Bidesia folk dance of Bihar

Bidesiya is a folk dance in Bihar based on the play Bidesia by Bhikari Thakur. Bihar has many folk dances, but Bidesiya has managed to put itself at the forefront. Bidesiya is usually performed by male artists. Even women's roles are played by men. Unlike other folk dances, Bidesia has no roots in ancient times. This is new as can be. It arose in the 20th century when not even the general public knew about drama or theatre. Bidesiya can also be called a musical drama because it includes a lot of stories accompanied by music and dance. Bhikhari Thakur is considered as the father of the Bidesiya dance form. Bhikari Thakur was a barber by profession. At the time, it must have been difficult for the barber to earn enough money. Even then, he decided to follow his dreams and do what he wanted to do. He wrote a Bhojpuri play called Bidesia. It is also called Bahar Bahar. He loved drama and wanted to make a change in society for the better. He left his previous life behind to work in the theater industry. He was a famous playwright and performer of his time who was called "Bhojpuri Shakespeare". It is one of many plays written by Bhikhari Thakur on women's empowerment, immigration and poverty. . Due to its popularity, it has become the popular drama genre of Bhojpuri region and some scholars have also claimed that it is as popular as Ramayana in those days. The play depicts the condition of women and the problem of immigration and poverty in the Bhojpuri society in the nineteenth century. The play was composed and staged in 1912 and published in book form in 1917. Published as Kaljug Bahar and then Bahar Bahar, the play was popularized as Bidesiya due to its character named Bidesiya.

Names :–

This play was published as Kaljug Bahar and then Bahar Bahar, It is popularly known as Bidesia due to its character called Bidesia.

Characters :–

There are five main characters in the Bidesia play: 

Bidesia: - The main character, who goes to Calcutta to earn money and gets married again there. 

Pyari Sundari: - Bidesiya's wife: -

Batohiya :– A traveler. 

Saloni:- Bidesiya's second wife

Devar :- Bidesiya's brother

Dost  :- Bidesiya's friend

Other characters: - Two children, villager Labaar: - In the classical Indian theater, they are called a Vidushak. They usually get the drama in the middle and entertain the audience with their jokes.

Synopsis :–

The play begins with a Mangalachran, which means prayer to God. After that the Sutradhar (facilitators) comes on the stage and introduce the audience to the characters and story line of the play. Then the play begins.

Story :–

The play begins with a conversation between Bidesia (the main character) or Bidesi and the character Pyari Sundari (Bidesia's wife). Bidesia who lives in poverty wants to go to Calcutta to earn money but his wife does not approve of him and Bidesia opposes his desire to stay there. Even after several years he did not return. He marries a woman named Saloni there and lives with her.

One day, the Pyari Sundari meets the traveller Batohia who was passing through the village. She asks him about Bidesiya and wants to inform him that she is eagerly waiting for Bidesia's return.

When Batohia reached Calcutta, he searched for Bidesiya and finally found him. he found that Bidesia had married a woman named Saloni. Batohiya tells her about the condition of the girl Pyari Sundari who has been waiting for him eagerly for years. Bidesiya then realizes his mistake and decides to go home. Saloni asked him not to go, but he returns home despite Saloni's ignorance. He reaches his house, knocks on the door and the Pyari Sundari opens the door in fear, not knowing who is outside. The frightened, Pyari Sundari asks him his identity, and he replies that he is her husband, Bidesiya. After a long while, seeing him in front of her, the poor Pyari Sundari fainted.

At the same time, Saloni also goes with Bidesiya without her knowledge and arrives at her home. She told him she couldn't live without him. Finally, Pyari Sundari accepted Saloni as her Sautan .

The story is depicted and represented in a very entertaining way with humor and meaningful words. Dance drama songs tell us about the struggles of women left by their husbands in the village. Sometimes the in-laws are also criticized in these songs, because they make the lives of these women miserable. An interesting fact about Bidesiya dance is that female roles are performed by actors/dancers. When it comes to clothing, male artists use synthetic long hair to get the look of a woman.

Message :–

Bidesiya laid out the problem of poverty and immigration and its impact in a very entertaining way.

Performances :–

Bidesia takes place every year at the Nandikar National Theater Festival.

Popularity :–

The play has become very popular in the northern Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Due to its popularity, it has become a popular drama genre in the Bhojpuri region.

Adaptation and cultural context :–

In Various Theaters –

Hindi theater has also adopted in many theaters the Bidesia folk theater style. Plays like Harikesh Muluk and Mati Gadi gained immense popularity using the Bidesia theater style. The Kannada play Rupasena, also based on Bidesia, reached northern Karnataka via Maharashtra. The skeleton of the play's story is entirely inspired by Bidesiya.

In Films –

In 1963 Bhojpuri film directed by S.N.Tripathi was an adaption of the play Bidesiya. Another movie of the same name starring Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahwa is also inspired by this play.