Girls for Sale: Kanyasulkam, a Play from Colonial India

Dramatis Personae

In alphabetical order agni-hotra avadhanlu: A Vaidiki Brahmin, traditionally learned in the Vedas who lives in the Brahmin village Krishna-raya-puram. Shorttempered and gullible. asiri: A low-caste man who is a servant at Lubdha Avadhanlu’s house. bairagi: A non-Brahmin religious guru who pretends to have supernatural powers. Smokes marijuana and drinks. Has a following among low-caste people. “Bairagi” means “a person who renounced the world.” He has no given name. bhukta: A Brahmin landowner who appears during the card-playing session at Madhura-vani’s house in Act Five. bucc’amma: A young virgin widow; daughter of Agni-hotra Avadhanlu and Venk’amma. bucc’anna: A low-caste follower of Bairagi. day-meal-woman: A young Brahmin widow who runs a Day-MealHouse (i.e., restaurant, where one pays for each meal) for Brahmin men only. Apparently she has no family to take care of her following the death of her husband, so she cooks for Brahmin men to make a living. Girisam has a secret affair with her. disciple: A student who is learning Sanskrit from Karataka-sastri. Plays girls’ roles in theater. Karataka-sastri dresses him as a girl to marry him to Lubdha Avadhanlu in place of Subbi. He also appears as a religious street singer. His personal name is Mahesam. girisam: A cousin of Lubdha Avadhanlu who is educated in English. Young, handsome, and successful with women. He has a glib tongue and can turn any situation to his advantage. Cons people and lives by pretending to be a very learned and influential man. Dramatis Personae havaldar acc’anna: A retired army man. A high-caste non-Brahmin, nephew of the Village Head. Havaldar is a rank in the colonial Indian army, which has become his title. head constable: Head of the police in Rama-chandra-puram. Neither his name nor his caste is identified. He has a high social status and in all likelihood comes from a high caste; he may be a Brahmin. kamayya: Junior constable. karataka-sastri: Venk’amma’s older brother and Agni-hotra Avadhanlu ’s brother-in-law. He is a Sanskrit scholar and actor who is famous for his role as a clown in Sanskrit plays. kam-bhotlu, kondi-bhotlu: Young adults from Brahmin families. The Bhotlu at the end of the names suggests that they are Vaidikis. lakshmanna: A low-caste follower of Bairagi. lubdha avadhanlu: A Vaidiki Brahmin who is learned in the Vedas. A rich man known to be a miser. Lives in the Brahmin village Ramachandra -puram. madhura-vani: A pleasure-woman in Vizianagaram, probably in her twenties. For most of the duration of the play, she is kept by RamapPantulu , and she moves to Rama-chandra-puram with him. In the end she moves to Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the district. manavallayya: Belongs to the Satani caste of non-Brahmin Vaishnavites . Frequents the village bar in Rama-chandra-puram. minakshi: Young widowed daughter of Lubdha Avadhanlu. poli-setti: A rich merchant in Rama-chandra-puram. Komati by caste. priest gavarayya: Vaidiki Brahmin. Ritualist who performs weddings in Rama-chandra-puram. He also controls spirits with his chants. ramanna: A low-caste follower of Bairagi. ramap-pantulu: A Niyogi Brahmin who is the karanam (hereditary revenue officer) of Rama-chandra-puram. Thinks he cleverly manages village politics. He enjoys good things in life and keeps Madhura-vani as his pleasure-woman. As a Niyogi, he assumes a proud style and demands to be served and respected. saujanya rao: Advocate. Known to be incorruptible, he has staunch anti-nautch principles and is an idealist social reformer. Comes from a Niyogi Brahmin family. 4 Girls for Sale shopkeeper: His given name is Ramam-dasu. He owns the village bar in Rama-chandra-puram and is a shrewd businessman. Comes from an unspecified low caste. siddhanti: Vaidiki Brahmin. Makes birth charts and fixes auspicious times for weddings and other occasions in Rama-chandra-puram. Siddhanti is a professional title indicating that he is an expert in astrology. His personal name is not known. subbamma: (Doesn’t appear on stage.) The second daughter of Agnihotra Avadhanlu and Venk’amma; called Subbi by family members. Her marriage to Lubdha Avadhanlu is the center of action in the play. venk’amma: Agni-hotra Avadhanlu’s wife and innocent village woman. venkatesam: Agni-hotra Avadhanlu and Venk’amma’s son. Goes to high school in...