[crow cawing]
[cuckoo cooing]
[horses galloping]
[woman 1 knocking on door] Madam, open the door.
[knocking on door]
[woman 1] Open the door!
[knocking]
[woman 2] That's surprising.
[man 1] Madam, open the door!
-[woman 1] What's the matter? -[man 1] Open the door, Kadambari!
-Open the door, Kadambari! -Let me see.
Kadambari?
[woman 3] She never does that. I don't understand.
Kadambari, open the door.
Since early morning...
-I first thought... -I wonder what...
Kadambari, listen to me.
What should I do?
-Break it open. -[man 2] Break the door!
Break it open.
Kadambari!
What's the matter?
What...
Call the doctor.
Quick.
[woman crying]
Sister-in-law!
The women of our family don't end up in morgues.
Father, newspapers--
No paper is to carry this news.
The coroner's court is to be held right here
whatever the cost.
Forensics must testify this to be a natural death.
Brief all the servants accordingly.
[wind blowing, leaves rustling]
[Kadambari] 1868, 5th July, Sunday.
My wedding day.
It was like being swept off from a tiny pond
right into the ocean waves.
That was how I felt when I came to Thakurbari as a newlywed.
[women chuckling]
My husband Jyotirindranath was more than just handsome.
Bright intelligent eyes.
Taste and culture written all over his tall frame.
I was awestruck.
I was too young to feel anything else.
Father-in-law blessed me with gold coins.
The bride however was sitting coyly
and yet he didn't escape her eyes among all that crowd.
A little boy peeking from behind a pillar.
He was staring with wonder at the new bride.
I used to sit and wonder
as to how the sound of the cotton shredder's twangs
blended with the wrestlers' humps.
[man grunts]
While others took a nap in the afternoon
I had a lovely time chatting with
the house tailor Niyamat Khan.
What is muslin... where is zari-work done.
I had a thousand questions that amused Niyamat.
[crows cawing]
He loved to rile me.
I too pretended to be miffed.
I would yearn to talk to someone freely in that mansion
ultimately I found a friend.
Robi.
[Robi] Mango preserve.
Hey, you went to the terrace to eat it.
[Robi] I was scaring off the crows.
Scaring crows indeed. Take it.
One will do? Come on, take more.
'Thus the Ten-Headed one did weep.'
'Streams of tears his face did steep.'
'The father's grief saddens the son.'
'Rishis flaunt their power over Ravan.'
'Holding Indra, Yama, Varuna in disregard.'
'For a man to prevail is a deed unheard.'
[Robi grunts]
[laughing]
Where have you hidden it? Give it to me.
What?
You know what I mean. Give it back quick.
Am I your watchman, here to guard your things?
Leave it. Come on.
Huh!
No need to be my watchman.
Just keep your hands to yourself.
[Kadambari] Elder sister-in-law. Gyanodanandini.
My elder brother-in-law Satyen Thakur's wife
was a real beauty with wonderful taste
in the way she spoke and dressed.
She was different from the rest.
She wore her sarees like no one else I had ever seen.
Come on.
She said aristocratic women in west India wore sarees this way.
She felt that alongside education
Bengali women would do well to adopt
the dressing style to let their personalities flourish.
What is it?
Sis-in-law, will you teach me?
Teach what?
Never seen anyone wear a saree that way.
I also want to learn.
Of course, you will.
You and everyone else in this house,
every Bengali woman will.
'And on it said a century of prayers'
'such as I can, twice o'er. I'll weep and sigh.'
'Leaving so his service, follow you.'
'So please, you entertain me.'
Wonder why Shakespeare named this play 'Cymbeline'?
Should have called it 'Imogen' you think?
Of course.
It's Imogen who marries Posthumous
against her father's wishes. She is the real heroine.
On the other hand, when Posthumous goes into exile...
You see what Shakespeare experts have said is...
You really love sister-in-law a lot, don't you?
Yes, I do, but I love you much more.
A hundred times more.
You are sad today, aren't you?
Why? How can you tell?
Because Madhusudan Dutta is dead.
Yes, Kadambari.
You never saw him.
Such a genius!
How could he get greedy and blow away all his money!
I feel so bad for his wife Henrietta.
Actually, can't you stand by her?
By her?
You're not afraid of sending me
to such a beautiful French widow?
What if I fall in love with her?
Then I will poison myself to death.
Shush!
Why do you say that? Never ever say that again.
Kadambari...
[chuckling]
Or I will be really angry with you.
So many times I pleaded with father
not to get them married.
Jyoti has to groom himself now,
go abroad, have diverse exposures,
enrich himself instead...
