
-I won't repeat the same mistake.
I had selected well this time.
Look, how pretty she is. Isn't she?
"My first few days after
the wedding were so torturous.."
"..but you never even
tried to find out about it."
"The ones whom I found to be my own in
your strange home were your two cows.."
"..and their two calves."
"I felt as if I had found my distant
relatives from my maiden home."
"Bindu had also adopted
the cowshed as her home."
-"When I saw Bindu I felt that..
-Bindu."
-"..that she was the image of my past.
-Bindu."
Take this.
Seven months are over.
It would have been better if
you could have dropped me home sooner.
Now it will be
difficult to travel far.
No, I was saying that after this
it will be difficult to travel far.
-What?
-I had to go home.
-Where do you want to go?
-It's been seven months.
Why do you need to give
birth to a baby in the village?
Anyway it is the first
heir of our family.
It is better, if he can
be looked after well in the city.
You don't need to go anywhere.
That means you are
sure that it will be a boy.
We are all brothers in this house.
This is our family tradition.
"Traditions are so strange."
"The mother becomes impure for a
month after giving birth to the baby."
"That's why as soon
as the labor pains began.."
"..you all sent me to a small
room at the back of our house."
Sister.
Doctor, is everything okay?
Mr. Mukherjee,
this room is not fit for humans.
And you will keep your
wife here in such a condition?
"When women lose their self-respect.."
"..then she finds all injustice and
insults meted out to her as correct."
"That's why women are always apprehensive
in expressing their pain and sorrow."
"For them, everything
that is happening is fine."
Bindu.
What happened?
Why are you crying?
No. I am not crying.
When was I crying?
You won't sleep here. Come upstairs.
Oh no. Aunty has
told me to sleep here.
I told you. Come on. Get up.
"The love, sister had for her younger
sister will reach her through me."
Mrinal.
How can you tell Bindu
to sleep in our room?
She is a small child.
How can she stay in the kitchen?
Why? There is also space
beneath the terrace staircase?
Kamal and Mahesh sleep there.
There is space for servants
to sleep in this house.
But none for this girl.
I had said so already.
Send her back.
I was always proud of the fact..
..that at least you
are not like the others.
You are sympathetic.
That's why I brought her
to this room without asking you.
I had never thought that even you would
prove to be heartless like the others.
Okay. Fine. Let her stay back.
Just for a few days.
What are you looking at?
Your hair is so pretty.
Aunty, may I dress your hair?
"My daughter died
as soon as she was born."
"Even I had to leave with her."
"But I was detained from leaving."
"The pain of being
a mother was very bad."
"But it was less than not being a
mother despite giving birth to a baby."
"If my daughter was alive
then I would have become.."
"..a mother instead of being
the youngest daughter-in-law."
"I would have shared all
my joys and sorrows with her."
"I would have raised her.."
"..as per my opinions, on my own."
This is Bindu.
Everything starts with a Bindu (dot).
And everything ends in a dot.
Unless there is another dot..
..there cannot be any kind of shape.
Dots are very important.
There are shapes
because there are dots.
And if there are no
dots then there is nothing.
What did you understand? Who are you?
Bindu. (Dot)
And if you are not Bindu, then?
Nothing.
"Bindu's name would be called
for all household chores."
-Bindu.
-Yes.
I have shaken it. Take.
-Bindu.
-Coming.
Bindu. Bindu.
Bindu.
"And if anything went wrong
in the house, again Bindu was blamed."
Found it?
No.
Where did you see it last?
I had just kept it here
and had gone to take my bath.
You shouldn't have left such an..
..expensive necklace
unprotected in the room.
This is just an invitation to thieves.
Who will steal it?
I always keep it this way.
Earlier it was different.
Now the number of people
in this house has increased.
What are you hinting at?
You know whom I am hinting at?
No, I am not so wise.
Look, Bindu is a nice child.
But she is from a very poor family.
It is possible that she might have been
tempted with your expensive necklace.
