Raghu's Diary

5th August, 2000.

I did not move out of the house. Some visitors came. MH was one of them. He wants me to write a play. There was this girl with him. She wishes to do theatre. It seemed she would produce the  play. The play will be based on a Bhojpuri novel 'Phoolsoonghi'.

Phoolsoonghi literally means the one who smells flowers. It is a bird who keeps moving from one flower to another. The novel is about a prostitute who spurns a rich old suitor. According to Dhelabai, a prostitute is a free soul like Phoolsoonghi bird who cannot be confined to one flower. Quite an interesting comparison. Generally men are compared with free birds or beasts.

 It is a historical novel. A love story set in early British period when the East India Company ruled this country by proxy. The prostitute's popular name is Dhelabai. Her actual name was Gulzaribai. It changed to Dhelabai because in one of her open Mehfils, rival groups of suitors fought for her favour by throwing stones at each other. In Bhojpuri such stone pebbles are known as Dhela. They are roadside pebbles, generally useless but very useful in group fights or in pitched battles with the police. What can be a greater tribute to the beauty of this woman. A name like Dhelabai has a history to it. Everyone cannot have such a name. There are not many women for whom such battles are fought.

There is mention of Chappan Churi also in the same book. I always believed that it was a kind of an adjective for women with irresistible  charms. Chappan Churi was in fact a well known singer from Allahabad according to the novel . Her original name was Janakibai. Her fame had spread far and wide. There were many of her lovers who had not even seen her. One of them somehow managed to reach Allahabad but when he saw her, he was quite disappointed. Janakibai was not his dream woman anyway. Her face was full of small pox marks. The Romeo felt cheated and in a fit of anger he assaulted the famous Tawaif with a Churi or knife. He stabbed her 56 times. Janakibai survived the assault but her name could not survive it. She was named Chappan Churi after that. Janakibai, a  mortal Tawaif, became immortalised as Chappan Churi.

It is such a treat to read a novel written in Bhojpuri. A dialect contains the essence of a culture. I will certainly make a Bhojpuri film. It can win an Oscar. You cannot write a bad script in Bhojpuri. This dialect contains an incredible range of beautiful emotions.

This is the third day of stand off between Rani and me. I think the snow will melt tonight. Such spells do not last longer than this. Let us see.