Ghare- Baire: Nikhilesh Chaudhury

The character Nikhilesh is an example of a very supportive husband even in that patriarchal
society. This character portrays a person with advanced thinking.

Nikhilesh does not believe in keeping his wife confined to the interiors of the household. He
appoints a British music teacher for her, converses with her on a vast range of subjects and
generally encourages her to come out of the house and step into the world outside. This shows
how he believes in the freedom of individuals.

He encourages his wife Bimala to have her own beliefs even if it’s different from his. He knows
how to respect individual choice.

Nikhilesh himself is opposed to the British rule in India and he starts the Swadeshi movement in
his very own way even before others, but his way of the movement is different and he does not
believe in the radical approach of the Swadeshi movement, because he knows that such a
movement will cause irreparable financial harm to the livelihood of the poor. He prefers the
other, seemingly more civilized approach of debate and discourse to get the British to leave.

Nikhilesh doesn’t believe in worshipping the idea of patriotism blindly when the poor and the
people of other religion are getting affected in the process. He is a very thoughtful person who
cares about the poor citizen of his state.

Despite this, and despite realizing that his wife is slowly being enamored by his friend’s charms,
Nikhilesh allows Sandip to stay in his house. Because he wants his wife to understand that she is
a free will agent and can do what she wants. Nikhilesh believes that there’s no point in achieving
anything forcefully.