Even I am from a poor family.
That means that I have stolen everything
that has gone missing in this house.
Will you compare
yourself to Bindu now?
Ma'am, here is your necklace.
It was lying near the bathroom window.
You have given Bindu the sari that
granny gave you in the last festival.
Yes. I had given it to her yesterday.
She is looking nice in it, isn't it?
How can you give Bindu
such an expensive sari?
I have given it to her
because it is expensive.
She doesn't have
a single expensive sari.
And look. I have more than I require.
You are right.
Everything you have
is more than you require.
"In anger you stopped giving
me pocket money from the next day."
"So even I stopped spending."
"Even I decided to stay
like Bindu in this home."
"Now I will also avail the
same comforts that Bindu does."
"You were not happy to see this."
"You had never bothered to think.."
"..whether I am happy
in this house or not."
"The topic was always the same."
"That was I keeping
this house happy or not?"
"I always felt.."
"..that why didn't you
turn Bindu out of the house?"
"I know well."
"Because you were scared
of me and my truth."
"You were scared of your decent
image in front of the society."
"How can a decent family like yours
turn out a helpless girl like Bindu?"
"You just pretended to
be decent and in reality.."
"..you all crossed
all limits of decency."
"Since you couldn't turn her out,
you arranged for her farewell."
"If not this, then that."
He is of advanced age.
It is also a good family.
They also have a lot of land. And even
the family has got a very good name.
Congratulations, sister-in-law.
Bindu's alliance has been fixed.
Is the boy good?
"Neither we have seen the boy.."
"..nor the groom's
side had seen Bindu."
"Still you liked the alliance.."
"..because the groom's
side were ready.."
"..to bear all wedding
expenses on one condition."
"The condition was that the wedding
will be solemnized in the groom's house."
"What could be better
for you than this?"
"You were able to get rid
of Bindu without spending any money."
It's almost the last
flower of the season.
I got it, since it was lying around.
I thought that my sweet doll who is
upset since morning will be pleased.
She will smile.
Aunty, I don't want to get married.
Please detain me, aunty.
Why don't you want to get married?
Every girl needs
to get married, right?
But I don't want to.
Aunty, I am scared.
Every girl gets scared, crazy girl.
But every girl has to bid farewell.
You have to get married.
You have to leave your home.
But aunty.
I have already left my home.
How many more times
will I need to leave home?
Aunty, don't send me away.
Don't insist, dear.
Farewell is a big destiny
of every girl's fate.
Consider yourself
to be like this flower.
The tree it blooms in..
..even that tree estranges itself
from it after the season is over.
If it is not plucked in time..
..then it will rot on the roads.
It will be trodden
on or thrown in the ditch.
So is the season over?
This season is over.
A new one is about to begin.
May God send you to a very good place.
A place where the house is like a
temple and its members are like Gods.
But where people are like Gods..
..why would they want me
as their daughter-in-law, aunty?
I neither have parents nor
do I belong to a good family..
..and they are not
even asking for dowry.
If the people are not nice then?
No matter what. They will be
better than the people here, Bindu.
Wherever you go, you will
get more than you are getting here.
I am there for you.
"I was more scared than Bindu was."
"Bindu just wanted
to hear 'No' from me."
"If I had said no, then Bindu
would have stayed with me forever."
"But what will happen after I die?"
"Bindu would have become
lonely after my demise."
"All these thoughts
forced me to say yes."
"And I.."
"I myself pushed her into
the dark well of marriage."
Bindu.
Aunty.
He is mad.
Listen.
Where are you? Sister.
Brother.
What is the matter?
What is the matter, Mrinal?
Go and talk in your room.
This is a matter between
husband and wife.
No. This matter concerns
the entire family.
Tell me clearly, what is the matter?
Who had fixed Bindu's marriage?
Brother had. Why?
What is the matter?
Who wants to question me?
This unlucky girl has come again.
Her husband is mad.
Her husband is not mad. She is mad.