Father's orders... How could Jyoti go against that?
Besides, I have grave doubts about this girl's lineage.
She is accountant Shyam's daughter.
Moreover Shyam is not from a very good background.
Father knew all this.
Even if we are considered an inferior caste of Brahmins,
couldn't we find any other girl?
Have we not found more suitable brides before?
Well, in that case, if you think of me for instance.
At least, your family is well-known.
Shyam, your daughter is now our daughter-in-law.
I have served this household for so long.
How's it possible for me not to enter?
In our opinion, that is not desirable.
After all, Jyoti is your son-in-law
so, in your son-in-law's presence--
So where do you think I should live from now on?
If you please, give me a little place in this house.
I have informed them.
They will take care of your expenses.
Everything has been sorted.
[sobbing]
[Kadambari] I could sense very well
that I would never be a part of the family.
A daughter-in-law, but still an outsider.
Amidst such heartaches
Robi's presence felt like a breath of fresh air.
You have not eaten anything since you came back from school.
-Come on eat... -No, I won't.
I said, come here.
-Eat this... -I told you, I won't.
I will be very angry.
You haven't eaten anything since you came back from school.
Keep the food here. I will make him eat.
Fine. As you say.
Here's our seasoned housewife, eh? [chuckling]
Want to?
Not that way!
Impossible! I can't do this.
Where did you learn it?
-What? -All this?
[scoffs]
Come on, can I be a good housewife otherwise?
Cut betel nuts, fruits, vegetables,
if I don't know all this,
will I be able to look after your elder brother?
You don't want to read books?
Don't you wish to go to school?
Do wishes matter? I have to look after my family, right?
I will read to you.
My school books, all books, everything.
'The cowboy takes his herd to grass.'
'Children get busy with daily tasks.'
'Malati flowers spring to bloom'
'drawn by their scent honeybees roam.'
'The sun rises in the horizon'
'with a reddish haze.'
[Kadambari]It was Robi who first showed me
how the darkness slowly gives way
to the reddish glow in the east.
My first sunrise.
What are you writing?
Robi?
[blows air]
-I will take your notebook away. -What are you doing?
You sit mum all day, I don't like it one bit.
I will cross it all out.
Want to hear what I have written?
Read it. Then go bathe and change.
We are going up to the terrace after that.
Hear it, then.
'What song did the dawn bird'
'sing this morning?'
'From far off in the sky down it came floating.'
How do you like it?
Not too good.
'Down it came floating' is kind of...
You don't like it?
Well, I am not laboring on it.
It's pouring out spontaneously.
Oh!
As if spontaneity always makes for good poetry.
'Who knows how it came in here?'
'Strain of a lost melody.'
'Moving through dark caverns.'
'Weeping, weeping mournfully.'
'Touching my heart.'
I don't find anything new in this.
Perhaps I am wrong.
You aren't finding anything new in this?
For instance, not like Bihari babu's poems.
Robi, you are getting upset? Read more.
Let me hear more.
'How did the morning sun today'
'touch my heart in this way?'
'How in the darkness of the cave echoed the dawn-bird's song.'
'I wonder why my heart leaps up, awake after so long.'
I like this part. Really like it, I do.
'Awakened is my heart.'
'O wellsprings overspill.'
'O heart's desires, passion's rise'
'which I cannot still.'
'The earth is all shiver.'
'Rocks in ruins crumbling.'
'In frothy waves the ocean heaves.'
'With fierce rancor growling...'
Robi... Robi, what's come over you today?
Sister-in-law, I am in a daze.
I don't know why.
As if I am no longer my own self.
[Kadambari] Literary sessions were held in our terrace garden.
-Here she comes. -[Kadambari] Greetings to all.
[man 1] Greetings.
Kadambari hasn't heard any in a long time.
Are you sure you want to, sister?
I've written a bunch of poems on the 'Monsoons'.
Rainy outpourings will remain a bit lifeless
unless I read them to you.
Come along, sister. Let's chat in private.
Wait a bit, sister, Let's hear the poetry now.
We can have a chat later.
Why? Is my poetry so bad that you want to leave?
You have many admirers here.
You don't need me here.
Do sit down, sister-in-law.
Our party will be dull without you.
You carry on.
I will go and arrange some snacks.
Don't you worry, sister-in-law.
The snacks will be here soon. It's all arranged.
-It's here! -[Kadambari] See.
Behold plates full of fish cutlets and mutton chops. Yummy!
No, sir, no mutton chops today. It's a different menu.
Oh no, sister Kadambari.
The first attraction here is you yourself
and second the special mutton chops you make. None today?
