'BEDNI'
Its the Story of 'Sugni', born in bedia
tribe, young Sugani is also being made to realize that she is no exception and
she will have to do the same what her mother has been doing so far-'Rai and
prostitution' but since Sugni is a little literate and has got decent knowledge
about the world outside her tribe, she knows about the life of other women who
live their lives with pride, unlike a Bedni; those who are someone's daughter,
someone's sister, and someone's lawful wife... those who reside in the 'Homes' and
lead a life which is well protected by a roof of relations over their heads,
unlike a Bedni who is meant to be the amusement for all the men of the
vicinity. Sugni wants the same roof of relations for herself. She aspires to
become a bride, desires to become a daughter-in-law, she wants to be a 'one
man' woman instead of someone who belongs to all the men. No other Bedni has
ever dared to dream of her own wedding instead of performing at others'
weddings. But that's what Sugni dreams of-'getting married!'
This is not just a dream. Its Sugni's
attempt to change the age old tradition, which the corrupt society will never
let go off. The blossom of Sugni's youth has already become the talk of the
town, she has become the new sensation and heart throb amongst the men. So many
decent propositions for her 'Sardhakai' ( a ritual before she enters the
trade), are already her way. And this is sufficient enough to encourage her
mamas who find it difficult to manage the expenditure to the family with what
their aging sister earns. They start making their own plans for a bright future
but as Sugni's refusal to Rai and Sardhakai shifts the ground beneath them.
In her journey sugni will not only
encounter the evil face of the man who becomes her 'owner' but she will also
experience the love with young adityababu who inspite of belonging to the
thakur clan showers her with respect and holds her dignity.
In this story we intend to tell the
story of those who are marginalized due to the social deformities. Sugni's
story represents the story of those who are neither demanding a ground nor a
sky of their own, but the right to feel being human and to be proud of that, is
all what they are asking for.
BACKDROP-
Bundelkand constitutes to the pride
heritage of our country with the courageous tales and the colorful tradition of
'Bundelas'; but the same Bundelkhand, on the contrary sets an example of
heinous human exploitation by a so called tradition of a tribal group called
Bedia-the tradition of 'Rai dance'. The word 'Rai' is derived from 'Rasa' a
dance performed by lord Krishna. As per the tradition 'Rai' was meant for
pleasing the lord but later it deformed and became a medium of pleasing the
devotees rather. With the course of time further more deformities took place
and Rai dance became a part of general celebrations and social gathering
finally getting victimized by human desires. Since the main occupation of Bedia
tribe has been Rai dance, it gradually became insufficient for the livelihood
of the entire family, therefore the Rai performers inevitably entered the flesh
trade under constraint, for the sake of the bread and butter of their
families. And this constraint later took the form of the tradition for
them. Although flesh trade is not the stated occupation of the tribals of Bedia
Tribe but the fact is that, today its their main occupation well covered behind
the colors of Rai Dance. This is the reason why the word Bedni, meaning the
women of Bedia tribe i.e. the Rai performers, is used as an epithet in the
local language.
This is a story where a group of
people, conspires against another group of people by limiting their right to
live life normally. The story of a tradition which allows humans to treat other
humans as animals, rather means of their own amusement. It is a story of those
who lead a doomed life taking it as a punishment given by the almighty and
think its nothing but their destiny to remain like this. It is also a story of
those who use their entity, power and wealth to make other humans into their
slaves, those who claim to be the representatives of the society and in fact
shame the society itself. This story attempts to expose the truth of the
tradition, which is relished by the civilized society as one of its high
standards, and which actually shames the humanity.
(courtesy Zee TV)
-Deepzz-
button and refrain from replying back directly as it can add fuel to the fire.
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2
"I follow my instincts."