We have got her married
after so much difficulty.
She is not going to find a prince.
I will explain to her.
You don't need to explain to her.
I will go and drop her off.
Don't even come near her.
Mrinal! Is this the way to talk?
I fixed the marriage.
And I don't know how the boy is?
She is mad herself.
Brother, just think.
Why would a girl run away from
her in-law's house after her wedding?
She did it because she was in trouble.
No. Because she is a runaway.
She had also run away
when she had come here.
And the marks on her face.
Daughter-in-law. You can
cure some ills only by violence.
She is unlucky,
youngest daughter-in-law.
She meets ill fate no
matter how much any one tries.
Get Bindu ready. I will go
and drop her off at her in-laws.
Bindu won't go anywhere.
Bindu will go.
Her husband's home is her home now.
Understood?
Bindu will surely go to her home.
I will see who can take her away.
Bindu is now their daughter-in-law.
If we don't send her back, then
they will complain to the police.
I will approach the police.
I will report that they fooled
us and had our child marry a mad man.
Won't the police listen to us?
-I will see to it.
-Silence.
Absolute silence!
Get Bindu ready.
I am going to drop her off.
Listen! Try to understand.
Mrinal, why are you creating a scene?
Bindu will have to leave.
No.
Bindu. Bindu.
Mrinal.
-Bindu. Bindu. Bindu.
-Bindu.
-Bindu.
-Bindu.
Yes, so she has left on her own.
She has not left on her own.
She has left because of me.
I couldn't stop her.
I want to go to Puri.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow? Why? What's the issue?
I was thinking of paying homage
to Lord Jagannath for peace of mind.
Nothing seems good here.
I won't get leave, Mrinal.
I will go alone.
You are just blabbering.
Have you ever stayed alone without me?
Sharad can drop me off.
Mother won't agree, Mrinal.
I am going to pay homage
to ask for a child.
She will never refuse
if you convince her properly.
"I didn't lie."
"Bindu was like my child."
"I knew that this was your weakness."
"And you all cannot refuse
when God and a child are involved."
Where is sister?
What happened?
You had summoned me with a telegram.
Do you know that my
exams are approaching?
And the national
strike is at its peak.
Do you know how difficult
it was for me to come here?
Sharad, even I am in great difficulty.
That's why I had called you.
Will you help me?
But it is a secret matter?
If Bindu has any doubts
then give her this letter?
She will never refuse to
accompany you after reading this.
-Okay, sister.
-And take this. Money for the tickets.
What is the train's scheduled time?
11 o'clock.
I will reach the station
at 7 in the morning.
Okay, sister.
Wait for me at the waiting room.
Sharad! Will it be done?
Don't worry, sister.
Bindu will accompany
you in the train tomorrow.
Have you packed your stuff?
Yes.
-Are you leaving?
-Yes.
All right.
The coachman will drive you and Niranjan
will see you off at the station.
-Sharad will be in the train, right?
-Oh yes.
I am leaving.
Don't say that you are leaving.
It is inauspicious.
Say that I am coming.
"Even I knew that, you should
say that you are coming."
"But I couldn't lie while leaving."
Where is Bindu?
Where is Bindu?
She didn't come.
Last night,
she set fire on her clothes..
She had written a letter for you.
This is what is left of it.
And if there is no Bindu.
Then nothing.
"This is my first and last letter."
"I am not returning
to 24/2 Ghoshpara."
"It took me 15 years to understand.."
"..the position of women
in your house and in your society."
"Though late. I at least understood."
"Enough now!"
"Bindu had entered my
life for just a few days."
"But while leaving.."
"..she lighted the burnt
out lamp of self-esteem within me."
"If Bindu was just another girl.."
"..then God would
have never forsaken her."
"Bindu was not just another girl."
"She was a Bengali girl.
A niece of a helpless aunt."
"A wife of a mad husband."
"Even God couldn't do anything
in such depressing situations."
"Why should I return
to your small home.."
