In this article I would like to give credit to the efforts of the producers, directors, actors and the entire technical team
of serials like Balika Vadhu and Laado for spreading awareness and influencing the decade’s old mentality of people against the social abuses like child
marriage and female feoticide.
Man may have progressed to the heights of conquering space yet many, even today, lives and follows the principles of child marriage and female feoticide. Why doesn’t man realize that ‘a woman is the source of its existence in this world’ and still continues to destroy her existence.
Balika Vadhu is a TV serial, currently being broadcast on Colors TV in India. The serial deals with Child Marriage, a social custom still prevalent in parts of India. Along with Sphere Origins, this show is also produced by Sharan Kapoor of Durga Maa Television.
The show is set up in rural Rajasthan emphasizing the practice of child marriage showing Anandi(Avika Gor), a young girl married to Jagdish(Avinash Mukherjee), the only grandson of Kalyani Devi(Surekha Sikri) also called Dadi Sa and Maa Sa. Kalyani is a widow of high feelings for rituals and superstitions. She has two sons, Bhairav(Anup Soni) and Vasant(Satyajit Sharma). Bhairav and his wife, Sumitra(Smita Bansal), have two kids, Jagdish and his sister Suguna(Vibha Anand). Vasant is a widower without kids.Gehna is the wife if Vasant. There is a following story of Vasant getting married to Gehna(Neha Marda), a much younger girl, who rebels against her mother-in-law. A few episodes later, when Suguna gets ready to leave for her husband's home, her husband dies in the hands of some bandits. The current story line is the arrival of Badi Jiji(Farida Jalal) who is sought to bring happiness and joy into the household once again.
The other serial dedicated to women on COLORS is, 'Is Des Main Na Aana Ladoo', produced by Shakuntalam Telefilms. This show now deals with female infanticide.
The story revolves around the village where birth of a girl child is still a sin. This practice can be seen even today, and the show just states how a new-born girl is sacrificed on the name of God. The male member of the family, while sacrificing asks God to give that child a rebirth, but as a male", adds our source.
The show shows the mannerisms of villagers towards the girl child and how they curse their better half for it. Presently, a point has come where the viewers see opposition from the women of the village.
I as a viewer am hopeful that with such good efforts will surely help end such social vices in the long run.