'With a saree-end's flip they drop drip, drip.'
'Feeble dewdrops on the rose.'
'Petals of the fragrant 'Kamini'...'
[Kadambari] Akshoy Nokho Chaudhary Biharilal Chakraborty
and many other talented men sat there for hours,
reciting, singing, chatting, poetry debates.
They opened up windows in my mind.
I loved them.
Never dreamed I would go riding with my husband on the ground.
I will hold the reins of the horse.
He had an open mind.
Not bigoted in the least.
He is the one who encouraged me to learn horse-riding.
Not just my husband.
He was my true guardian.
Did you bring the latest issue of 'Banga Darshan', Malini?
Yes, indeed.
Bankim Babu's idea of this magazine is so good.
We get to read so many new writings.
I can't sleep unless I read his 'Poison Tree'
-serial every month. -[Kadambari] You're right.
I really like Kundonandini in 'Poison Tree'.
The plight of that sad, lonely girl keeps me awake all night.
Will no one ever love her really?
The tussle between Kundo and Surjomukhi
is what makes the story so gripping.
I must say Bankim Babu has real courage
to portray a widow's love so openly.
Hope Bengalis can stomach that much!
[chuckling]
And what about you? The way you've battled all odds yourself
is no small matter.
Women writers are trivialized by the literati
but we know how you struggle to make the impossible possible.
-[woman 1] Come! Come! -Look, Urmila's here.
-Holo's mom! Take Urmila away. -My sweetheart.
How come she is here? Sleeping, were you?
Not my fault, madam.
I sat her down and went out to take a leak
and she slipped off in no time.
I have told you not to use such language.
Take her downstairs.
Leave. I will look after her.
This little sweetheart won't bother us at all.
Please don't scold her.
You really spoil the children.
You and elder sis-in-law are both to blame.
The way we were brought up in this house,
they will grow too in the same atmosphere.
I don't have to waste my precious time on them, please.
You bore such angelic offspring with no effort at all
so you neglect them like this?
I don't have the strength to throw Urmila out of the room
and discuss literature.
Isn't it, sweetheart?
[kisses]
[playing Mandolin]
"Come companions hand in hand."
"Let us dance and sing."
"Come companions hand in hand."
"Let us dance and sing."
"Bring along your 'veena'."
"Tuned to the highest string."
"Come companions hand in hand."
"Let us dance and sing."
My song has never been put to such good use before.
[Kadambari] Where's that book of old verse?
I am enjoying Vaishnava poetry so much.
It gives a different kind of feeling.
The rhythm is different.
Now you can't say I waste my time on cheap novels.
There is a ship being auctioned.
I think I will bid for it.
-Ship? -Yes.
[Gyanodanandini] Jyoti! Jyoti!
Ah, there you are, sister-in-law.
I wish to start a shipping company.
How's the idea?
Suddenly?
Why suddenly?
Ships are part of our family history.
Our grandfather was a shipping magnate.
[chuckling]
So launch a shipping company, run a magazine,
work for the theatre.
-What else will you do? -[Jyoti] Why?
And here your wife is all dressed up for you.
Any concern for her?
[cuckoo cooing]
[bird chirping]
[playing piano]
Why did you stop? Play on.
Did I disturb your writing?
You got up.
No, no. I wasn't disturbed.
I was playing softly. Thought it wouldn't reach so far.
I came just because I liked the sound.
What tune is that? Play some more.
It is nothing special.
Why did you drop your work and come?
I couldn't concentrate.
I heard a chorus of birds suddenly.
I thought it was daybreak.
Some days mornings and evenings
confuse me so, I can't tell them apart.
The birds leave their nests in the morning
in the evening they come home again.
Bidding farewell to the day.
I only hear their farewell song.
[sighs]
I have been writing all day long.
At one point my fingers rebelled.
My mind said, 'Let's go chat with sister-in-law.'
Then I heard you on the piano...
[Kadambari chuckling]
...and crept in to see you so engrossed in your melody.
What shall we talk about?
About your early life.
-My early life? -Hmm.
You mean my parents' home?
There is nothing to talk about. No one here likes my family.
-I have not been there in years-- -No, no, no.
It's not about your parents' house, Hecate.
Talk about your previous life.
When you were a Greek goddess?
-Was I that? -Don't you remember?
You had three faces then.
One beautiful face can conquer the world.
You had three such faces.
How horrible she must have looked! Three-faced woman.
No, no.
Heaven, earth and ocean. She had eyes on them all.
She was bewitching.
When Persephone was kidnapped and taken to Hades
it was Hecate who followed her with a flaming torch.
Where were you then?