"..when there is such
a limitless beautiful world."
"I am so small in front
of this great ocean."
"I am such a dwarf
under this blue sky."
"One can do so much more in life."
"And I cannot do this by being the
youngest daughter-in-law of your house."
"I want to breath freely now."
"And only I will have
rights over my life now."
"And now my life
will take a new path."
"And that will be my path. Only mine."
Yes.
I am leaving.
You shouldn't say
that you are leaving.
It is inauspicious.
Say, that I am coming.
"Dearest husband. I touch your feet."
Sir, letter for you.
Listen!
Yes, coming.
A letter has arrived from Puri.
I think it is from the
youngest daughter-in-law.
Brother-in-law!
Brother-in-law. Letter from Mrinal.
Mrinal has sent these offerings.
"Today is the 15th
anniversary of our marriage."
"We have never been separated
in all these years."
"We must have spoken
so much to each other."
"But we never found
a chance to write letters."
"Kolkata is not a city.
It's a heartbeat."
"And you cannot live without it."
"That's why, you didn't even
request for leave to visit Puri."
"I requested it from you.
And I got it too."
"Maybe this was God's will."
"I have left house and am
away from you for the first time."
"And I have crossed many
rivers to reach this shore."
"After getting estranged from you all,
I feel as if I am just like the small.."
"..spot similar to the
setting sun in the horizon."
"Today I feel that I am vast.
I am complete."
"I am not just the youngest
daughter-in-law of your house. I am me."
The buggy is ready.
You go ahead.
I will be late today.
"My poor parents who
stay in the village.."
"..had never even dreamt that I would
get married into such a rich family."
"The entire village used to
think that I have a rich fortune."
"Even I would have thought the same."
-"But I have studied too much.
-Mrinal."
-"That's why I never was the one..
-Mrinal."
"..to get emotional and
thank luck for everything."
"Otherwise maybe I would have.."
"..never written this
letter to you today."
Mrinal.
Mrinal
Mrinal.
-Mother, have you seen Mrinal around?
-No.
Mrinal.
Coming.
What are you doing there? Hurry up.
She lolls around that
place the entire day.
I suspect even her lineage.
Someone ask her father.
Was he a scholar?
Where are you?
I have been screaming since
long for you to fix the buttons.
But you are not paying heed at all.
You are just ignoring me.
Since the beginning of harvesting,
the servants are all on leave.
I am not able to find time at all.
Is it?
But you can find time for this.
Ponds, lakes, wells, rivers.
Sea, earth. Everyone looked sad.
Everyone was experiencing drought.
This doesn't rhyme at all.
Happiness is hidden.
Happiness is hidden?
Sadness is hidden too.
The poem has no sense of rhythm.
The poem is in a bad state.
"Besides being the youngest
daughter-in-law of your house.."
"..I do have other qualities too."
"You have never noticed it."
"I look for the darkest
corners in your house.."
"..and would try to find
the light of poetry there."
"Because this was the only
way for me to express myself."
"My small world of
poetry was only mine."
"And it was not surrounded
by the walls of your mentality."
-Mrinal.
-Yes.
What is all this?
You had left back the
accounts book yesterday.
So I was going through it.
The calculations have some mistakes?
Shall I tell you?
Look.
This accounts book contains
calculations of the business.
It is not your household expense book.
I am very good in accounting.
I can help you..
Mrinal, this is the work of
the men of this house.
Do what is expected
from the women of the house.
Anywaym mother was complaining that
you hardly enter the kitchen nowadays.
What will I do there?
There are so many servants.
Mrinal, pay attention
to household work.
And in future, don't
ever touch my account books.
Women should refrain
from using their brains.
"God has given me more intelligence.."
"..than the intelligence
required in.."
"..the youngest daughter-in-law
of your house."
"Now tell me,
how can I return Him all that?"
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Aunty.
Come. Come inside.
Bindu.
Sister, she was standing outside
and getting wet in this rain.
Aunty.
