Basanti is written by the collaborative effort, its execution and treatment vary from other novels. This study proposes to show the various elements and thoughts that are expressed in Basanti. Basanti is represented as the most beautiful woman ever. She is endowed with all the virtues and is an epitome of patience, love, care and endurance. Though she is educated and brought up in a modern family, she never shows any disgrace and arrogance after staying in a village with Debabrata’s family. She is beautiful, both internally and externally. She has the power of managing everything with utmost dedication. She is tormented inside but never reflects it. She has shown extreme care and concern for each and every one, starting from the servants and the maids to her own people. She loves Debabrata eternally and has even blamed herself for the suffering of Debabrata. She has never uttered a word of dejection, neither to her husband nor to her mother-in-law. She has accepted each and every phase of life in a positive way and her love remains alive for Debabrata in spite of huge obstacles and misunderstanding. She has taken a stand for woman liberation and education. She knows how to protect her self-respect. She is a compassionate daughter, a loving friend, a devoted wife and a dedicated daughter-in-law. In real sense Basanti is the heroine endowed with the heroic qualities in the novel and the writers have justified in naming the novel as Basanti.

Though twelve writers have collaborated in writing the novel, in the book only names of nine writers are mentioned. The other three names are the pseudonyms used in the novel. Brahmananda Singh has critically reviewed Basanti in his book Trutiya Nayana. Annada Shankar Ray has mentioned a few background glimpse of the novel in his book Jivan Jouban.

The novel has justified the following issues through its plots and characters:

A.    The Revolt against Traditional and Superstitious Beliefs:

At the beginning of twentieth century the Indian society was greatly affected by superstitions. Both, the educated and the uneducated, were affected by blind beliefs of the society. As the authors of Basanti were all young and rebellious and were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, they decided to free the society from superstition and corruption and to impart equal position to the female with the male in the society. Basanti is one such effort in this direction. In the novel the marriage of Debabrata and Basanti has been arranged in a simple way without any grand celebration and the people who are there as the priest and the fathers of the bride and the groom are inspired by modern thoughts. It is not a traditional marriage.

Further, inter-religious marriage is also shown and accepted in this novel through the characters of Sunitee and Ramesh. Being a Christian, Sunitee is not forced to leave her religion after the marriage with a Hindu male and being a Hindu Ramesh is not forced to accept Christianity after his marriage with a Christian lady.

In this novel the writers have beautifully portrayed the inter-religious marriage. During the time of publication of this novel such type of marriage was not acceptable in the society, but through the character of Kalyani Devi the writers have justified it while she argues with the Bishop relating to the marriage of Sunitee and Ramesh. The writers have criticised the false beliefs of the Christian society.

B.     Combination of Traditional and Modern Elements in the Novel:

In this novel there is a mixture of traditional thoughts with the modern. Being a typical country-woman Debabrata’s mother does not agree to accept Basanti as her daughter-in-law because Basanti is not well-versed with the Puranas and the Bhagabata and being brought up in a modern family she is educated, reads newspaper, wears shoes, and gives priority to woman emancipation and liberation. Debabrata suffers a lot as he marries Basanti against his mother’s consent. At the time of the cremation of Nirmala Devi – Basanti’s mother – Debabrata faces a lot of problems.

Basanti has reflected the culture of traditional Odisha and modern Odisha simultaneously. Through the characters of Debabrata’s mother and Saniamaa the writers have portrayed the village culture and beliefs with utmost perfection. The stereotyped society, orthodox beliefs, superstitions and restrictions for women are clearly exhibited. At the same time Kalyani Devi, the mother of Sunitee and Basanti, the protagonist are the epitome of the radical part of modern Odisha who have gone beyond the typical values and have stood for woman emancipation, and have accepted the modern values and beliefs, fighting against the rampant differences in society. Being a Christian woman Kalyani Devi has also protested against the Bishops, accusing them as the false devotees of the Lord. At each step Basanti has gone through immense suffering to protect her womanhood. She has opened a school for the village girls to educate them when, in the society, educating women is regarded as a taboo. She is beautiful, educated and bears a modern personality but after her marriage with Debabrata she has managed the transformation from the city life to the rural life in a beautiful way.

