The Caged
Ahana Biswas
Translated by Shamita Das DasGupta
The Caged follows Pari's defiance of gender norms in a fierce tale of beauty, violence, patriarchy, and female empowerment, translated from Bengali.
Full Synopsis
Translated from the Bengali novella Karabas, The Caged follows Pari, a woman whose beauty becomes both weapon and curse. In defying patriarchal norms, she carves out an identity that unsettles the structures of desire, violence, and control. Biswas's narrative blends crime and empowerment, portraying female resilience with striking depth.
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Ahana Biswas is a contemporary Bengali writer whose work interrogates gender, power, and violence. Her fiction is noted for its sharp psychological insight and bold thematic choices.
Excerpt
Buni never returned to your home; she never wished to. She never revealed her secrets, not even to me.[...] I, however, was certain that a man who lived with us was responsible for Buni’s condition. It was someone in the family. [...] I was afraid, Sushil, that your grandfather had gifted Buni with the pregnancy. Maybe she was being systematically raped. Buni kept stubbornly silent about it. How could she speak out against someone who had sheltered her, fed her, and doled out four or five saris a year to her? She couldn’t throw the sledgehammer of truth on your grandfather’s head! She didn’t dare! As far as I could tell, Buni was happy. I told others in the family that I had married her off to a poor brahmin’s son. They had given Buni so much love that she didn’t ever miss her old home or want to visit her family. None of you took the trouble of inquiring after her. No one lamented her departure. Her memories died a natural death in the family. After she left, the family held a great puja of Lord Satyanarayan. I personally distributed the slimy sweet prasad in bowls made of leaves to all your grandfather’s friends. It was a time for celebration after getting rid of the evil one. Am I the only sinner, Sushil? Are my hands the only ones sullied with blood? Are no one else’s hands similarly stained? Are they all saints? Sushil, your grandfather’s friends licked me with their gaze. I thought it was hilarious. Since childhood, I have been quite used to such fawning. If I didn’t receive it, would feel lifeless! Without it, I felt worthless, even to myself. Do you know why I think it was your grandfather... the one behind Buni’s situation? Your granddad went nearly crazy after he saw me. He did not trust himself to spend much time in my company. He was also afraid of the effect I had on him and wanted his son to come home and guard him against me. Yet this desire had reignited his spent youth. The lust that was churning in him because of me was discharged on his helpless granddaughter. Your cousin, Buni, was so powerless that she would have rather died than break her silence. That’s why she didn’t wish to return to your home in Bipratikuri.[...] Sushil, the events the next day were exceedingly funny. I woke up in the morning, went straight to your mother, and sat down close to her. “Dear sister, can you suggest something? My mind isn’t working; I’m at a loss.” She looked at me curiously, and I said, “Early this morning, my dad came to me in my dreams. He said, “You know, I was very ill and died. I couldn’t treat your in-laws well. I wish to feed your family rice pudding on my birthday - as much as anyone can eat? I woke up and realised today is my father’s birthday - the 7h of Shravan.” What could your mother say? I was using my own money to feed the family - a good proposal indeed! I was in the habit of collecting money in a piggy bank. I broke the bank and gave every penny to you to buy the ingredients - cashew nuts, raisins, and pistachios-from a faraway store. I told my father-in-law that I wanted to feed his friend rice pudding on my father’s birthday. I didn’t cook the pudding myself. You were familiar with the cooking of the person who cooked, my sister-in-law. The pudding she made was delicious! I had dressed up in a red silk sari and wore all my jewellery, looking like a queen. Everyone lamented that your uncle wasn’t home. I oversaw the food distribution. I acted like a new bride serving the first meal in her marital home. With downcast eyes and a shy smile, I served everyone. That day, I was a real princess. There was plenty of pudding for everyone. Along with the other women in the family, I ate a lot. The pudding was made of fragrant date molasses and ten kilos of cream, with cashews, raisins, and pistachios thrown in. The neighbours were also given this nectar. Your family stored poison to destroy pests on the farm. I took only a little. I mixed it carefully in your grandfather’s pudding. I was a bit worried about its efficacy. I poured a bit more vanilla extract into his bowl to mask the odour of the poison. I was surprised when your uncle arrived on the last bus. He was in awe when he saw me looking so regal and beautiful.[...] After staying awake for two nights, I slept soundly. Your uncle woke me up in the morning. I detected alarm and panic in his high-pitched blathering. “Pari, wake up, wake up! Baba has fallen off the bed. He’s frothing in the mouth and is unresponsive. Sushil has gone to bring the Kaviraj. There are no other doctors here.” Pushing aside the crowd, I ran to my father-in-law’s room and shook his body. He was dead and was already turning cold. He had died in the night. I put my head down on my knees and was the first one to howl. The women started bawling one after another. I noticed that you cried with the rest of them, Sushil.