Sister, these are not
marks inflicted of beatings.
These are wounds inflicted by burns.
That.. I was being
beaten by firewood.
I had fever since two days.
I was cleaning the glass vase.
And I started feeling dizzy.
But I didn't break it on purpose.
I had done everything else.
I had even chopped the wood.
I had also swept the house.
And the utensils. I was about
to wash them when sister-in-law said..
..that wash the glass flower vase.
And I felt dizzy.
The flower vase was also expensive.
Sister-in-law,
don't send her back to that home now.
She can stay here with us.
How will we explain to the family?
What will I tell mother?
They won't agree.
"Sister cared less about Bindu.."
"..she worried more that.."
"..what will happen when the
family will come to know of the same."
Eat. Eat some more.
The girl is poor.
Where will she eat
if not at her aunt's house?
She is hungry.
Even God cannot fill
the stomach of the poor.
No matter how much we feed them,
their hunger is always insatiate.
And daughter-in-law. Tell Bishwa.
He will get more groceries this time.
Because the expenses have increased.
Now we are people
who indulge in charity.
We don't even allow
a dog to go when he comes..
..and she is the relative
of the eldest daughter-in-law.
Bindu.
Are you okay, dear?
Look. Take care of yourself.
Did you eat properly?
Look, dear. Don't mind her.
Why haven't you
cleaned your plate yet?
Should I engage servants for you now?
"Sister used to consciously
show everyone.."
"..and misbehave with Bindu."
"She wanted to prove that.."
"..even she is unhappy
because Bindu is here."
The clothes are yet to get washed.
"I was feeling pity
on sister's helplessness."
"Sister didn't have
any say in your house."
Look around and run some errands.
Why hasn't she gone to sleep yet?
What is she doing here?
"Sister, used to portray repeatedly.."
"..that she was not
fit for this household.."
"..and thus destroyed
her remaining self-respect."
"Your mother never left
any opportunity to comment on.."
"..sister's dark color
and her poor family."
"I still don't understand.."
"..that how is beauty
defined in your house?"
"Your mother wanted a pretty
youngest daughter-in-law."
"Otherwise you can find diseases.."
"..and brides for free
at every corner in Bengal."
"And that also for life."
"Our village was 27 miles
away from the station."
"Your uncle had come
to our house travelling.."
"..16 miles on the chariot
and then 11 miles on palanquin."
"To find a pretty youngest
daughter-in-law for your house."
Dear, what's your name?
Yes? Mrinal.
Mrinal. What does Mrinal mean?
The lotus stem.
Lotuses bloom in mud.
Have you prepared all this food?
"A small question increased
the rate of my father's heart beats."
"Mother started praying
to Goddess Durga in her mind."
"And the entire village
was watching the show."
"That day our house had an
atmosphere of the Spring festival."
"In the Spring festival.."
"..villagers go to
auction their produce."
"Buyers come from far and wide."
"People have a similar
expression even then."
"Everyone waits what
price will the buyer pay?"
Dear, have you prepared all this?
Yes. The curry and the fish.
The rest has been prepared by mother.
Very good.
You have prepared delicious food.
"After a thorough examination,
your uncle chose me."
"And I entered your house
as the youngest daughter-in-law."
"After the wedding,
the women of the house.."
"..left no stone unturned
to find flaws in me."
"But everyone agreed on one thing."
Tell me, how do you
find my daughter-in-law?
-Vimla.
-Yes.
Where did you find such
a pretty daughter-in-law?
Do you know? I have brought
her from across the river Padma.
Goddess Durga has been benevolent.
And we found her from
the same community as ours.
-She is very pretty.
-I won't repeat the same mistake.
I had selected well this time.
Look, how pretty she is. Isn't she?
"My first few days after
the wedding were so torturous.."
"..but you never even
tried to find out about it."
"The ones whom I found to be my own in
your strange home were your two cows.."
"..and their two calves."
"I felt as if I had found my distant
relatives from my maiden home."
