Ugliness in women is an endless curse: A study from Tarapada Bhattacharya’s ‘Saivali’
Santigopal Das
Modern Sanskrit literature represents the thinking, values and problems of modern life and society. We find in the vast area of modern Sanskrit literature various problems of today’s life, for example terrorism, politics, communalism, dowry system, women extortion, child labor, environmental pollution, breaking of relation, depreciation of humanity, child marriage etc. Pain of an ugly woman is a remarkable eternal problem, which is painted in the Bengali poet Tarapada Bhattacharya’s Kathasahitya named “Saivaliâ€. Here we see the struggle of an ugly woman, tension of her parents, lack of confidence in life and the tragic end of Saivali. The poet presents very sensitively the ugliness as an endless curse for a woman. That curse does not permit her to lead a normal life. Death is the only freedom for her. In Saivali also we see how an ugly girl Saivali leads her life suffering from inferiority, shame and loneliness. The girl only for her ugliness welcomes death.