C.    Effect of Indian Freedom Struggle on the Youth as Expressed in the Novel:

A study of Basanti reflects the Indian freedom struggle and its effect on the younger generation. At the time when the novel Basanti was written, India was going through various problems like struggle for independence and the horror of the impact of the First World War and the whole country was striving for woman emancipation. Before marriage Debabrata was greatly inspired by the Gandhian philosophy and had established himself as a great social worker. He was always ready to serve others and fight for the rights of the mass.

The first phase of the novel deals with the college life of Debabrata and his struggle and contribution as a social worker. During his study in Ravenshaw College, he was the President of the Students’ Union and he had attended many social meetings and gathering, inspiring many to be like him. He, along with his friend Ramesh, are the strong followers of Mahatma Gandhi and his principles and both of them have joined their hands in order to the help and assist the poor and the needy people during the natural calamities. But, as his relationship develops with Basanti, he is criticised and scorned by his fellow mates. His honesty is questioned along with his dignity and dedication towards his duties. After his marriage with Basanti he has also struggled to do something for the betterment of the village youth by offering proper training and guidance. The character of Debabrata has justified the involvement of the college youth in politics.

D.    A Saga of Love, Sacrifice, Suffering and Reunion:

The two central characters of the novel Basanti are Basanti and Debabrata. Being inspired by modern thinking they both suffer a lot in their marital life. Just out of their love and respect for each other they have performed their social and domestic duties. Debabrata is a supporter of feminism, but he cannot bear when Basanti tries to come out of the typical role of the housewife and establish herself as a social reformer to bring changes in the position of women in the society by imparting them education and proper knowledge. From that moment onwards he questions the character of Basanti and blames himself for marrying her by going against the society and the wish of his own mother. From this it is clear that though theoretically Debabrata is a great supporter of woman liberation, practically he cannot admit it in his own case which leads to the separation of the couple in the middle of the novel.

The turn in the relationship of Basanti and Debabrata takes place just out of suspicion in the mind of Debabrata. Reading the fragment of a letter Debabrata fumes into anger and determines to take punish Basanti as he assumes that Basanti has betrayed him. Soon thereafter he takes a drastic step and drives Basanti out of his house. This suspicion in the mind of Debabrata is not only the biggest challenge in their relationship but also the major twist in the novel. After reading the remaining part of the letter Debabrata understands his mistake and curses his own self and vows to bring back the love of his wife Basanti.

Though Basanti is considered as a feministic novel, its story-line reveals it as a true story of love and sacrifice. The entire novel is based upon the love, the struggle and the reunion of Basanti and Debabrata. Debabrata marries Basanti against the wishes of the society and his mother. He faces the fume and fury of the villagers. Basanti goes through immense psychological suffering and is criticised at each step for her modern education and attempts for woman liberation and education. Both of them act like two side of one coin. They share great care and concern for each other. Each of them blames his/her own self for the other’s sufferings. Though their marital bliss gets disturbed for one doubt that Debabrata breeds in his mind, still at each phase he tries to convince himself the trustworthiness and dedication of Basanti. After he drives Basanti out of his home, Basanti does not react and accepts the reality. Even at that point of time she has never shown her hatred towards Debabrata. She has cried silently, cursing herself, for not being able to convince her husband. Debabrata, after knowing the fact, goes insane in search of Basanti as he realises the grave mistake that he has committed by disowning his loyal wife. In his arduous quest for Basanti, Debabrata faces many challenges, even at the cost of his health, while Basanti keeps on waiting for the day with the hope of their reunion. Towards the end of the novel, when the two lovers are reunited, they do not question and condemn each other; rather at that precious moment they express their silent love with the blessed company of their new-born baby.