"Bindu had also adopted
the cowshed as her home."
-"When I saw Bindu I felt that..
-Bindu."
-"..that she was the image of my past.
-Bindu."
Take this.
Seven months are over.
It would have been better if
you could have dropped me home sooner.
Now it will be
difficult to travel far.
No, I was saying that after this
it will be difficult to travel far.
-What?
-I had to go home.
-Where do you want to go?
-It's been seven months.
Why do you need to give
birth to a baby in the village?
Anyway it is the first
heir of our family.
It is better, if he can
be looked after well in the city.
You don't need to go anywhere.
That means you are
sure that it will be a boy.
We are all brothers in this house.
This is our family tradition.
"Traditions are so strange."
"The mother becomes impure for a
month after giving birth to the baby."
"That's why as soon
as the labor pains began.."
"..you all sent me to a small
room at the back of our house."
Sister.
Doctor, is everything okay?
Mr. Mukherjee,
this room is not fit for humans.
And you will keep your
wife here in such a condition?
"When women lose their self-respect.."
"..then she finds all injustice and
insults meted out to her as correct."
"That's why women are always apprehensive
in expressing their pain and sorrow."
"For them, everything
that is happening is fine."
Bindu.
What happened?
Why are you crying?
No. I am not crying.
When was I crying?
You won't sleep here. Come upstairs.
Oh no. Aunty has
told me to sleep here.
I told you. Come on. Get up.
"The love, sister had for her younger
sister will reach her through me."
Mrinal.
How can you tell Bindu
to sleep in our room?
She is a small child.
How can she stay in the kitchen?
Why? There is also space
beneath the terrace staircase?
Kamal and Mahesh sleep there.
There is space for servants
to sleep in this house.
But none for this girl.
I had said so already.
Send her back.
I was always proud of the fact..
..that at least you
are not like the others.
You are sympathetic.
That's why I brought her
to this room without asking you.
I had never thought that even you would
prove to be heartless like the others.
Okay. Fine. Let her stay back.
Just for a few days.
What are you looking at?
Your hair is so pretty.
Aunty, may I dress your hair?
"My daughter died
as soon as she was born."
"Even I had to leave with her."
"But I was detained from leaving."
"The pain of being
a mother was very bad."
"But it was less than not being a
mother despite giving birth to a baby."
"If my daughter was alive
then I would have become.."
"..a mother instead of being
the youngest daughter-in-law."
"I would have shared all
my joys and sorrows with her."
"I would have raised her.."
"..as per my opinions, on my own."
This is Bindu.
Everything starts with a Bindu (dot).
And everything ends in a dot.
Unless there is another dot..
..there cannot be any kind of shape.
Dots are very important.
There are shapes
because there are dots.
And if there are no
dots then there is nothing.
What did you understand? Who are you?
Bindu. (Dot)
And if you are not Bindu, then?
Nothing.
"Bindu's name would be called
for all household chores."
-Bindu.
-Yes.
I have shaken it. Take.
-Bindu.
-Coming.
Bindu. Bindu.
Bindu.
"And if anything went wrong
in the house, again Bindu was blamed."
Found it?
No.
Where did you see it last?
I had just kept it here
and had gone to take my bath.
You shouldn't have left such an..
..expensive necklace
unprotected in the room.
This is just an invitation to thieves.
Who will steal it?
I always keep it this way.
Earlier it was different.
Now the number of people
in this house has increased.
What are you hinting at?
You know whom I am hinting at?
No, I am not so wise.
Look, Bindu is a nice child.
But she is from a very poor family.
It is possible that she might have been
tempted with your expensive necklace.
Even I am from a poor family.
That means that I have stolen everything
that has gone missing in this house.
Will you compare
yourself to Bindu now?
Ma'am, here is your necklace.
It was lying near the bathroom window.
You have given Bindu the sari that
granny gave you in the last festival.
Yes. I had given it to her yesterday.
She is looking nice in it, isn't it?
