HUMSAFAR: Exploring the idea of a "Ghar kee larkee"

Khirad: Ami  please, ab aap kitchen mein mat jayeey ga. Araam se beth kr chai peyain apnee. 

Apa : Aray beta bethay bethay thak gayee hoon. Mujhey koi kaam bhee krney day. Wasiey bhee saarey kaam tu ne khud sambhal rakhay hain.

Khirad: Saarey kam ho tau chukey hain amee. Salan bhee mein ne charaha diya hai, aur aata bhee mein goondh chukee hoon. Maghrib kee namaaz k baad mein rotian paka loon gee

It is very often (and I say this without exaggerating) that we encounter phrases  that label girls as either, “ghar bananey waalee”, “ghar chalaaney waalee”, “ghar rakhney waalee” or simply “ghar kee larkee”. Interestingly, in  each of these cliché statements the word “house” remains the one constant, like a prefix, inseparable from the being of the women. It fosters an identity and becomes the lens through which one perceives women but also in the way that  women see themselves  as bearing  the responsibilities of the house and more so  “REMAINING” within the house.  In light of the above mentioned quote uttered by Khirad in Humsafar, I couldn’t help thinking how this idea of a “ghar kee larkee” and the role of the domestic space is relevant to Khirad’s character whose existence in the rural domestic setup  in Hyderabad is shaped by the numerous chores “saarey kaam” that she performs. Life out here is busy for women like Khirad as opposed to the city based housed of Mr. Baseerat. Here nothing to be done versus everything that needs to be done by Khirad.

The picturization of  Humsafar  makes the Hyderabad domestic sphere  Khirad’s ultimate priority; the drama opens with her hanging the washed clothes and turning down the narrow passage towards the kitchen. Thus, within the first few minutes the two most important areas of her domestic space; the kitchen and the washing line, are shown.  This is where she is expected to be found and nowhere else. Contrarily, Sarah is hardly picturized within the house except when she is angry or pulls up a childish stunt in her bedroom. She is not bound by the house and is mostly found in her office or at a coffee spot. Khirad on the contrary never leaves the house to meet Batool Khala and her mother engages in home tutoring of students. Here we come across another aspect of Khirad’s domestic life whereby the house is both a private and professional space. However, what I found most striking in the portrayal of her domestic sphere is that more than  a place of work or female confinement, it appears to engender the “right” kind of woman that a grand lifestyle of a city based house fails to do so.  Khirad’s  habit of never lying, being religiously oriented, well mannered, dutiful and caring are some of the good qualities that are amiss in Sarah’s domestic upbringing. One should only look at how her dupatta acts as a garb of integrity. At the same time it is upsetting why the writer seems to  attach the notion of the “right”  girl to the nature of her domestic setup. Why is the Khirad, the “ghar kee larkee” the  good girl in Humsafar? Why is Sarah, the working women shown in a negative light?  It could have been  possible to endow Sarah with some sweetness. After all, Ashar wouldn’t still have married her. In my opinion, the drama conforms to the male mindset, in portraying that a woman cannot and must never detach herself from her domestic sphere, as it is only within  it’s confines of her house that her character remains uncorrupted, intact, moralistic and  virtuous. This may be a pain for all working women who are not Sarah’s at all but it answers as to why Humsafar was popular among many housewives- simply because it exploits  the notion of a “ghar kee larkee” and her domestic life as an INEVITABE reality for all women.