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Audiobook edition · 3 h 35 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a signature on an indigo contract puts a whole household at risk?
In a Bengal village, Golok Chandra Basu wants to keep his land, his name, and his family safe. But British indigo planters press farmers into contracts that trap them. Dinabandhu Mitra’s five-act play, Nil Darpan, brings colonial power into the household, where each demand threatens the people Golok loves.
Golok’s educated son Nabin Madhab turns to petitions, courts, and reason to protect his family and the village peasants. Nearby, poor farmer Sadhu Charan faces the planters’ reach, while outspoken Torap refuses to surrender his rice land. Scenes move between the indigo factory, farmers’ huts, and the Basu home as the pressure grows.
What you’ll discover
- A contract that traps See how a small advance gives planters a powerful hold over a farmer’s land.
- A family under pressure Meet Sabitri, whose fear for her husband and sons makes the conflict painfully personal.
- Resistance through the law Follow Nabin Madhab as he puts his faith in reason against the planters’ demands.
- A voice of defiance Encounter Torap, a bold peasant who refuses to give his rice land to indigo.
- Power behind the paperwork Look beyond the contracts to the officials and managers who help enforce the planters’ will.
Who will love it
Readers who love stories of village life, family loyalty and quiet courage will enjoy this play, especially those drawn to the voices of ordinary farmers, wives and neighbours.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A peaceful village counts its first losses
- Sadhu Churn is dragged to the factory
- Behind the walls, the women face a quieter threat
- The godown, where silence is beaten out of men
- A plan to break the Boses through the law
- Power, law and money are bound together
- Honour, family and the cost of goodness
- A play written to be a mirror
Who’s who
- Nobin MadhabThe eldest son of the Bose family, brave and generous, who tries to protect the farmers and his father from the planters.
- Goluk Chunder BasuThe gentle, timid head of the family, who has lived in Svaropur all his life and wants only peace.
- Bindu MadhabNobin's younger brother, a college student devoted to his family, who works to save his father through the courts.
- Sadhu ChurnA farmer and neighbour who speaks plainly to the planters and is loyal to the Bose family.
- TorapaA strong, outspoken Muslim farmer who agrees under torture to testify but escapes and helps rescue Khetromani.
- J. J. WoodThe harsh planter of Begunbari factory, who wants every farmer to grow indigo and uses the strap and the court to get it.
- Gopi Churn DasThe Dewan of the factory, who carries out the planters' schemes while complaining of the abuse he suffers.
- SoirindriNobin's wife, devoted and sensible, who offers her jewels to help save her father-in-law.
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Nil Darpan; ovvero, Lo specchio della coltivazione dell’indaco. Dramma
by Dinabandhu Mitra · 1860
A Bengali farmer is forced to plant indigo on his rice land, and a gentle village family starts to lose everything.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readItaliano
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In short
What happens to a village when a stranger can mark off your best rice field, hand you coins you never asked for, and beat you if you refuse? In Nil Darpan, a Bengali play, that question is answered in the homes of one family and the farmers around it.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A peaceful village counts its first losses
The play opens in the granary of Goluk Chunder Basu at Svaropur. His family has lived in the village for seven generations. His neighbour Sadhu Churn says what many are thinking. They can no longer live in this country.
Goluk answers with a list of what the place has given his family. Rice feeds them all year and lets them welcome guests. Mustard seed gives oil and a surplus to sell.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1860
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 2 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Mitra, Dinabandhu. Nil Darpan; or, The Indigo Planting Mirror, A Drama. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/nil-darpan-or-the-indigo-planting-mirror-a-drama.
Mitra, D. (2026). Nil darpan; or, the indigo planting mirror, a drama. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/nil-darpan-or-the-indigo-planting-mirror-a-drama (Original work published 1860)
Mitra, Dinabandhu. Nil Darpan; or, The Indigo Planting Mirror, A Drama. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/nil-darpan-or-the-indigo-planting-mirror-a-drama.
@book{mitra2026nil,
author = {Mitra, Dinabandhu},
title = {Nil Darpan; or, The Indigo Planting Mirror, A Drama},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/nil-darpan-or-the-indigo-planting-mirror-a-drama},
note = {First published 1860}
}
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What is Nil Darpan about?
It follows a Bengali farming village where indigo planters force farmers to grow indigo on their best land. It shows how one respected family, the Boses of Svaropur, is pressed by beatings, false cases and threats.
What does the title Nil Darpan mean?
Nil Darpan means the Indigo Planting Mirror. The author's preface offers the play to the planters as a mirror so that each can look at his own face and see what his conduct has done.
When was Nil Darpan written and who wrote it?
Dinabandhu Mitra wrote it in Bengali and it appeared in 1860. It is a drama in five acts, written about the real conditions of indigo cultivation in rural Bengal.
The author
Dinabandhu Mitra
1830–1873 · Bengali dramatist
Dinabandhu Mitra (1830–1873) was a Bengali dramatist. He was born in Chouberia, Bengal, and died in Calcutta. He wrote plays in Bengali, including Nil Darpan, published in 1860. He also worked for the postal service in British India. His other plays included Sadhabar Ekadashi and Jamai Barik.
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