Where Does She Belong?: Theatre Script (Paperback)

Every day when we listen to the TV news or read the local newspaper, we come across the news of a few suicides. Such pieces of news seldom shake us; we just consider how the statistics change over time and across the countries. Sometimes, we discuss that the youth of today are irresponsible and emotional. Only when a suicide happens in our own family we are shocked by the tragedy and try to find out the root cause of youth suicides, as attempts have been made in the drama 'Where Does She Belong?'As he does in the early hours of every day, a father gets up from the bed and walks to the toilet. He stands shocked and devastated at the entrance of the toilet - his daughter has hanged herself from a ceiling kook, her body is suspended by the neck and is not supported by anything. The father stands dumbfounded, with his shoulders he tries to support the daughter's feet, but no response is received from her still body; her feet are cold and hard. The father doesn't know what to do next; he rushes out of the house and calls his neighbours for help, for getting the ambulance and the police.Why has she hanged herself to die? What has killed all her inspiration to live? Why have the age-old traditions have compelled her to marry? Why is the marriage so important in her life?History tells us, at one time slave trading was considered no different from trading other goods and services. Just as bulls and cows, horses and mares were traded between people; men and women could also be captured and traded. In the early ages of civilisation, it was customary to invade neighbouring countries and capture prisoners of both sex and of various ages and use them as slaves. History tells us that many kings, emperors and nawabs had followed these practice; these slaves were seldom treated as humans, who could have feelings, likes and dislikes. If we look at the tradition of marriages, it was started as a way of getting woman slaves, not just by kidnapping and capturing from the road but by negotiating with the parents of the young woman. The man getting the woman slave for life used to be termed as the groom and the woman slave used to be termed as the bride. Later, as people became more civilised the slave trade has been despised as a crime and the tradition of marriages were started so that no individual is exploited but more than one person.Inequality between the man and the woman is diminishing rapidly and the women are getting more and more capable to maintain the livelihood of the families. The Hindu marriage joins two individuals for life, so that they can pursue Dharma (duty), Artha (possessions), and Kama (physical desires). It is a union of two individuals as spouses, and is recognized by law. In Hinduism, marriage is followed by traditional rituals for consummation.This theatre script asks one important question on the tradition of marriage and the laws that support this tradition. With whom could a woman love to join for life? Can a woman be happy with a single man? Can a man be happy with a single woman? If a woman likes more than one man, whom would she select as her partner?