lucia&電影心情

This is a story about a thirteen-year-old girl who had to marry a sick husband in order to save food for her family, and who became a slave in her new home. She was later abandoned in a strange city like an unwanted cat/dog after her husband’s death. Luckily, she met a good man to save her and became her new husband. The first part of the book is a sad story about the horrible lives of Indian women; however, it was narrated in a very peaceful and lyrical way.

I hope we don’t forget the beautiful images depicted in the book when we appreciate and discuss it’s meaning. Those lyrical images are as beautiful as Tagore’s poem and full of beautiful details. For example, the last quilt was embroidered stories of Koly and Raji--how they met, how they walked beside the riverbank with reeds and herons flying over the river. In the middle of the quilt, there was a tamarind tree that spread its branches to shelter her father’s family and her new family. The solemn marriage oath rang like a music again and again, “I am the word, thou the melody; I the seeds, thou the bearer; the heaven I, the earth thou.” And we hope it surely will ring in Koly and Raji’s wedding.

There were terrifying images about homeless widows and the journey to death. The name "homeless bird" depicts Indian widows who, all in white saris, chanted in temples and slept beside streets. The other one is the journey to death. People alive or dead rushed to the Ganges like a swarm of bees. It is miserable but mysterious, also the real image of India.

I think the part of the story about widows chanting in the temple demands more attention. Religion is the root of India culture--it gives widows a shelter when they need it, though in reality it is also the cause of their abandonment. In ancient times, widows were thrown into the cremation fire of their husbands, which luckily, is outlawed now. Poverty sometimes creates cruelty. Widows in white saris chanting in the temple implies that they are holy, pure, and blessed, which can't be farther from the truth.