Let me clarify that rating: 4 stars for Rabindranath Tagore’s novel, 2 stars for Sukhendu Ray’s translation. Why those ratings, I’ll explain towards the end of this review. Set in the Calcutta of the late 19th century, Chokher Bali (‘The Mote in the Eye’) is about the dynamics in a small and prosperous family. Mahendra lives with his widowed mother Rajlakshmi (who is utterly devoted to him, a devotion returned in full by Mahendra), and her sister-in-law, Mahendra’s aunt Annapurna. Ma [...]

আমার মনে হয় এ জীবনে বিনোদিনীর মতো বিভ্রান্ত আমাকে আর কেউ করতে পারেনি। সে আসলে কি চায়? চায় টা কি? এই যে ছেলেরা বলে বেড়ায় "মেয়েরা আসলে কি যে চায় তা তারা নিজেরাও জানেনা" ,সম্ভবত তারা সবাই একবার অন্ত� [...]

Somebody To LoveWhen the garden flowersBaby, are dead, yesAnd your mind, your mindIs so full of red.Don't you want somebody to love?Don't you need somebody to love?Wouldn't you love somebody to love?You better find somebody to love. - 'Somebody To Love', Jefferson AirplaneMorality and ethics have for long fascinated writers who have used the tools of fabulism at their disposal to question the mores of society in their time. Were the guidelines of propriety invented by man or laid down by high [...]

আচ্ছা,যদি মহেন্দ্র জননীর কথামতো বিনোদিনী কে বিয়ে করতো,তাহলে আশালতা কে হয়তো বিহারীর ই বিয়ে করতে হতো,অথবা হতো না,আশা হয়তো দৃশ্যপটের বাহিরেই থেকে যেতো।তাহলে উপন্যাস হতো না।যদি বিহারী রাজলক্ষ� [...]

चोखेर बालि गुरुदेव की सर्वश्रेस्ट उपन्यासों में से एक है। यह मूलतः बंगला भाषा में लिखा गया है जो 1902 में प्रकाशित हुआ था। इसका हिंदी अनुवाद 'आँख की किरकरी' नाम से किया गया है जिसके अनुवादक 'हंसकु [...]

One does not pass verdicts on the works of someone like Rabindranath Tagore and if one has to, then the rating cannot be anything less than a 5/5. Chokher Bali is such a complicated story of love, lust and longing. I finished it in less than 2 days - I wanted to take time to absorb each development but it is so fast and compelling that I could not put it down. Tagore was truly a Master. The level of thinking he had at the end of 19th century is more advanced than authors of the present millenniu [...]

It gets two stars from me primarily because i was reading a translation. The language of the translator, I felt, was too simplistic and stilted in places. The lyrical beauty which is so integral a part of Tagore's prose was missing. As a result, the characters of Mahendra, Binodini, Behari and Asha seemed wooden and the situations contrived.Unfortunately, while I can read Bengali, since it is not my mother tongue, it would take me ages to finish the book in the language and I am too impatient. M [...]

কাহিনীর পরিণতি কাল্পনিক অনেকটাই। মানে এরকমটা গল্পেই সম্ভব। আশাকে লেখক এত বেশি নিরীহ করে গড়ে তুলেছেন যে আমারই রাগ হচ্ছিল। তবে হ্যাঁ বিনোদিনীকে আমার যতই অপছন্দ হোক, তার স্পষ্টবাদিতা আমাকে অ� [...]

Lost in translation.

My father wanted me to learn Bengali in order to read this book and another book named 'Pather Panchali'. But I opted to read the English translation instead (took the high road) . This year i had decided to give up on books. Linus asked me what was wrong and told me that I had always read books and that I was making a mistake. He said to read books when I can find time. Bisu said that I had read books in all phases of my life and I simply must not turn my back now. So I listened to them like th [...]

My most precious read about Indian culture and heritage by the famous poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore.In this novel there are many ups and downs,the story is about a bengali family settled in calcutta. And the author describes that how the power of passion and desires can shake any relation from its roots and how a man becomes a slave of his own desires which he's not being able to overcome despite wanting to concentrate on his wife and family.This is a novel about desires,passions,unfulfill [...]

Chokher Bali has all the ingredients necessary to make a gripping drama - love and hate, loyalty and deceit, downfall and redemption. And it does not disappoint. Nearly every character starts off black or white, but in the end, all that are left are shades of grey.There are times when the book tests the modern reader's willingness to suspend disbelief, but they are neither frequent nor are they inconceivable in the period the book is set.

great depths of a woman's feelings understood by the man who wrote this book.

I was once depressed and despondent for a week after reading Gone with the Wind. I'm having similar feelings after reading the ending. Chokher Bali is an emotional roller coaster that everyone should take a ride in.The story revolves around the four titular characters: well-to-do self-centered pompous ass, Mahin, his loyal friend Bihari, Mahin's naïve wife Asha and of-course, the multi-faceted Binodini.At the outset, let mention DO NOT WATCH THE SERIAL. Binodini is an amazing character and Z Ba [...]

