Zee's 'Choti Bahu'
Does caste identity really matter? The Zee TV serial 'Choti Bahu'currently on show reflects a grim image of a caste sensitive grandmother. The main theme of the serial goes like this Dev deeply loves Radhika and so is Radhika in true love with Dev. Although Radhika was brought up in priest Shastriji's family, yet in reality she wasn't their own daughter. Radhika was actually found by Shastriji in abandoned condition at the gate of the temple and adopted her. Everyone in the family had accepted Radhika as their own blood relation except the grandma who could never accept her as their own. She used to hate Radhika as her caste identity was unknown. The grandma considered Radhika as if she was from a lower caste. She would never take food or water from Radhika's hand as Radhika was untouchable. If sometimes she comes in touch with Radhika she would take a bath immediately to get purified.
Well, Dev is from the reputed 'Puruhit family'. In face of their pure and unselfish love, Dev's grandma, mother, and other family members finally accepted Radhika a their Choti Bahu through materializing Dev and Radhika's wedding. The grandma actually wanted her real grand daughter Bishakha to be married with Dev. In order to realize her goal, the grandma played several dirty tricks. On the wedding day she locked Radhika into a room and set it on fire by spreading kerosene oil. As ill luck would have it, instead of Radhika, her real grand daughter Bishakha caught trapped into the fire! But Radhika came in her sister's rescue and got herself seriously burnt. I was rather horrified to witness how caste differences had undermined the human values.
Television drama serials are considered a replica of society. After watching the above mentioned serial, a question naturally arises in the mind--does caste identity matter so much?
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