by Rabindranath Tagore · 1916
Romance · Historical Fiction · Classics
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A wealthy Bengali landowner wants his wife to step out of seclusion, but when his fiery friend Sandip brings the cause of Indian independence into their home, she is drawn to him. A novel of love, loyalty and the swadeshi movement.
Content note: The book touches on political violence and a marriage under strain.
Bimala’s Story
I
Mother, today there comes back to mind the vermilion mark at the parting of your hair, the sari which you used to wear, with its wide red border, and those wonderful eyes of yours, full of depth and peace. They came at the start of my life’s journey, like the first streak of dawn, giving me golden provision to carry me on my way.
The sky which gives light is blue, and my mother’s face was dark, but she had the radiance of holiness, and her beauty would put to shame all the vanity of the beautiful.
Everyone says that I resemble my mother. In my childhood I used to resent this. It made me angry with my mirror. I thought that it was God’s unfairness which was wrapped round my limbs—that my dark features were not my due, but had come to me by some misunderstanding. All that remained for me to ask of my God in reparation was, that I might grow up to be a model of what woman should be, as one reads it in some epic poem.
When the proposal came for my marriage, an astrologer was sent, who consulted my palm and said, “This girl has good signs. She will become an ideal wife.”