I always wanted to read a book by Rabhindranath Tagore but as I am not much in to poetry yet, so I had to pick one of his prose for starters and this was the book that caught my attention. The summary looked very simple I almost wondered what was hidden in this 300 pages book but then I got to know what a spellbinding emotional saga it was which mesmerized me immensely. No, this is not an exaggeration just because it was written by a famous personality but really it was something deep and touchi [...]

Chokher Bali is the most realistic book I have ever read. So many things that you never find portrayed in characters and scenes were drawn lucidly in this book. The contradictions of thought in people, the bittersweet symphony of life, the way emotion seems to rise up in importance at times and their memory dwindles to nothing, how convictions are broken, how people fall in and out of love - everything is so beautifully written here. I don't know about the English translation, but in Bangla, Rab [...]

This is a beautifully written book and extremely interesting on the human level.While the story is set in the area around Calcuta and talks about an Indian mariage and family many of the problems could apply to people all over the world.Tagore's description of his main characters is very vivid and we realize that some human traits unfortunately do not change and that basically we are not that different.Maybe some of the situations of the book do not apply to the way we look at life, or our custo [...]

One does not rate a Tagore. This rating is more for the translation. I'm sure in Bengali this would have been a page-turner. Kind of a ménage á trois. Set in early 20th century in Calcutta, it is also the story of 3 women: the mother, her daughter in law and a young window who ends up in the same household in a turn of events. The weight of each character builds as the book progresses, handling such a subject, like all Tagore, this book must have been way ahead of its time.

.'s beautiful,,when a widow uses her ultimate beauty to fulfill her intimate desire under all Indian social hypocrisy.A fascinating portrayal by Rabindranath Tagore.

After Gora,the best novel of Tagore is Choker Bali

how I read .ease help me

Chokher Bali is a melodramatic (and rather sexual) tale of family, love and loss. The story revolves around a spoilt man child who is smothered and pampered to obstinance. He does what pleases him without consequences but losses his mojo when the hot girl moves next door (90's Bollywood much?) I was kinda disappointed with the translation and I feel that no translation can do justice to Tagore's prose unless he does it himself. This is one of those books that motivate me to take up Bengali again [...]

Timeless Classic.

Chokher Bali. The prologue by Sreejata Guha is a very powerful one. It explains how she interpreted the title. The title in all its entirety of a mere few words can't summarize the whole story, not even the essence of it. But, it does lead you to expect some beauty in the story, and the author doesn't disappoint you. A grain of sand- that which pesters you to no end when it enters your eye, but also creates a pearl of a tear in its wake. The story revolves around an Indian household and the intr [...]

Excellent depiction of human society and behaviour, particularly in an Indian context

समीक्षा :'चोखेर बाली' रविंद्रनाथ टैगोर के द्वारा लिखी गयी सबसे प्रसिद्ध उपन्यास में से एक है। उपन्यास की प्रमुख पात्र ' बिनोदिनी ' एक युवा, सुन्दर, सुशिक्षित विधवा है। जो की अपने पति के देहांत क� [...]

It is the story of the rich, flamboyant Mahendra and his simple, demure, beautiful wife Asha – a young couple who are befriended by the pragmatic Behari. Their cosy domestic scenario undergoes great upheaval with the introduction of the vivacious Binodini, a young, attractive widow who comes to live with them. Asha and Binodini become bosom pals. Binodini is initially drawn to Bihari but then begins to respond to the advances of Mahendra, who has become obsessively attracted to her. After seve [...]

I was confounded whether to give this book a three star or a four star in the first place. It's a beautiful family drama that transpires in a pre-independence Indian household. It's a tale of love, hatred, envy and lust that is present between the four main characters of the household. Mahindra, Behari, Asha and Binodhini. The story is well paced for most part of the book. I found it slacking a bit towards the middle part of the book where I felt the arguments and emotions were becoming repetiti [...]

I do not think I am worthy enough to review this epic saga of relationships. There is a reason it went on to become one of the classics of Bengali literature. So this is not a review. Just a few blabbers.Gurudev Tagore ji has had a way of weaving emotional intricacies and realistic but unconventional narration, into one piece of writing - thereby creating an extravagant story of love, affection, deceit, adultery, friendship, arrogance, childhood, lust and above all extremely convincing character [...]

Grossly misspellt title here - it should be Chokher Baalie, or even Chokher Bali, but definitely not Choker. It is about a grain of sand in the eyes, and pain that can ensue with so small an object that you would not notice otherwise, and has nothing to do with either a necklace suggested by choker or an island named Bali. Chokher is of or in the eye, balie is the grain of sand. Life might be all perfect from every side - wealth, a young attractive couple happy in their marriage and with little [...]