Recently, in a Stabroek News letter I wrote:
“…In an article titled “Bidesia: Migration, Change, and Folk Culture” (https://www.iias.asia/sites/default/files/2020-11/IIAS_NL30_12.pdf ) Dr. Badri Narayan Tiwari, Lecturer at the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute in Allahabad (city now called Pyaragraj) Uttar Pradesh, a major part of the Bhojpuri region of India, writes “Bidesia was the affectionate form of address given to the migrants by loved ones who were left behind in the homeland, and so lends its name to the new folk culture that emerged out of this migration, Bidesia folk culture. This folk culture is represented in many forms, such as nautanki (musical theatre), dramas, folk songs, and folk paintings. It is a complete folk culture, or holistic folklore tradition, which developed as an outcome of the vacuum caused by the departure of the migrant Bhojpuris”
Dr. Tiwari’s article continues “It seems that the use of the word bidesia for migrant labourers in Bhojpuri folk songs began after the year 1837, when migration from the region began”. One of the songs, reflecting the lament of loss and grief, translates as “It is neither the train nor the ship that is our enemy but rather the money that compels our husbands to migrate to other lands”. Interestingly, the first batch of indentured Indians arrived in Guyana in 1838…”
Incidentally, Dr Tiwari went to Holland (where digitized records of Suriname indentured are stored) to gain more insight into the “Bidesia” history and culture.
If you have not read Dr Tiwari’s article, you may wish to do so.
Harry Hergash
