Chandrabati Kotha

synopsis

Chandrabati Kotha,' a Ballads for Chandrabati is set in mid-sixteenth century Eastern Bengal. The film explores the elegiac life of the first female poet of Bengali Literature –Chandrabati – the pioneer feminist poet of the region to contribute to a treasure trove of Bengali literature known as Mymensingh Geetika. Her childhood lover, another poet called, Jayananda, marries a Muslim woman on the eve of their wedding day. This leaves Chandrabati grief stricken. In her sorrow she resorts to a life of strict confinement in a Shiva temple built by her father. In this temple she composes her version of the great Indian epic – Ramayana, based on Sita's point of view. Torn apart by regret and guilt Jayananda returns to the temple to seek redemption. Having none of his desperate calls answered by Chandra, Jayananda resorts to taking his own life. Chandrabati does not recover after this incident, and the rest of her days are spent reciting and writing verses of the Ramayana in the temple.