Beti Bechwa
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| Beti Bechwa | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Bhikhari Thakur |
| Date premiered | 1925 |
| Subject | Women Empowerment, Poverty |
| Genre | Theatre |
Beti Bechwa (Bhojpuri: 𑂥𑂵𑂗𑂲 𑂥𑂵𑂒𑂫𑂰 ) or Beti Biyog (English:- The Daughter seller) is a Bhojpuri play by Playwright Bhikhari Thakur.[1][2][page needed] It was one of several plays written by Thakur based on true events, showing the bad side of society, poverty and Women Empowerment. The play shows the practice of mismatched marriages which are executed between young girls and aged men in exchange of money for the girl's family.[3]
- Upato : A young girl
- Lobha : Upato's mother[4]
- Chatak : Upato's father
- Gotiya : A relative of Chatak
- Pandit : A priest
- Dulaha : An old man and Upato's Husband
- Panch : Judge of village court
- Other characters: Some women and Baratis
Plot
Upato is the daughter of Lobha (mother) and Chatak (father). Due to the poor condition of the family they find it difficult to marry Upato and decided to sell her to any rich family. A person named Jhantul lives in a village named Baklolpur (trans.: City of fools), who is very rich, aged and unmarried. Chatak fixes Upato's marriage with him and took the money. No one knows about this in the village, When the barat arrives, everyone is astonished to see the groom. An old man with no teeth and muscle on his body.
Lobha wanted to sell her daughter but not with an old groom. Somehow she let the marriage happen and Upato went to Jhatul's home. Chatak goes to meet Upato after marriage when she asks him that what mistakes did she make that she is facing these. Greedy Chatak had not any answer to this question. After somedays Upato came to her parents' home and Jhatul's also reaches there. In Panchayat it is decided that since Upato is married to Jhatul now she had to live with him. Upato's Mother Lobha blames his father Chatak for this condition of their daughter.[5]