I was in Greece perhaps.
A nameless devotee of that goddess. [chuckles]
Go away. Why do you talk such gibberish?
[sighs]
Why are you all dressed up today?
Is brother Jyoti taking you out somewhere?
Your brother hardly has any time for me
leaving his theatre and business.
I won't go anywhere.
Why? Can't I dress up just for myself?
Come, let's go up to the terrace.
Dusk will settle soon.
When the horizon melts away
you can walk on the terrace
and feel as if you are going far, far away
-Will you come? -Let's go.
[playing violin]
[Kadambari singing] "A new day dawns today."
"It's new colors gay."
"Makes my heart leap with tenderness deep."
"To love in a wondrous way."
"A new day dawns today."
"It's new colors gay."
"Who makes my heart swing?"
"What new music rings..."
"Through the live long day."
"Who makes my heart swing?"
"In the middle of a rainy night."
"I fly to the door in delight."
"In the middle of a rainy night."
"I fly to the door in delight."
"Arms outstretched to hold you tight."
"Calling again and again."
"A new day dawns today."
"It's new colors gay."
Has Urmila come here?
We were just talking about you, sister.
Just playing with Urmila all day, is that all you can do?
[woman 1] You don't come downstairs at all these days.
While we work ourselves to death,
our sarees soiled with oil and turmeric.
You dress up in the morning and discuss literature
or play with dolls.
We have to hear such snide remarks
about your behavior as it is.
What have I done to invite snide remarks?
If you are part of a household, you have to follow some rules
or else tongues will wag.
What rule have I broken?
Now listen, sister, you avoid the rest of us,
mix with outsiders every day.
Just outsiders?
People frown on such things.
I have broken rules too,
come out of purdah mixed with many men.
But I live compatibly with the women folk of the household.
I don't mix with them is not true, sister.
They are the ones who stay aloof from me.
I don't know why.
Sister-in-law, you must offer prayers to Goddess Shasthi.
No babies even at this ripe age
no wonder your mind wanders around.
They all call you barren, don't you feel bad?
Oh, why are all of you going after her like this?
Sister, Urmila is yours from today.
You bring her up.
[sighs]
[man] I hear all kinds of gossip.
It's best you distance yourself from it.
Go to England, become a barrister.
You will find a definite direction.
Treat it as a good opportunity.
Actually the thing is...
devoting your heart and soul
to that endeavor is a challenge in itself.
Don't come back half way through like last time.
Oh yes. Satyaprasad will accompany you.
See if he can...
Sister-in-law.
I have to leave now.
The crispies are there. Don't forget them.
-Sister-in-law, I-- -Let it be.
I will be fine.
Your brother and I are going to Chandernagore tomorrow
for a couple of weeks.
Robi?
Will you promise me something?
Of course.
Please tell me.
Promise me, you will write to me every day.
I will...
Don't you worry about me.
You will study there...
Make new friends there.
-So many pretty English ladies... -Stop it.
[inhales sharply]
Robi will leave from Madras today.
No news from Kolkata yet.
At least, Satya will be with him. That's a relief.
He will have company on that long voyage.
Isn't it?
[Robi] Sister-in-law!
Whose voice is that?
-Who? -[Robi] Sister-in-law!
Robi!
[Robi] Brother Jyoti! Sister-in-law!
Robi!
[chuckling]
[Robi] Your illustrious nephew
so full of plans from the minute we sailed from Kolkata.
Once he is back as a barrister,
he would leave the Jorasanko house.
He'll rent a place in posh neighborhood
with me as his junior.
[all laughing]
Good.
I won't have to work too hard.
I can write poetry all I want.
Even before we reached Madras he got a stomach ache
and started screaming. 'Robi, I am going home.'
I kept saying, 'It's just sea-sickness.'
'You will be fine in a couple of days.'
But his howling increased, says he has blood dysentery,
he would die soon.
The captain wished he could hurl him off the ship midway.
So then?
And then... so back we came from Madras.
If such a short trip put him in such a state.
I wonder about the long voyage.
As soon as we got off he says, 'Listen Robi'
'Grandfather will kill me if I go back alone.'
'Come to Kolkata with me.'
'You can go abroad some other time.'
Well done, brother.
[Jyoti singing indistinctly]
Robi, there's something I forgot to tell you.
Last evening a man came with a letter.
Two messengers from
the King of Tripura wish to meet you.
-Why? -How would I know?
I hear that the kings of Tripura capture tutors from Kolkata.
Maybe they think you are the one.
[chuckles]
Robi, a tutor?
Oh, yes I remember.
The present king of Tripura... What's his name?
