Freedom of Women-Hari Bindi- Mridula Garg 'हरी बिंदी' कहानी कीसमीक्षा RCU BBA/BCA 1st Sem

The story ‘Hari Bindi’ written by ‘Mridula Garg’ depicts the moods of a modern woman, this young woman is bored with the monotony of married life. The protagonist of the story represents the modern woman who does not want any bondage of society on herself, who knows her dignity and also wants her right to freedom. This story represents the rebellious mind of a woman against a male dominated society. Summary of the story ‘Hari Bindi’ The story ‘Hari Bindi’ written by ‘Mridula Garg’ depicts the moods of a modern woman, this young woman is bored with the monotony of married life. The main character of the story represents the modern woman. The modern woman does not want any bondage of society on herself. She knows her limits, but also wants to get her right to freedom. This story depicts the rebellious mind of a woman against the male dominated society. The protagonist is troubled by the suffocation of her married life. She wants to live some peaceful moments away from her restrictive married life. Once her husband Rajan goes out of town, she is free to live her life as per her wish for a day. She behaves as per her wish. She wakes up late in the morning, goes for walks alone, watches movies, has tea in restaurants with strangers, roams freely. She does whatever she wants to do. But at the same time, she also keeps her dignity in mind. The story goes like this. When she wakes up at 6:30 in the morning and remembers that her husband Rajan has gone to Delhi, she thinks that there is no hurry to get up now and goes back to sleep. After two hours, she gets up and gets ready. She puts a green bindi on her blue dress. She knows that this would look absurd. If her husband Rajan were there, he would definitely scold her, but since Rajan is not there, she wants to live freely for a day. She leaves the house without deciding where she is going. She hails a taxi, and after boarding, decides to go to the Jahangir Art Gallery. She sees a modern artist's exhibit there and bursts out laughing in front of everyone. Seeing a roadside restaurant, she remembers she's hungry, so she goes in and orders, "A hot potato cake and an ice cream, together." She doesn't think eating hot and cold food together will ruin her teeth. Her husband isn't here today, so she's not bound by any restrictions. When the waiter is surprised by this order, she asks, "Any objection?" The nearby cinema is showing a film by her favorite English comedian, Danny Kaye, whom her husband doesn't like at all. Without thinking about how she'd feel going to the cinema alone, she goes to see the film and bursts out laughing at Danny Kaye's comedy. A stranger sitting next to her is laughing too. Perhaps Danny Kaye is her favorite artist too. Upon leaving the cinema, she speaks to the stranger and invites him for coffee. After coffee, they leave in a taxi, and the heroine gets out as they approach her home. Until now, neither has considered it necessary to know each other's names. The man says, "Today has been a very precious day for me. I've never seen anyone wearing a green bindi before." Hearing this, the heroine pauses. While wearing a green bindi on her forehead seems absurd to her husband, Rajan, it's unique to this stranger. This means that the stranger's views align with her own. The story ends here. The story makes it clear that the heroine rejects traditional social norms and wants to live a natural life. Significance: Today, women have equaled men in every field, yet they still have to live under their husband's discipline. Therefore, she feels suffocated and strives to live her own life whenever she gets the opportunity. The modern woman has become aware of her desires and existence. This is what Mridula Garg wanted to convey through this story. 0-0-0