How can you give Bindu
such an expensive sari?
I have given it to her
because it is expensive.
She doesn't have
a single expensive sari.
And look. I have more than I require.
You are right.
Everything you have
is more than you require.
"In anger you stopped giving
me pocket money from the next day."
"So even I stopped spending."
"Even I decided to stay
like Bindu in this home."
"Now I will also avail the
same comforts that Bindu does."
"You were not happy to see this."
"You had never bothered to think.."
"..whether I am happy
in this house or not."
"The topic was always the same."
"That was I keeping
this house happy or not?"
"I always felt.."
"..that why didn't you
turn Bindu out of the house?"
"I know well."
"Because you were scared
of me and my truth."
"You were scared of your decent
image in front of the society."
"How can a decent family like yours
turn out a helpless girl like Bindu?"
"You just pretended to
be decent and in reality.."
"..you all crossed
all limits of decency."
"Since you couldn't turn her out,
you arranged for her farewell."
"If not this, then that."
He is of advanced age.
It is also a good family.
They also have a lot of land. And even
the family has got a very good name.
Congratulations, sister-in-law.
Bindu's alliance has been fixed.
Is the boy good?
"Neither we have seen the boy.."
"..nor the groom's
side had seen Bindu."
"Still you liked the alliance.."
"..because the groom's
side were ready.."
"..to bear all wedding
expenses on one condition."
"The condition was that the wedding
will be solemnized in the groom's house."
"What could be better
for you than this?"
"You were able to get rid
of Bindu without spending any money."
It's almost the last
flower of the season.
I got it, since it was lying around.
I thought that my sweet doll who is
upset since morning will be pleased.
She will smile.
Aunty, I don't want to get married.
Please detain me, aunty.
Why don't you want to get married?
Every girl needs
to get married, right?
But I don't want to.
Aunty, I am scared.
Every girl gets scared, crazy girl.
But every girl has to bid farewell.
You have to get married.
You have to leave your home.
But aunty.
I have already left my home.
How many more times
will I need to leave home?
Aunty, don't send me away.
Don't insist, dear.
Farewell is a big destiny
of every girl's fate.
Consider yourself
to be like this flower.
The tree it blooms in..
..even that tree estranges itself
from it after the season is over.
If it is not plucked in time..
..then it will rot on the roads.
It will be trodden
on or thrown in the ditch.
So is the season over?
This season is over.
A new one is about to begin.
May God send you to a very good place.
A place where the house is like a
temple and its members are like Gods.
But where people are like Gods..
..why would they want me
as their daughter-in-law, aunty?
I neither have parents nor
do I belong to a good family..
..and they are not
even asking for dowry.
If the people are not nice then?
No matter what. They will be
better than the people here, Bindu.
Wherever you go, you will
get more than you are getting here.
I am there for you.
"I was more scared than Bindu was."
"Bindu just wanted
to hear 'No' from me."
"If I had said no, then Bindu
would have stayed with me forever."
"But what will happen after I die?"
"Bindu would have become
lonely after my demise."
"All these thoughts
forced me to say yes."
"And I.."
"I myself pushed her into
the dark well of marriage."
Bindu.
Aunty.
He is mad.
Listen.
Where are you? Sister.
Brother.
What is the matter?
What is the matter, Mrinal?
Go and talk in your room.
This is a matter between
husband and wife.
No. This matter concerns
the entire family.
Tell me clearly, what is the matter?
Who had fixed Bindu's marriage?
Brother had. Why?
What is the matter?
Who wants to question me?
This unlucky girl has come again.
Her husband is mad.
Her husband is not mad. She is mad.
We have got her married
after so much difficulty.
She is not going to find a prince.
I will explain to her.
You don't need to explain to her.
I will go and drop her off.
Don't even come near her.
Mrinal! Is this the way to talk?
I fixed the marriage.
And I don't know how the boy is?
She is mad herself.
Brother, just think.
Why would a girl run away from
her in-law's house after her wedding?
