In this new episode of Bolti Kahaniyan, Dipta Bhog narrates ‘Hekdi’, a story by writer Vijaydan Detha. This story is taken from the Hindi translation of his anthology ‘Batan Ri Phulwadi’ published by Rajasthani Granthagar.
This story was told by the river to the waves, the waves to the shores, the shores to the winds, the winds to Biiji and by Bijji to us. Bijji, aka Vijaydan Detha, is a folk storyteller in the village and has a treasure trove of Rajasthan’s folktales.
In the story, when a washerwoman helps him, Thakur starts swearing at her instead of being grateful. He is so conditioned to behave like a Thakur and a man that he forgets he’s standing not on land, but in water—something he is very afraid of. But the river does not know the highs and lows of society—all are equal before it. Soon enough, Thakur’s pride begins to flow down the river, just as he does.
After listening to the story, these questions can be used for facilitating a discussion:
Why do you think Thakur swore at the washerwoman? Why did Thakur feel so bad when called ‘helpless’? When someone offers to help you, do you ask their caste before taking help? Many such questions about caste and masculinity can be discussed by using this story in workshops.
