Three chapters of a life in chain
Roopkatha Purakayastha
India. 2017. 11 min.

Three Chapters of a life in Chains, is divided into three chapters – Childhood. The Search. Resolution.
It revolves around a character named Bali and her friend who is searching for her. The three chapters each show the unfolding of “significant” events that occur in the life of Bali. The first chapter shows a moment from Bali’s childhood, focusing on her innocent daydreams and ambitions. The family is also seen throughout inn this chapter but not directly but through the eyes of the character of Bali. The second chapter is about a young woman and friend of the protagonist from her past college days, Shyamoli, who has come to Bali’s childhood home looking for her friend. The ground floor of the house now has been rented out and is being run as a beauty salon and Bali’s mother stays alone on the floor above, where Shyamoli finds out that Bali’s own family seem to be consciously trying to avoid dialogue about Bali altogether and this leaves Shyamoli worried about her friend, who was always slightly different from everybody else. The third chapter shows the resolution of Shyamoli’s search for her old friend, whom she discovers institutionalized in a mental asylum. Here, in captivity of her own isolation/depression as well as that, which instilled upon her by the normal/accepted ideal types of society, Bali narrates her story to her friend.