She did it because she was in trouble.
No. Because she is a runaway.
She had also run away
when she had come here.
And the marks on her face.
Daughter-in-law. You can
cure some ills only by violence.
She is unlucky,
youngest daughter-in-law.
She meets ill fate no
matter how much any one tries.
Get Bindu ready. I will go
and drop her off at her in-laws.
Bindu won't go anywhere.
Bindu will go.
Her husband's home is her home now.
Understood?
Bindu will surely go to her home.
I will see who can take her away.
Bindu is now their daughter-in-law.
If we don't send her back, then
they will complain to the police.
I will approach the police.
I will report that they fooled
us and had our child marry a mad man.
Won't the police listen to us?
-I will see to it.
-Silence.
Absolute silence!
Get Bindu ready.
I am going to drop her off.
Listen! Try to understand.
Mrinal, why are you creating a scene?
Bindu will have to leave.
No.
Bindu. Bindu.
Mrinal.
-Bindu. Bindu. Bindu.
-Bindu.
-Bindu.
-Bindu.
Yes, so she has left on her own.
She has not left on her own.
She has left because of me.
I couldn't stop her.
I want to go to Puri.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow? Why? What's the issue?
I was thinking of paying homage
to Lord Jagannath for peace of mind.
Nothing seems good here.
I won't get leave, Mrinal.
I will go alone.
You are just blabbering.
Have you ever stayed alone without me?
Sharad can drop me off.
Mother won't agree, Mrinal.
I am going to pay homage
to ask for a child.
She will never refuse
if you convince her properly.
"I didn't lie."
"Bindu was like my child."
"I knew that this was your weakness."
"And you all cannot refuse
when God and a child are involved."
Where is sister?
What happened?
You had summoned me with a telegram.
Do you know that my
exams are approaching?
And the national
strike is at its peak.
Do you know how difficult
it was for me to come here?
Sharad, even I am in great difficulty.
That's why I had called you.
Will you help me?
But it is a secret matter?
If Bindu has any doubts
then give her this letter?
She will never refuse to
accompany you after reading this.
-Okay, sister.
-And take this. Money for the tickets.
What is the train's scheduled time?
11 o'clock.
I will reach the station
at 7 in the morning.
Okay, sister.
Wait for me at the waiting room.
Sharad! Will it be done?
Don't worry, sister.
Bindu will accompany
you in the train tomorrow.
Have you packed your stuff?
Yes.
-Are you leaving?
-Yes.
All right.
The coachman will drive you and Niranjan
will see you off at the station.
-Sharad will be in the train, right?
-Oh yes.
I am leaving.
Don't say that you are leaving.
It is inauspicious.
Say that I am coming.
"Even I knew that, you should
say that you are coming."
"But I couldn't lie while leaving."
Where is Bindu?
Where is Bindu?
She didn't come.
Last night,
she set fire on her clothes..
She had written a letter for you.
This is what is left of it.
And if there is no Bindu.
Then nothing.
"This is my first and last letter."
"I am not returning
to 24/2 Ghoshpara."
"It took me 15 years to understand.."
"..the position of women
in your house and in your society."
"Though late. I at least understood."
"Enough now!"
"Bindu had entered my
life for just a few days."
"But while leaving.."
"..she lighted the burnt
out lamp of self-esteem within me."
"If Bindu was just another girl.."
"..then God would
have never forsaken her."
"Bindu was not just another girl."
"She was a Bengali girl.
A niece of a helpless aunt."
"A wife of a mad husband."
"Even God couldn't do anything
in such depressing situations."
"Why should I return
to your small home.."
"..when there is such
a limitless beautiful world."
"I am so small in front
of this great ocean."
"I am such a dwarf
under this blue sky."
"One can do so much more in life."
"And I cannot do this by being the
youngest daughter-in-law of your house."
"I want to breath freely now."
"And only I will have
rights over my life now."
"And now my life
will take a new path."
"And that will be my path. Only mine."