Birchand... No, Bhiruchand. Birmanikya.
Is it for me?
No, mister. It is for dear Urmila.
Birmanikya, understand?
He wants a set of Nine Jewels in his court.
He has taken our singer Jodu Bhatto there.
Maybe he wants you as his Court Poet?
If so, your future is made.
Brother Jyoti, I don't wish to meet them.
Why?
Go to Tripura as their Court Poet, such an honor.
We can holiday there too.
At least, hear them out. I have asked them to come.
Kings of native states can have such weird desires.
Lots of interesting stories.
Some spend thousands on a dog's wedding,
some have 500 wives.
Sultan Ghiyasuddin of Mandu had
15,000 women in his harem they say.
His bodyguards were all women, they surrounded his throne.
The fellow would not set eyes on any man.
They don't have any defense budget.
No soldiers needed, so they squander their wealth.
See what craze this Birmanikya of Tripura has!
Strangers coming. I better go inside.
Why?
Two messengers of the king of Tripura are coming.
If our elder sister-in-law could go meet the Governor-General...
[scoffs]
...why can't you appear in front of some king's messengers?
Can I do everything your elder sister-in-law can?
Give it to me.
Somebody has sent a gift...
Robi, take it.
It's our honor.
Sister-in-law!
The Maharaja of Tripura
is very impressed by my book 'Broken-heart'.
They had plenty of good things to say.
Aren't you pleased?
Why should I not be?
We are all pleased when you attain more honors.
That book is written for you. The honor is yours too.
I don't want it.
They gave so many gifts. Don't you want to see?
I will. Maybe later.
What's the matter with you? Feeling sad?
No. nothing.
Why did you ask me to go to Tripura?
You will go anyway on your own.
Tripura or someplace else.
The more famous you become
the more you will belong to people at large,
quite natural.
Why should I hold you back in a small space?
I won't go anywhere leaving you.
Know that for sure.
No, Robi, that can't be.
You won't find time to read your poems out to me first.
All the poems in 'Broken-heart' are for you.
The letters published in Bharati
are all written to you.
[wind howling, leaves rustling]
Let's go inside. It's very windy.
I think a storm is coming.
[chuckles softly]
'In the monsoon months brimming with rains.'
'An empty shrine my mind is.'
Vidyapati?
Do you remember the tune?
Can you sing it for me?
"In the monsoon months brimming with rains."
"An empty shrine my mind is."
"In the monsoon months."
[thundering]
[rain pattering]
[thundering]
"In the monsoon months brimming with rains."
"An empty shrine my mind is."
"In the monsoon months brimming with rains."
"An empty shrine my mind is."
"In the monsoon months..."
"As the clouds furiously growl"
"and the skies open up."
"Pining for my far-away beloved"
"stings my heart no end."
"Thrilled by the thunderclaps,"
"the peacocks dance like crazy."
"The peacocks dance like crazy."
"Frantic frogs join the waterfowls"
"in singing their hearts out."
"In the monsoon months brimming with rains."
"An empty shrine my mind is."
"In the monsoon months..."
Hey! What are you doing?
Come this side. No. no.
That's it. That's it.
Keep it there.
Robi, come on...
I am thinking of spending the night on the river.
We will never see such a beauteous sky.
[sighs]
-What's going on? -[Jyoti] Is everything done?
[Jyoti] You are lost upstairs all afternoon.
I'll leave in some time.
How many poems did you write?
I wrote some, not a lot.
Those unwritten lines may be real poetry.
I can't quite get a hold on them.
Why?
Someone's standing in my way.
Who?
[chuckling]
[playing violin]
"I have made thee my life's guiding star."
"No more in this ocean will I stray far."
"I have made thee my life's guiding star."
[Jyoti chuckles]
[clapping] Bravo!
-How far have we come? -[man 1] Near Palta.
-It's time to return. -[man 1] Okay.
Why so soon?
You were playing an evening raga.
I thought we'd take it on to Bhairavi at dawn.
[laughing]
[singing in unison] "What is meant by thought, mate?"
"What is meant by pain?"
"You keep talking day and night."
"Of love, love and love..."
"Dear, what is this love then?"
"Is it merely filled with pain?"
"Is it only tears?"
-Robi! -Yes.
I think we are somewhere near Palta.
Let's dive in, shall we?
We will swim to brother Guno's place to meet him.
No, no, you can't go.
Now? Not now.
'Why are you wandering all alone in your mind?'
[chuckles] All togged up so brightly I see.
And how come you are up so early?
How can one sleep with so many birds calling?
I woke up and stood at the window
and the scent of flowers overwhelmed me.
