Title: Rebati
Written by: Fakir Mohan Senapati
Setting: Patapur, a village in Cuttack
Theme: Superstition, Girls Education, Love,
Rebati is the one of the first and major modern Oriya
work by one of the great writer Fakir Mohan Senapati.
The story contains the theme like feminism, girl
education, love and desire, superstition, etc. Story
main theme moves around the protagonist girl Rebati,
who wants to study. Girls and their education are one
of the most controversial issues of Indian history. It
had been 69 years of our independence and we are
living in 21 century where we are talking about the
smart cities and bullet trains. But the other-side
government is forced to run the campaign like “Beti
padhao, Desh Badhao aandolam”. This type of 21-
century campaign shows that till today India did not
totally change on the matter of girl’s education. In
2015, university of Aligarh allowanced that girls are
not allowed to enter into the library.
Rebati is a 10 year old girl, who is very talented and
intelligent. She is good in singing, she sings beautiful
bajans and read shalocks of Bhagwad Gitta etc. She
wants to get education. At the old time, society
declares the separate works and responsibly for boys &
girls. According to society, girls must only learn to
cook, sewing, singing bajan, participate in religious
activity etc. Shayamabandhu is the father of
protagonist girl. His character contains the elements of
modernism. His attitude and nature is different to the
society. He believes that girls have also right to
education so he is in favour of his daughter study and
decide to send her to “village girl’s school” but on the
next side, the grandmother and other peoples of
neighbours were not agree on the Shayambandhu
decision.
Meanwhile, Basudev Mahapatra enters in the village as
a school teacher. Basu, got his graduation degree from
a school of Cuttack and was an orphan so
Shyamabandhu’s wife treat him as his own child. In
response, he also respects and care the family and
family members. He visits the house daily to teach
Rebati. The grandmother didn’t like whatever was
going in the house but Basu never cares about her. A
silent love started to develop between Rebati and Basu
but they never share their emotion with each other.
The peoples of neighbours started talking about the
relation of Rebati and Basu.
Tragedy takes place in the story when village affected
by the Cholera. Shyamabandhu and his wife died one by
one because of the effect of this disease.
Shaymabandhu was the only person of the family who
has all the responsibility so now the family had been
the orphan. The Zamindar overthrew the facilities
given to the family and anyone from the village was not
ready to help the family because they believe that if
they will help them. So then they will also be affected
by the Cholera. The last hope of family was the Basu,
he help the family on every step. The person who
suffered most was Rebati. He was passing through the
sustainable pain of her parent’s death. Then other-side
her grandmother accuse and taunt her that whatever
happened, it was the result of her education or study.
Sometime after, “Basu” who was the last hope of family
also died due to the disease. At the end Rebati also
died, leaving her Grand Maa alone.
