The lost jewels

Rabindranath Tagore has been a preeminent polymath of the 19th century Bengal and the first non-European Noble prize winner. His stories bear the charm of gluing us to our chairs to the very last moment and is never so mundane as the rising and the setting of the sun at the horizon!

The setting of most of Tagore's stories is a countryside near the ghat, with frequent usage of Hindi words in the text. The characters usually belong to lower and middle-class families. The lost jewels is no exception to the above mentioned trend. Tagore being born in enslaved British India was apprehensive of the modernization sweeping the lengths and the breadths of the nation. The lost jewels serves as a surrogate through which he shoots his arrows of sarcasm.

The lost jewels is a psycho-thriller drafted in naïve language with a penetrating insight. The title hints at the main theme of the text - loss - be it materials or meta-physical. Bhushan being tied up with an incompatible partner simply ruined his life in pouring into a broken pot! On the contrary Mani - an extremely stingy women lost jewels and what is more, herself at the bottom of a ferocious river.

The renaissance bought about a radical change in the hearts of and minds of a few which is time and again criticized.

"Under the spells of modern civilization man had lost the God-given power of his barbaric nature, and this has loosened the conjugal ties."

The protagonist of the story lands at a ghat where he encounters a rustic a inquisitive as a mongoose! His personal details is an enigma till the very end.

"After a moment's hesitation I gave him a name, but it was not my own."

This creates a milieu for suspense.

The narrator is reminded of a tale pertaining to the wretched house.

"A huge house with broken windows, tumbledown verandas, and all the appearances of the old age was in front of me."

The occupant of this house Bhushan Saha was an affluent gentlemen polished in every aspect. He actually seemed to have travelled in time, much ahead of his own era. The features of a modern man are well illustrated in the following quote:

"But he was modern. He had been educated, and not only spoke faultless English, but actually entered Sahib's offices with his shoes on. In addition to that he grew a beard."

He was a man who didn't blindly abide to the age old tradition. Bhushan's love for Mani was unfathomable but ironically unrequited!

"She used to get her caressed without asking, her Dacca Muslin Saris and her bangles without being able to pride herself on a victory."

He was not at all possessive and gave absolute freedom to her in an age where wives were considered as inanimate belongings.

But in contrast have a look at Mani's attitude and approach.

"The result of this was that Mani looked upon her husband as a mere machine for turning out her Dacca muslins and her bangles - so perfect a machine, indeed, that never for a single day did she need to oil its wheels."

There was not a niche in her heart that could be reserved for Bhushan! Mani's only love was her money and jewelry!

Mani's attitude becomes crystal clear at the climax when she flatly refuse Bhushan to borrow her jewels during a loss in his business. Despite the fact that Bhushan wasn't impulsive and stereo-typical she fled to her father's place to safe-guard her jewels upon the advice of her equally sloppy and malicious brother Modhu.

The only blotch on the flamboyant character of Bhushan was his obsession for mani. Mani absence torment him. After a desperate ransacking of the town it was concluded that both Mani and Modhu had drowned in the river. But in the pangs of loneliness Bhushan started to dream of her day after day which ultimately costed him his life!

The entire story is deeply rooted on balance. A couple is organically united, only on the physical plane do we see two individual. There's a lot to take from the story. Lopsided individuals such as Bhushan who are too gently or who do not consider the darker side always fail in life. Similarly at the end of the day Mani left this world empty handed, though she had all that a person could desire! Thus both the idealistic and the material fools are sure to lose. Secondly peace and harmony would only find place between compatible elements, in any kind of relationship. Even though the rational mind denies; there is always that - last grain of hope that we always cling to. Bhushan hoping for the 'hopeless' is the best way to illustrate this. Thus 'The lost jewels' is a story that covers virtually all the aspects of our social life and leaves us all in a pensive mood!