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Broken Nest and Other Stories BROKEN Nest and Other Stories is a selection of Tagore’s remarkable stories. All these stories bring out the complexities of relationships of women in the traditional Bengali milieu, who are suffering from neglect by their husband or about the orphan who is abandoned or a girl robbed of her childhood. The novella Broken Nest is the story of a child bride Charulata who is neglected by her husband Bhupati due his over-indulgence in editorship and politics. He does not even realise that from a child she has grown to be a woman. She has a natural inclination towards reading and writing and Bhupati’s college-going cousin Amal shares his writings with her. When Amal leaves for England after marriage, she becomes indifferent to her surroundings. The lack of eagerness in her behaviour perturbs her husband. When Bhupati is offered the editorship of a paper elsewhere, he eagerly accepts the offer but refuses to take Charu along with him. Later, he agrees when he sees Charu’s deteriorating condition. But she preserves her dignity and refuses to go with him, saying, "No, let it be."
The little Uma of Notebook loves to write. At the age of nine, she is married and sent to her husband’s house. She would write in her notebook and hide it. When her sister-in-law reports this to her husband, Uma is shattered. Postmaster describes the tale of an orphan Ratan who works for a postmaster. She looks after him and his house with devotion. After his illness, the postmaster tries for a transfer but failing this, he resigns. She is shattered and tells him to take her with him. At the time of departure, he tries to give her some money but she refuses and falls down at his feet and says, "Dadababu, you don’t have to give me anything ... no one has to worry about me." Sharmistha Mohanty has
brought into English translation "the music of Tagore’s
narrative". She has touched the essence and spirit of each story,
bringing out the original flow and spirit very well.
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The
Ghats Tale is the story of
Kusum, a small girl who comes to the ghat every day, sits and watches
the water of the Ganga river. However, she stops coming to the ghat as
she is sent to her husband’s house. Later, she returns home as a
widow. Meanwhile, a sanyasi comes to the temple of the ghat and Kusum
starts worshipping him. Her attraction towards the sanyasi scares her.
On the sanyasi’s asking she reveals her feelings. Ordering her to
forget him, he leaves.