Girls in Bilaspur village need to ‘learn biri-making’ to get married

RAIGANJ: B’ for ball, ‘C’ for cat is not the popular childhood lesson for a girl child here. It is ‘B’ for biri and ‘C’ for currency.

This is the ground reality of Bilaspur village under the Karandighi block of North Dinajpur. Expertise in biri-making is the most important criterion for girls of Bilaspur to get a suitable groom for marriage rather than education or any other qualifications.

It is a matter of great anxiety and stress for parents of girls who do not want to learn the art of biri-making. Biris are hand-rolled mini cigars with tobacco rolled in Tendu leaf.

Rasheda Begam, an old lady and a veteran biri-maker of the village is quite open about her reactions. When asked whether it is true that girls of this village don’t get married if they don’t learn to make biris?

She replied: “It is good for

girls to learn to make biris from an early age. Who will marry them otherwise?”

Arifa Bibi (name changed), a 26-year-old who passed the school-level exams stated: “Everyone looked up to me as I used to go to school to study. However, no one was willing to marry me as I had not learnt the art of biri making. Finally, I had to learn it for marriage.”

It’s the same story with every adolescent girl in Bilaspur. A girl who can make the maximum number of biris in a day will get the best groom.

Aged 14, Reshma Khatun (name changed) said that when she was going to school, her parents were anxious about her future. Now, after she started learning biri-making they are relieved.

Biri makers are paid Rs 170 to Rs 200 for a thousand biris. The economy of the entire village along with adjacent villages largely depends on this.

North Dinajpur District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Mina said: “We will arrange for an awareness drive for girls there.” There are many welfare schemes of the West Bengal Government like Kanyashree to promote education

among girls.