Khorkuto’s Dr. Soujonyo Mukherjee: a feminist protagonist
Soujonyo is genuinely a feminist protagonist! I keep thinking about this character and why he is so different from any other characters that I have seen before. Why does he sound very familiar to me? Well, if you see how he treats and respects the women in his family and outside in his workplace, you will have to think carefully to understand him. It won’t be hard to derive a conclusion that he is compassionate; he has empathy. How sensitive he is towards his family members, his colleagues, neighbors, and strangers. One may say that he was not pleasant to his wife at times, perhaps from frustration, but underneath all of these things, he wanted his spouse to be educated and independent, and well respected. Soujonyo did not want his wife to be humiliated and laughter at just because she did not have an academic degree. He wanted his wife to do well in BA final exam, and for that, he took the responsibility of staying with her to make sure that she was focussing on her studies. He took his wife for her BA exams and stayed with her despite the work pressures.
And in their personal physical space, he never forced her for intimacy until she wanted. Though at times, I thought it was unnatural to have an entirely platonic relationship between a married couple for the entire year! Well, for the sake of this story, I am overlooking that part. But there, too, he looked like a protective, loving partner who was paying detailed attention to his wife’s comfort. How many men would do this? He took care of his wife whenever she needed it. Gungun herself confessed how caring he had been to her… he kept himself up to fan her during hot summer nights; he brought water and medicines to her on time to make sure she had taken it. Moreover, he listened to his wife so much that she could confidently say that he wouldn’t go to the US if she said no. He wanted his wife to be happy even when she left him.
In the workplace, too, he is a dignified and graceful scientist. Soujonyo handled the Ananya incidents very maturely and professionally. Soujonyo knew about her crush on him, but he did not take advantage of that situation and flirted with her. Instead, Soujonyo went out of his way to help her with her mental health and stayed composed when Anannya humiliated him. How many of us could keep our cool and be very professional to our postdoctoral researchers and junior scientists or graduate students when they are not friendly to their bosses. In academia, it is pretty common to exploit the postdocs and grad students’ labor (both in India and in the US), but Soujonyo did not do that to his students. He protested when Anannya was nasty and immature to Gungun but was not disrespectful. He was firm but not aggressive towards more aggressive Anannya. That’s maybe not because he didn’t feel for his wife, but as an advisor in a professional setting, he needed to be level-headed and keep his integrity. Now, I would say he could have been more stern, more protective, and not offensive in front of Gungun’s cousin perhaps, but that’s his personality. We all got upset about this trait of his character over and over. But then I was thinking of myself, what would l have done in this situation. I would have handled it more balanced way. I would have got upset with Gungun or letting Tinni insult his wife. Tinni has crossed that boundary many times. And I would have asked her to move from my lab because conflict of interests.
On the other hand, Soujonyo truly cares for his students and postdocs in his lab. He is a supportive pillar for them and a really good mentor. I see him as a role model of an excellent academic advisor and a super hard-working yet humble, down-to-earth, promising young scientist. He could be that young star on the horizon of his field of research. These qualities together are rare in high-profile yet young scientists.
I will not support him for being rude and angry to Gungun, insulting Gungun by calling her out for her academic results. I would not support him for not showing confidence in her, ignoring her, and not expressing his love. I wouldn’t say I liked Babin’s not going to Shantiniketan, yelling at her, calling out, or complaining to her father. But then Gungun is also strong-headed and immature in expressing her feelings for him. Don’t we all know someone like Gungun? I can say at times during the early days of being married (a year or so older than Gungun when she got married) and trying to do research, grad school everything; I would be somewhat like Gungun – strong-headed, opinionated, but confident extrovert who could not express her feelings to the spouse! These are all part of everyday life, with ups and downs in relationships. No one is perfect, and Babin is not a saint either.
Given all of the issues, Soujonyo really reminds me of a feminist professor that I know very well. He is not a man with machismo. And in this world of toxic masculinity, it is nice to see someone like Soujonyo who is not afraid of showing his emotions like crying in front of his loved ones. It’s not easy to be a successful scientist in a competitive high profile field like Astrophysics! On top of that he is balancing between his family, and politics in laboratory.
We indeed need more feminist men like Dr. Soujonyo Mukherjee in real life! To me, he is a rare breed very hard to find. Thanks to writer Leena Gangopadhyay for creating such a character and Actor Koushik Roy for doing such a great job portraying this character! I can’t see anyone else in this role. Thank you again!
