Present:
Uma Acharya, Ramendra Bagchi, Kamruzzaman Balark, Shonali Gupta, Tuku Bandopadhayay, Debasis Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee, Lutfar Khan, Shyamali Larsen, Dipankar Sengupta, Saswati Sengupta.

Minutes taker :
Shonali Gupta

Discussions

Sharmila Gupta, Shyamali Larsen, Kalyan Banerjee and Saswati Sengupta read out character appraisals of the four main characters from Rabindranath Tagore’s famous short story ‘Noshto Neerh’.

• Shonali Gupta analysed the character of Charulata, the lonely wife of a rich and very busy Bengali businessman called Bhupati. Amal is Bhuptati’s cousin and comes to stay in their house.  Amal provides Charulata companionship and fills the void that she had been experiencing in her life. Amal and Charulata share a common love of writing and spend a lot of time together. Without her knowledge her relationship with Amal changes from the fun filled, teasing and sweet camaraderie that normally exists between “Boudi” and “Devar” and she becomes possessive of Amal and the time spent with him. Charulata is devastated when Amal leaves. Bhupati eventually finds out. He is shattered by this and a rift occurs in the husband and wife relationship which may never heal again.

• Shyamali Larsen read out an excellent appraisal of Bhupati’s character. She pointed out that Bhupati was an enlightened Bengali gentleman. Bengal was going through what is called the “Renaissance” period and Bhupati was part of this movement. He was a patron of all forms of art. He did not neglect Charulata; in fact he tried his best to ensure that she didn’t feel lonely, and brought her brother Umapada and his wife Manda to give her company. When Bhupati lost his money he rushed back home hoping to find solace, but Charulata was so wrapped in her world with Amal that she didn’t notice Bhupati’s state.  Till the end he thought of Charulata’s feelings, so much so that he asked Charulata to accompany him so that she wouldn’t be left alone in Kolkata.

• Kalyan Banerjee analysed the character of Amal who is Bhupati’s cousin. He very successfully brought out the essential characteristics of Amal and also highlighted the similarities between Rabindranath Tagore’s relationship with his own sister- in- law Kadambari Devi and that of Amal and Charulata in the story. Amal liked Charulata as a friend and sister-in-law. When he realised that Charulata’s feelings towards him was crossing over into a different level, he leaves.

• Saswati Sengupta discussed the character of Manda, Charulata’s sister in law. Manda is often looked down by Charulata in the story. Being a dependant on the Bhupati/Charulata household she has almost a subservient status in the family. Charulata is jealous of Manda as she feels Amal is spending too much time with her. Manda however, is appalled and embarrassed by Charulata’s allegations and is worried about Bhupati’s feelings if he heard these rumours. As stated by Saswati, Manda gets very little importance and is always in the shadows of the central character Charulata; however, she too is an essential part of the story.

The analysis of the characters of “Noshto Neerh” generated a lot of discussions, particularly in the context of Satyajit Ray’s film “Charulata” which was based on Noshto Neerh.
A small portion of the film “Charulata” was viewed. However, due to time constraints the whole movie was not seen.

Readings
Sharmila Gupta read out a self composed letter which a modern Charulata would have written to her husband stating she had enough and was going to leave him.
Kamruzzaman Balark read out a self composed article titled “Proshongo: Shonskriti”. His article covered an in depth investigation into the meaning of the word “culture” and “shonskriti” and the connotations which these words could have if used differently.

Readings at the next meeting
- Uma Acharya
- Ramendra Bagchi
- Lutfar Rahman Khan

Next meeting
The next meeting will be held on 31 July at 8 p.m. at the residence of Dr Ramen Bagchi.
Address :
- Unit 131
- Viewmont Road
- Glen Waverley