Malkangiri: In a clear departure from the past, two Malkangiri girls of the primitive Bonda community have not only chosen to live life on their own terms but also refused to marry the men selected by their family members objecting to their drinking habit.
According to reports, Gurubari and Sangita Muduli, two major daughters of Gadua Muduli of Kispada village under Khairaput block, had left home after the death of their mother to earn their livings. They reached the district headquarters town and started working in a hotel as labourers.
However, it didn’t go down well with their family members. Lachhmi and Buda, two brothers of the girls suddenly reached the hotel where they were working and tried to take them along forcibly Wednesday. The family has already completed the engagement of the girls as per Bonda rituals. The sister-in-laws of Gurubari and Sangita who came with their husbands argued to take the girls along. According to Bonda tradition, the girls are to be sent to their in-law’s house after their engagement to solemnize the marriage, the brothers said. “The villagers would kill us if the marriage procedure is not completed,” Buda said, in his bid to convince his sisters.
On the other hand, Gurubari and Sangita said the men with whom their marriages have been finalised remain drunk and their post-marriage lives would be spoiled. “We don’t want to marry the men selected by our family members and want to earn for ourselves remaining in Malkangiri,” the siblings said.
Meanwhile, police reached the scene and took the family including the girls to the police station to investigate the matter.
The girls would be sent to a short stay home in the town and Mudulipada police would take up the matter, said IIC of Malkangiri police station. PNN