Look at all the flowers I have plucked.
Sister-in-law, we will spend all day in the garden tomorrow.
Nothing else, just chat and sing that's all.
You have important writing to do today?
Not writing.
I have to go to Kolkata today.
I have promised.
Promised whom?
That you can't break it come what may?
Elder sister-in-law.
It's Suren's birthday.
Also I haven't been to their Birijitola home till date.
Then who can dare keep you back?
I have to catch the 8:30 steamer.
-May I go? -Sure.
You won't stay back in Kolkata I hope?
Promise me you will be back tonight?
I promise, sister-in-law.
[Robi] Elder sister-in-law.
Elder sister-in-law.
Robi?
[chuckles]
Remembered us finally?
Hiding out at Chandernagore, were you?
Elder sister-in-law, I am hungry.
What can you offer me?
Why this disheveled look?
Shoes all muddy. Take them off right away.
I gave a singing lesson all afternoon. I am starving.
-[boy and girl] Uncle Robi... -Here you are... Come on!
Why were you away so long?
-I couldn't get time. -[both] Tell us why didn't you come?
I thought you forgot Suri's birthday.
Come on now, change quickly.
-We're expecting lots of guests. -Sure...
Uncle, you are staying here tonight.
You can't leave today.
-We will cut a big cake. -Is it so?
-Promise you will stay? -Okay, okay.
Now you go inside, I am coming.
Okay.
Why stay in Chandernagore for so long, Robi?
Stay with us.
So many empty rooms here.
Bibi and Suri love you so much.
They keep talking about you.
[sighs]
Jyoti is coming too.
He said he would spend the night here.
I told him too.
Enough of Chandernagore, come back to Kolkata now.
[chuckles]
Garden houses are for short stays only.
How can city-bred people live there for too long?
[playing piano]
Look, he is here... Hi.
What are you doing here?
I have to take keen interest in...
[indistinct chattering]
-contemporary of... -You're all grown up!
-...specially romantic... -Is it?
[woman 1] Isn't Jyoti coming?
He is supposed to be here by now.
There he is.
-Hello! -Hello!
-How are you? -I am fine. Thank you!
Jyoti, why so late?
So sorry, sister-in-law.
I was coaching the theatre artistes.
Such fools, they can't speak Bengali with the right accent.
[both laughing]
Tell me the truth.
Which actress held you back for so long?
"I will love her secretly."
"Not a soul will come to know."
[singing in unison] "For he is a jolly good fellow"
"so say all of us."
"For he is a jolly good fellow..."
The English legal system is not exactly like ours.
Everything is very organized there.
At least my experience says so.
[singing in unison] "Happy birthday to you."
"Happy birthday dear Suren."
"Happy birthday to you!"
"May God bless you."
[all clapping]
Are you not going back to Chandernagore tonight?
Sister-in-law is there alone.
There's plenty of servants and guards.
What if she does spend one night alone?
Uh...
You better go back.
Tell her I have... some work to do tomorrow morning
so I can't get back tonight.
Will you really go back tonight?
How will you go, Robi?
Take a boat all the way?
I have to go back, elder sister-in-law, no matter how.
[thunder rumbling]
[Robi] Sister-in-law?
[Kadambari] Robi!
What have you done to yourself?
It's your birthday today.
I didn't forget.
[thunder rumbling]
[horse galloping]
[Kadambari] We had to give up Mr. Moran's house in Chandernagore.
I would have liked the three of us
to while away our time in poetry and song.
He's a busy man. He had to go to Kolkata for all kinds of work.
Going back and forth is such a waste of time.
To tell you the truth, I too was missing little Urmila.
-Madam! -Roopa! I just came.
-Where's Urmila? -Right in your room.
-You left and she was in such a huff... -Really?
-The little dear. -My... my.
See you then. Urmila?
Come dear, my darling.
Come here, I'll swing you around.
She is here now.
-You won't come to me? -[crying]
-Did I leave you? -Come here.
Are you angry on me?
Don't be upset.
I'll never go away again from you. Never... never.
Let's go and play.
[sighs]
The flowers have wilted.
[clicks tongue]
I warned you.
You were away...
who else would care for them?
[pigeons cooing]
[thud]
[woman 1] Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!
Urmila fell down. Come fast.
Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law! She is not breathing.
Kadambari!
She is not responding. Oh my God!
I need water. Please get some.
[all crying]
[woman 2] Madam!
Urmila is no more.
What?
Urmi...
[all crying]
We pay the servants so much money,
they look after the children well.
If you can't keep an eye on them
what was the need for so much of show off?
