''Nastanirh'' (also ''Nashtanir'';

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: নষ্টনীড়, ''Nôshţoniŗh''; English: 'The Broken Nest') is a

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

novella by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. It is the basis for the noted 1964 film ''

Charulata ''Charulata'' (Spelt as ''Cārulatā''; ) is a 1964 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Based upon the novel ''Nastanirh'' by Rabindranath Tagore, it stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sailen Mukherjee. The ...

'', by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

Background

According to Mary Lago in the introduction to the English translation of ''Nashtanir'' (translated by Lago and Supriya Sen), the novella was released three times: in 1901 in serial format, in 1909 as part of a special short story collection, and in 1926 as part of Tagore's standard collection of fiction (p. 9). Scholarship indicates that this story might have been based upon the relationship between Tagore's elder brother Jyotirindranath; his brother's wife,

Kadambari Devi Kadambari Devi (5 July 1859 – 21 April 1884) was the wife of Jyotirindranath Tagore and daughter-in-law of Debendranath Tagore. She was ten years younger than her husband, whom she married on 5 July 1868 (২৫শে আষাঢ়, ১২� ...

(who committed suicide shortly after Tagore's marriage); and Tagore (who spent a great deal of time with Kadambari, reading and writing poetry).Ketaki Kushari Dyson, trans., Rabindranath Tagore, ''I Won't Let You Go: Selected Poems'' (London: Penguin, 2011), 68.

Plot summary

''Nastanirh'' takes place in late 19th-century

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and explores the lives of the "

Bhadralok Bhadralok (, literally 'gentleman', or 'well-mannered person') is Bengali for the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during British rule in India in the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Caste and class makeup Accordi ...

Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the ...

of wealth who were part of the

Bengal Renaissance Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and highly influenced by the

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of th ...

. Despite his liberal ideas, Bhupati is blind to the loneliness and dissatisfaction of his wife, Charu. It is only with the appearance of his cousin, Amal, who incites passionate feelings in Charu, that Bhupati realizes what he has lost.

Film adaptations

'' () is a 1964 film by

i director

, featuring

Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; 16 June 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of ...

Madhabi Mukherjee Madhabi Chakraborty (''née'' Mukherjee; born 10 February 1942) is an Indian actress. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Bengali film '' Dibratrir Kabya''. She has acted in some of the most critically a ...

, and Sailen Mukherjee, and is based upon ''Nastanirh''. Another adaptation is ''

Charuulata 2011 ''Charuulata 2011'' is a 2012 Bengali film directed by Agnidev Chatterjee. This film is based on Rabindranath Tagore's 1901 novella ''Nastanirh''. Plot Chaiti is a young beautiful woman and wife of newspaper editor Bikramjit. Bikramjit is a ...

'' by director

Agnidev Chatterjee Agnidev Chatterjee is an Indian, Bengali language, Bengali film director. His films include ''Babloo Bachelor'', ''Tere Ane Ss'', ''Jihadd'', ''Gaheen Hriday'', ''Dark Chocolate (film), Dark Chocolate'', ''A Political Murder'', ''Mrs Sen'', ''3 ...

English translation

*Tagore, Rabindranath. ''Broken Nest (Nashtanir)''. Mary M. Lago and Supriya Sen (translators). New Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd, 2000

References

External links