Indubaala Bhaater Hotel Review: Memories At The Intersection Of Food And Relationships

“Ei smriti gulo ki mone rakhar na bhule jawar?” (Are these memories meant for remembrance or are they supposed to be forgotten? says Indubala who is oblivious to how life will gradually offer her so many memories and broken relationships. The web-series Indubala Bhaater Hotel directed by Debaloy Bhattacharya is based on a popular novella by the same name written by Kallol Lahiri. It beautifully knits together the socio-political atmosphere of Bengal and its rich culinary legacy with the struggle and crisis of a woman whose identity is torn apart.

Set in the era when Bangladesh was still a part of Pakistan, the show follows Indu Baala, a young girl enjoying her childhood in the Kolapota village of Khulna District in Bangladesh. What sets her apart is her immense interest in cooking. She learns various dishes, one of them being Chandrapuli (a Bengali sweet dish) from her grandmother who was a prolific cook. Indu has a dear friend Manirul who loves her and mesmerises everyone with his flute.

The story uses a post-modernist technique of storytelling wherein one can see layers of storylines progressing parallelly. Debaloy deploys three stories; First, Indu’s childhood in Kolapota. Second, Indu’s married life in West Bengal. Third, Indu in her old age where she is known by her profession and her hotel. All the three timelines converge at the end and give the audience a clear picture of Indubaala’s journey which is full of struggle, pain, undying hope and food.

Terrifically essayed by Subhashree Ganguly, Indubaala is a woman who had to go through so much pain that she turned extremely cold during her old age. However, one could later understand that her past relationships have caused her to not engage too much with anyone during her old age. Throughout her life, whenever she developed a strong relationship with anybody, separation has loomed over it. Indubaala says “I am self-sufficient, I don’t need anyone, has anyone ever stayed?” This depicts both her resolute nature and her deep-seated pain that she bore throughout her life.

The trope of Identity and Home are explored in the story. A scene in which Indubaala, who has just married a man in West Bengal, travels in a boat with her husband to the other side conveys the separation from her homeland. Years later, when she expresses her desire to go back home, she is mocked by her husband because married women are not supposed to go back home. They don’t have a ‘home.’ Her home lies in the memories she has of her childhood in Kolapota. (Re)membrance keeps her sane amidst turmoil. A scene that pinches the heart is where Indu sitting in a dingy cell with fire in front of her, takes a final look at her Pakistani passport and then burns it. This depicts Indubaala’s effort in deleting her previous identity. Almost like a rebirth. Interestingly, her memories haunt her, burning a document cannot wash out the lived memories. Her body becomes the sight at which these memories stay on.

The storyteller uses the concept of Post Memory as coined by Marrianne Hirsch which is described as what the ‘generation after’ remembers of the trauma that their previous generation has faced. Interestingly, Indubaala herself becomes the body of remembrance, as is said “Taste is Memory,” she remembers through her food.

Every taste for her is a memory and every delicacy she prepares has a story like that of “Aam Tel” (Mango pickle) or the prawn curry. All these stories are passed through taste to the younger generation. Memories can be both bitter and sweet, which is true of Indubaala's cooking as well. Lachmi, played by Sneha Chatterjee, belongs to the fishermen community and is shunned by society but is a beloved companion of Indu. In the present times, it is found that Indubaala has stopped preparing a delicacy called Kochu Paata Baata. Flashbacks reveal that many years ago, when Lachmi was supposed to bring Indu this dish, she unfortunately died while crossing the train line. The idea of ‘Memory citizenship’ as mentioned by Michael Rothberg applies to the narrative of Indubaala. It is through her memory that the people around her and even the audience get to know about the harsh realities. Photographs, poetry books, slogan posters and the passports become frames of remembrance and define the chronotope (configurations of time and space).

Indubaala’s grandmother once taught her to prepare extra food just in case guests show up at their home. Following that age old tradition, Indu keeps a thali prepared at night for someone who never comes. Lachmi’s spirit who talks to Indu every now and then, once asks, “Why do you keep food prepared at night? For those who have gone? This is indeed a hard-hitting question which Indubaala has no answers to. Is it Manirul she waits for? Or is it, Lachmi? Or her brother? Is it really some person or she awaits her ‘home’? Her roots that she was uprooted from. The story explores all such questions.

Indubaala in her old age becomes a famous personality. From being a little girl, a wife and mother, she turns into the entrepreneur Indubaala who through her cooking skills attracts millions of customers to her small hotel. Sanchari (Angana Roy) a young college girl comes to vlog about the hotel and informs Indubaala about how famous her hotel is on social media. This depicts the journey Indu has embarked upon and the individual identity she has created for herself. But this story isn’t just about Indubaala’s journey of independence, it is much more than that. Indubaala could not be insulated to the socio-political conditions of the society. During the 70’s, when the Naxal movement was on the rise, and both India and Pakistan were rift with communal tensions, Indubaala’s home became the abode for young revolutionaries. At night, she used to keep food ready for these young men and this marked as her contribution to the societies socio-political agitations. Alok (a Naxalite essayed by Suhotro Mukhopdhayay) says “It is so ironic that we are coming to your house to eat peacefully but the world burning outside.” The narratives around the futility of war, communal enmity and economic discrimination run in conjunction with the personal story of Indubaala. Herein, the personal becomes political.

This is about a girl who is robbed of her childhood, her love, her roots and her identity. The narrative draws parallel to the idea portrayed in the Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh. The way Thamma struggles to understand the meaning of borders which aren’t visually recognisable, similarly Indubaala too finds it difficult to cope up with the fact that her home is now a ‘foreign land.’ The symbols of borders, boundaries and memories seep into the life of people who have to leave behind whatever they had. The world ‘Refugee’ is mentioned several times in the narrative and is used like a ‘cuss’ word to ‘other’ise the people who have come from the erstwhile East Pakistan. As if, it is these helpless people who are responsible for the chaos caused due to the double partition. In a scene Indubaala cries unconsolably as an echo of her brother tears into her heart “Alas, you became a refugee sister.” 

Years later when Indubaala’s elder son proposes to take Indubaala to Dhaka, a glimmer of happiness can be traced in the wrinkles. While she reaches the train station, she refuses to board the train. The notion of home is broken for her now. She belongs to the grey area, a partition where only memories lie. Her food is her only tangible memory that no one can take away. The narrative ends with the dialogue “I refuse to go back to my home like a tourist.” This very statement conveys so much about the agony and tumult, innocent girls like Indubaala have to face at the behest of worldly politics.