Jewellery, commonly reduced to a mere trinket, has much greater significance in the subtle world of Rabindranath Tagore. In his fiction and its filmic translations, Tagore employs jewellery not only to symbolise beauty, but as a powerful metaphor for identity, memory, desire, and social standing. His female protagonists—multi-layered, complicated, and prescient—adorn themselves with jewellery that usually says more than they ever manage to.
Let's see how womens jewellery is a plot tool in five of Tagore's greatest adaptations: Chokher Bali, Noukadubi, The Last Poem, Monihara, and Ghore Baire.
Chokher Bali: Binodini’s Bangles and the Politics of Desire
Binodini’s bangles shimmer with silent defiance in Chokher Bali
In Chokher Bali (2003), directed by Rituparno Ghosh, Binodini’s character is defined by layers of suppressed passion and rebellion. The bangles she wears—or refuses to wear—speak volumes. As a widow, Binodini’s bangles are markers of her social deprivation, a constant reminder of her exclusion from sensual and emotional fulfillment.
Yet, when she dons bangles in private or fantasizes about wearing ornaments, they symbolise her resistance against a society that denies her autonomy. Her interactions with Mahendra and Asha are often punctuated by the faint jingle of bangles, a sound loaded with longing and defiance. Binodini’s jewellery, or the lack thereof, becomes a weapon of seduction, protest, and power.
Noukadubi: A Necklace of Confusion and Fate
Hemnalini’s pearl necklace depicts class and elegance
Noukadubi (2011), another Rituparno Ghosh masterpiece, written by Tagore, places jewellery at the centre of mistaken identity and emotional entanglement. Kamala, the bride mistakenly taken as another man’s wife, clings to a necklace that becomes a symbol of her hope, loyalty, and truth.
The necklace she wears is not just adornment; it becomes a key to unraveling the chaos around her. Jewellery here is the thread tying her to her real husband and her lost past. In contrast, Hemnalini, the educated and modern woman, wears minimal yet elegant pearl jewellery that reflects her composed, rational demeanor. The stark difference between Kamala’s traditional ornaments and Hemnalini’s refined simplicity mirrors their contrasting worlds—and Tagore’s nuanced view of womanhood.
The Last Poem: The Brooch of Modern Love
In The Last Poem (Shesher Kobita), adapted into film in 2014, the romantic tension between Amit and Labanya is steeped in intellectualism and modernist ideals. Jewellery here plays a subtler role—Labanya’s understated earrings, a dainty brooch, and her avoidance of flamboyant accessories speak to her inner strength, restraint, and depth.
Amit, an urbane poet, is intrigued not by Labanya’s beauty but by her mind—yet it is her simplicity, including her minimal jewellery, that complements her dignified persona. Her adornments, or deliberate lack thereof, reflect a break from conventional femininity—a Tagorean trait in many of his women characters.
Monihara: The Horror of Obsession
Each ornament on Monimalika tells a tale
Monihara (1958), part of Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya trilogy, taken from Tagore’s novel turns jewellery into a haunting obsession. The character, Monimalika, is consumed by her love for her jewels—necklaces, bangles, payaals, rings, all symbols of her materialistic desires.
Her husband’s financial decline threatens her treasures, and her increasing paranoia culminates in tragedy. Monihara’s jewellery becomes an extension of her identity; without it, she feels invisible. After her mysterious disappearance, her ghost returns—not for love, but for her jewels. Here, jewellery doesn’t just symbolise vanity—it becomes a tragic emblem of possession, insecurity, and psychological unraveling.
Ghore Baire: Nandini’s Earrings and the Clash of Ideologies
Nandini’s Western-style earrings mirror her ideological conflict
In Ghore Baire (1984), directed by Satyajit Ray and based on Tagore’s novel, Nandini (played by Swatilekha Sengupta) navigates a love triangle within the wider context of nationalism and modernity. The jewellery she wears—subtle, often Western-influenced—contrasts with the traditional Indian jewellery worn by women outside the aristocratic home.
Her Western-style earrings, lace-like necklaces, and fashionable hairpins symbolise her alignment with the West and the new intellectual elite. As she begins to question her role and identity, her jewellery choices subtly shift, mirroring her inner turmoil and ideological confusion. Through Nandini, jewellery for women becomes a metaphor for colonial influence, femininity, and the struggle between tradition and emancipation.
Jewellery: A Silent Protagonist in Tagore’s Stories
Across these cinematic adaptations, one thing is clear: jewellery for women is never just decoration in Tagore’s world. It is about character, plot, and voice. Whether it is Binodini’s defiant bangles, Monimalika’s cursed treasure, or Labanya’s quiet elegance, these adornments carry emotional weight, social commentary, and timeless relevance.
Tagore's genius lies in the way he infuses the everyday with meaning. Under his hands, a bangle can scream rebillion, a necklace can conceal a secret, and a choker can echo out a sigh. For both readers and audiences, his depiction of jewellery invites us to see beyond glitter—and into the heart of the woman who wears it.
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