Status Updates From Choker Bali

There are books that leave you furious — where you just want to beat sense into the characters. This was one of them.

What makes it so frustrating is that each person acts in a way that’s completely logical to them, dictated by the world around them. And yet, I reject it. Because some things, no matter how “justified,” are things I will always stand against.

Mahindra's spiral into sin is unavoidable it seems at this point. This character's portrayal by Tagore hits a certain male ego, that many a big writer failed to sketch.
The controlling nature of Binodini, as how she is puppeting over Ashalata, is a great example of how the cold-brained people prey on their surroundings.
But overall, the tempo is taking a hit as we are approaching the second half.

Diving into deeper parts, Bihari's character is starting to make sense now.
Ashalata is too innocent to be on this spectrum, and Binodini's true intentions are still a mystery.
The essence of uncertainty over Binodini is- exactly what hooks the reader to this novel so far.

Mahindra and Ashalata have very odd notions about married life and mid-age women Rajlaxmi and Annapurna cannot stand this impudence.

Character developments are praise-worthy; but setup lacks details, and certain characters, as in, Bihari, needs more depth.

Promising start; the best part about Rabindranath's writing is that he does not unnecessarily bloat characters; rather finds the sweet spot between what is necessary and what should be the character layers.

The lay-out skeleton of Mahindra's character has a very high potential, while Annapurna, Bihari and other characters are slowly sketching out.