Chitralekha

This just has to be one of my most favourite books ever. Chitralekha by Bhagvatisharan Verma. It has been a while since I read it, and I am horrible with names, so I do not remember any, but the premise and the treatment of the subject matter was so beautiful, it has stayed with me forever. in my own words this is what the story is, and even at the risk of repeating myself, because I say this all the time, its not the story, it the telling that makes a great book. Still...

Two students of a sage ask him which is the more noble path - that of a householder or that of an ascetic? The sage takes them and leaves one in the home of a merchant and another with an ascetic, asking them to observe the life and motivations of both and come to their own conclusions. I don't remember the details much, but the merchant who spends a lot of time with the courtesan 'Chitralekha' comes across as a worldly man with worldly vices, whereas the ascetic spends most of his time in prayers.

Their lives intersect over the courtesan who is looked down upon by the asectic, she challenges his understanding of God, that if he shuns the world is he not rejecting the lord's creation, and is that not an insult to the maker himself? The merchant does not interfere in the continuing battle of wits between the two. Again I am dicey on the details but over the course of the next year, Chitralekha begins to be ashamed of her life lived in the pursuit of sensual pleasures, and goes to the ascetic to take her in and help her get out of this life of sin. The ascetic does, but later falls for her and then blames her for his own degradation. I don't remember what the two do after, I think the ascetic runs away, or does he kill himself? or does she? i can't remember, essentially it is the mutual downfall of the two of them, each dragging the other.

Chitalekha who was never ashamed of her own choices in life begins to doubt herself because of some clever arguments by a man of God, and is then crest fallen to find him as frail, weak, and human as any other man she has ever known. And the ascetic on the other hand realizing that it was one thing to be give lectures on celebacy when he had never been near a woman and quite another to look temptation in the eye and say thanks, but no thanks. The irony of it, that they both fall for actions they always knew were wrong. To me the story is a testament to the fact that arguments do not always come from a place of understanding. We can yell and shout and defend our own point of view to death, without ever internalizing the concepts, or being on a solid footing ourselves. That it is very easy to be duped by glibness of word, but it is not always supported by action. The whole idea of not calling any man great till he is dead, because you don't know what turn he is going to slip at.

And in the midst of all these righteous, loud mouthed defenders of their own beliefs, is the merchant. He lives a life of comfort, he does what he wants and he does not defend himself. People criticize him for drinking, for spending nights at Chitralekha's home, for not being a pious religious man and he does not seem to care. He loves her. He continues to love her through everything that happens to her. He loves her when people call her names, he loves her when she mocks the ascetic, he loves her when she loathes herself, he loves her when she leaves him and her riches to be with the ascetic and he loves her when the ascetic casts her away. He loves her in spite of what anyone else thinks, including herself.

In the end, it is his understanding of life and love,duty and passion, and right and wrong that comes across as the sanest and the most natural one. It is the slow and gradual growth of his character that is the most stunning part of the book.