Fell asleep with the child so close to an open staircase,
you couldn't call one of the maids?
If it were her own child,
could she have fallen asleep like that?
Can an aunt's love be greater than a mother's?
Is it possible?
[Roopa] Are you human beings or what?
She is already devastated by grief
and you are picking on her! What a shame!
Let's go.
[woman 1] Young master and our madam lived together in Chandernagore.
-[woman 2] But Mr. Jyoti was there, too. -Oh come on.
I hear Mr. Jyoti spent most of his time in Kolkata.
[woman 2] That's true.
How will he feel good if he stays here?
Read it.
What is this?
Robi's writing. Published in Bharati.
'I remember the window side.'
'I remember the trees in the garden'
'and the feelings in my tear-soaked heart.'
'And the one who stood beside me, I remember her.'
'She scribbled all over my pages of poetry.'
'Seeing that brings tears to my eyes.'
'She wrote real poetry.'
How could Robi publish all these?
What a shame!
Your brother is ruining the good family name.
Did Jyoti know anything?
He is busy with his plays and meetings.
That's natural.
But taking advantage of that...
[sighs deeply]
I said right at the start,
they didn't look into her family background.
Now all the servants in Jorasanko
are gossiping about what's going on in Chandernagore.
What a shame!
I asked Robi to stay back here
but because Kadambari instigated...
Father must know of this at once.
There in Mussoorie?
He should know before all is lost.
He has renounced family life and he's immersed in meditation.
-Why bother him? -Nevertheless...
He's still the head of the family.
Robi must get married.
Marriage? Is he willing?
That's not important.
If father says so, Robi can't refuse.
Look, what have you done to yourself within a few days?
Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?
How long will this continue?
Life will have its share of grief, pain too.
-But, that doesn't mean... -What doesn't mean?
One has to look forward.
You haven't read a single book these few days.
Shall I bring a few new books for you? Will you read?
I may get temporary relief by going through these books.
But when I get to see Urmila's face
in my mind again and again...
Will you help me forget everything
and look forward, Robi?
You can't forget everything, sister-in-law.
Still you have to control your mind, and console it.
-Teach it how to look forward. -Robi?
We've promised to meet Beni Roy's daughter.
Your brother and I have already chosen her for you.
We like her.
Her Kundonandini in 'The Poison Tree'
Britannia in 'Battle of Plassey'
and 'Meghnad's Slaying'. Her seven roles together
have caused such a stir.
Her exquisite singing voice, her looks
her acting skills dazzle the stage night after night.
The city's elite fall at her feet.
I hear
after your husband directed Binodini in 'Sarojini'--
Hey, why are you staring?
I am looking at you.
I wonder why your husband still stays away from home?
Didn't you hear?
He has no time to look at me.
But you exaggerate a lot too.
If I am really that beautiful,
why do I have to rot in the house all alone?
Well, if your husband jumps into the fire like a moth
that doesn't mean you're delicate beauty is nothing at all.
Then why does he leave me to go there?
Are all his actresses better than me
in terms of culture and education?
Do they read Biharibabu's poetry?
Malini, let's go to the theatre someday.
I heard that Binodini is starring
in a new play by Girish Ghosh.
Lord of my life, where art thou?
In this forest deep my heart quivers on.
Reveal thyself, Lord of my life.
Leave, oh leave this mockery.
For I sicken with worry.
How much more can a woman bear?
She dies thy underling.
O jewel of my heart.
Observe, abandon me not.
Tell me, feathered friend,
did My Lord pass this way?
Tell me, which way did he go?
Speak up, dear vine,
this mendicant must her man find.
Look ye mountains high.
Where doth My Lord lie
spouseless, my pipes tell no tales.
Hey, why are you crying?
[Binodini] Silent those sad ankle bells.
Alas, whither shall I go?
Follow My Lord where to?
What trickery led My Lord to spurn me?
Prostrate at thy feet.
Lay thy slave so meek.
How Master could ye forget me?
O Husband, I see thee now.
Flee not again anyhow.
Come see, me thinks I die.
[all clapping]
Let's go, Roopa.
-Brilliant! -Amazing!
[man 1] Wow!
[Jyoti singing indistinctly]
"Why does she want love?"
"Oh my God... Take my heart away."
Are you having an affair with Binodini?
Are you?
Sometimes a dramatist's inspiration is his heroine.
Don't you know that?
Calling it an affair sounds too crude.
Please don't stoop so low. I beg you.
Sister-in-law.
Robi.
Come here...
-[sniffles] -Hasn't your fever subsided yet?
[clears throat]
Sister-in-law, may I ask you something?
Will you tell me the truth?
