The Bihar government has come up with a new video aimed at those who still think that a marriage cannot happen without exchange of dowry.
The video shows a ‘chheka’ going on. For those not aware, ‘chheka’ is a function where a would-be groom gets formally engaged with the would-be bride following a small puja. It is an equivalent of the ring ceremony.
In the video, the families are seen discussing the date of the wedding with a pandit, following which the father of the boy hints at dowry by saying, “dulhe raja ka izzat kaise kar rahe hain, oo toh dikhaaiye (how are you planning to give respect to the groom, show us).”
And then comes the twist in the tale when the father of the bride asks his son to get the offering for the groom. His son comes with a tray covered with a yellow piece of cloth. Much to the shock of the groom side, the tray is full of coins that are not in use.
Agitated by this, the father of the groom lashes out at the hosts, saying this is “khota sikka”, but pat comes the reply from the girl’s father – “even your son is a khota sikka, he is asking for dowry despite being educated”, and asks the groom, “don’t you feel ashamed”.
But the groom is certainly not a “khota sikka”, and he asserts the same by asking he dad – “I had told you that I don’t want dowry. Why don’t you listen to me?” With a happy ending, the families decide to go ahead with the wedding without any dowry.
In association with UNICEF, the Bihar government released the video in October.
