devi - journey of a woman in to divinity and lunacy

Its the tale of Doyamoyee who having unwittingly cured one villager after another,  fails to cure the one who mattered the most- her cherubic nephew khoka... its the tale of a woman who willingly chooses to live the dream of her father-in-law (who saw her as an reincarnation of goddess kali) and so convinced of her own divinity, refuses to go with her educated husband who tries to make her see sense.... its the tale of a woman who experiences solitude even amid the myriad who had flocked to her door for blessing or boon or treatment... its the tale of a woman who loses it all.. her beloved nephew khoka, the belief in herself, her husband, and most importantly her sanity... and in the end vanishes in the mist...losing herself....

the president gold medal winning, satyajit ray's movie generated a lot of controversy when many fanatics saw it as an attack on hinduism and tried to stop it from its international release. but with it eventual release, it won standing ovation everywhere, apart from the coveted president's medal. Sharmila tagore who in her teenage gave the outsatanding perfprmance as Doyamoyee once commented "Devi was what a genius got out of me, not something I did myself". 

What made me ruminate for days was what was Ray's intention (if it was to be believed that all art had a purpose)? the spectator as per his/her socio-cultural baggage would interpret the end of this movie differently. a person not aware of hindu customs and beliefs may see it as a divine nemesis of sorts... a woman who tries to become goddess faces the wrath of goddess by losing what ever she valued the most?? but then the question i would like to ask is... that if it was a blasphemy for a woman to see herself as the goddess, why was the one who put this in her head spared?? otherwise as well... as i said.. one has to understand that in hindu culture.. it is not out of place to have human incarnations for gods and goddesses.

The other explanation vendible is the psychological breakdown a human undergoes when he/she carries more weight than one can.. the responsibility of the goddess to cure the multitudes of their "fever and fret" of the world sequesters her from all that was hitherto dear to her.. she plays lesser with khoka now..can't seem to connect to her role as wedded wife.. can't hold gossip sessions with her fellow woman and can't even massage her father-in-law's feet,  all thanks to her newly found status of being a "devi"... for a devi doesn't trifle over such things... and when the final test comes, she realises all her ministrations have come to nothing. All her divinity comes to nothing when she had to heal the one most cherished.. and she fails the ones who mattered the most... a reason good enough for anyone to go insane.

perhaps, the beauty of any classic lies not in establishing the real meaning of the text but relishing in its ever-fleetingness... :-)

- Neha Bansal

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