Sama Chakeva : A Worthy Celebration Amid some unanswered Questions
India is a country feasting on festivities. All of its 29 states have their distinct culture and traditional occasion of celebration. Sama Chakeva is one such festival in folk tradition of India. It is celebrated in Bihar which is an eastern state situated in Gangetic plane. The mythological and religious story of this festival traces back to lord Krishna and his family. The festival of Sama Chakeva cherishes the love between brother and sister. In this festival, people show regards towards environment by welcoming winter migratory birds; Brother is presented as a redeemer of sister but, there are many questions shielded under festivity of Sama Chakeva. Who decides the purity of a girl’s character; she herself or the society? Has patriarchy given her any power to defend herself? This story also points towards the basic structure of Indian society in which women sexuality has no expression. In a civilized society bourgeois women represent domesticated side of nature. Negation of sexual needs of a woman is the basic foundation of patriarchal mindset in the whole world. In addition to explaining story and rituals of Sama chakeva, I have tried to analyze the story of Sama from feminist perspective.