Yes.
I am... getting married.
Are you happy with that?
What are you saying? Why I wouldn't be happy?
Your marriage... We are all so happy about it.
Don't you like her?
No, no, she's a fine girl, a good girl.
One day
she'll emerge fluttering like a butterfly from a chrysalis.
[Robi] Dear
Shri Rabindranath Tagore, my dearest soul mate
will tie the nuptial knot next Sunday afternoon, 9th December.
Soliciting your kind presence at the Jorasanko residence
of Shri Devendranath Tagore on the auspicious occasion.
Yours as ever Rabindranath Tagore.
[woman singing] "As the distant echoes merge with the tunes near."
"I long for you my own way, oh dear."
"As darkness fills me amid all the light."
"In dreams as much as real, day and night."
"In the flames nestling deep inside."
"Whose touch it is that ignites the pain."
"As the distant echoes merge with the tunes near."
"Wounds of those days blend with that of the night."
"As darkness fills me amid all the light."
"And the new fragrance"
"pervades the old and the dark."
"Which way, pray, do I sail my raft."
"Where do I had to be alone, in peace."
"As the distant echoes merge with the tunes near."
"I long for you my own way, oh dear."
"As darkness fills me amid all the light."
"In dreams as much as real, day and night."
"As the distant echoes merge with the tunes near."
Depart from here olden one For now a new game has begun.
[woman laughing] What next?
-[Robi] That's a very funny story. -Really?
I have a lot more interesting stories.
I will tell you about it sometime later.
What is it?
Nothing.
[pigeon cooing]
[Robi] Sister-in-law, I am Robi.
-May I come in? -Come...
Are you unwell?
No.
Why?
Why didn't you switch on the lights?
Aren't you going today?
-Where? -Oh, don't you know?
Mr. Jyoti's ship is being launched today.
The ship is in Serampore.
Elder sister-in-law has been decorating it
for the last two days.
Oh yes, of course.
Let's all go together.
Your brother said he would come and take me there at 6 o'clock.
You two go ahead, I will go with him... separately.
[Robi] Sister-in-law...
All the letters you wrote to me are here in this box.
You keep them from today.
So you came to give those back...
not to take me with you?
[inhales sharply]
[crickets chirping]
[Kadambari] I will stand unabashed beside my husband today
in my own right.
My future lies with him.
He is my refuge.
'Decked in sylvan shades'
'she lies hidden in her own loveliness.'
'Smiles in faint streaks flash around'
'and take cover in her beauteous grace.'
Holo's Mom! See if anyone has come?
No, madam! No one has come yet.
[Shorojini] Darling...
The happiness and respect you have given me
it has fulfilled my many dreams.
But this letter is to put in writing
what I couldn't bring myself to say.
After your naughty games this afternoon
as you lie blissfully asleep on my bed
I sit beside you writing.
The secret is that a tiny seed
of yours is growing within my body.
I was feeling queasy for a few days
this month I didn't menstruate.
I will not reveal the father's name to anyone,
it's between you and me.
The world will know the child is mine, mine alone.
I do not wish to lose you at any cost.
Accept hundreds of kisses from me.
[woman] Madam!
Your very own, Shorojini.
[woman] Master has sent a carriage to fetch you.
He said he couldn't come himself.
[breaths deeply]
Shall I stay a little longer, madam?
[breathing heavily]
[door slams open]
Kadambari.
What's the matter with you?
Call the doctor.
Quick!
[Kadambari] In truth, we live life in just 64 squares.
A game in black and white.
Knights move two and a half steps.
Bishops and rooks glower.
The Queen is looking helter-skelter.
as the battle lines encircle.
Then I push up a pawn.
Check.
[man singing] "I have made you"
"the polar star of my existence."
"Never again can I lose my way"
"in the voyage of life."
"I have made you"
"the polar star of my existence."
"Wherever I go,"
"you are always there to shower your beneficence all around me."
"Wherever I go,"
"you are always there to shower"
"your beneficence"
"all around me."
"I have made you"
"the polar star of my existence."
"Your face is ever present"
"before my mind's eyes."
"If I lose sight of you even for a moment"
"I almost lose my mind."
"Your face is ever present"
"before my mind's eyes."
"If I lose sight of you even for a moment"
"I almost lose my mind."
"Whenever my heart is"
"about to go astray..."
"Whenever my heart is"
"about to go astray"
"just a glance of you"
"makes it feel ashamed of itself."
"I have made you"
"the polar star of my existence."
"Never again can I lose my way"
"in the voyage of life"
"I have made you"
"the polar star of my existence."
"The polar star of my existence."