Bidesiya (play)

Bidesiya (Bhojpuri:š‘‚„š‘‚±š‘‚ š‘‚µš‘‚®š‘‚±š‘‚Øš‘‚°) or Baharā Bahār is a Bhojpuri play by Bhojpuri playwright Bhikhari Thakur. It is one of the several plays written by Bhikhari Thakur on women empowerment, migration and poverty.[1] Owing to its popularity it becomes the folk theatre style of Bhojpuri region.

Bidesiya
Written byBhikhari Thakur
Date premiered1912
SubjectMigration, Women Empowerment, Poverty
GenreTheatre

The play depicts the condition of women in Bhojpuri Society in 19th century, the problem of migration and poverty. The play was composed and staged in 1912 and published as a book in 1917.[2]

Names

This play was published as Kaljug Bahar then it was published as Bahara Bahar, due to its character named Bidesiya it became famous with the name Bidesiya.[3]

Characters

The play Bidesia has primarily five characters:[4]-

  • Bidesiya :- The main character who goes Calcutta for earning and marries another woman.
  • Pyari Sundari :- Wife of Bidesiya
  • Batohiya :- A traveller.
  • Saloni:- The women with which Bidesiya makes a marital relation in Calcutta.
  • Devar :- The brother of Bidesiya
  • Dost :- Friend of Bidesiya
  • Other characters:- Two children, one villager
  • Labaar :- They are call Vidushak in Classical Indian theatre. They usually enter in the play in between and entertain the audience with their jokes.[5]

Synopsys

The play starts with Mangalachran which menas Prayer to god. After that the Sutradhar comes on the stage and introduces the audience with the Characters and story line of the play. After that the play starts[6]

Story

The play starts with a conversation between Bidesiya or Bidesi and Pyari Sundari(His wife), where Bidesiya adduces his will to leaving the village and going to Calcutta for earning. His wife tries to stop him but he doesn't stop. After going to Calcutta He doesn't come for years and the Pyari Sundari waits for him to return.[7]

One day a traveller (Batohiya) was going through the village, Pyari Sundari asks him to send her message to Bidesiya. When Batohiya reaches Calcutta he sees that Bidesiya has married to a women named Saloni.

Performances

Bidesiya is staged every year in Nandikar's National Theatre Festival.[8]

Popularity

The play became very popular in North Indian States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.[9] Due to its popularity it became the folk theatre style of Bhojpuri region.[10]

Hindi theatre also adopted the Bidesiya folk theatre style. Plays like Harikesh Muluk and Mati Gadi gained immense popularity using the Bidesiya theatre style.[11]

Message

Bidesiya has put the problem of poverty, migration and their impact in a very entertaining form.[12]

Legacy
  • The Bhojpuri film Bidesiya directed by S. N. Tripathi released in 1963 was adaption of the play.
  • Another movie of the same name starring Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua was too inspired from this play.

References
  1. Singh, Dhananjay (September 2018). "The Image of Women in Folk-Traditions of Migration" (PDF). Journal of Migration Affairs. 1: 55 ā€“ via the image of women in Bhojpuri folk- culture/literature of migration is colourful. The women themselves are in a way suffering from migrationā€”whether they have been left behind, or if they have been forced to migrate themselves, or if they have come with her husband to his village as an urhari. The seriousness with which Bhikhari Thakur has dealt with the travails of these women is unparalleled. In his play ā€˜Bidesiyaā€™ he shows Pyari Sundariā€™s suffering as the ideal chaste wife waiting for her husband in the village.
  2. Narayan, Badri. Culture and Emotional Economy of Migration. Taylor and Francis. pp. Pg 74.
  3. Bhikhari Thakur: Bhojpuri Ke Bharatendu. Allahabad: Aashu Prakashan.
  4. ""BIDESIA" ā€“ THE FOLK THEATRE OF EASTERN INDIA". 25 April 2017.
  5. Narayan, Badri. Culture and Emotional Economy of Migration. p. 76.
  6. Culture and Emotional Economy of Migration. ISBN 1315448033.
  7. Singh, Dhananjay (September 2018). "The Image of Women in Folk-Traditions of Migration". Journal of Migration Affairs. 1: 41. doi:10.36931/jma.2018.1.1.41-58 ā€“ via In his play ā€˜Bidesiyaā€™ he shows Pyari Sundariā€™s suffering as the ideal chaste wife waiting for her husband in the village.
  8. "Nandikaar".
  9. Kumar, Ashutosh (2017). Coolies of the Empire. Cambridge University Press. p. 240. ISBN 1107147956.
  10. Narayan, Badri. Culture and Emotional Economy of Migration. pp. 74ā€“75. ISBN 1315448033.
  11. Narayan, Badri. Culture and Emotional Economy of Migration. p. 77.
  12. Kalakshetra Vol. IV. p. 35.
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