Jyamagha was the youngest in the Yadava line, and so, driven away by his older brothers, he left home with his wife Chitra-Shaivya in search of his own fortune. Despite offers, Jyamagha never married again and was reportedly very besotted with Shaivya (except that one time later, but that's a different story, and I am ignoring it).

Together, they build a new city on the banks of Narmada and name it Mrittikavati. When their kingdom grows, they name it Vidarbha, after their son.

Shaivya was renowned for her physical strength, and I would not be surprised if this scene happened for them at least once.

I wish my scheduling had permitted me to watch more than one Marathi film this year, but the one I did watch was very good!

It was called स्थळ [sthaḷ] ("A Match"), and it was directed by Jayant Digambar Somalkar.

The film is set in rural Maharashtra - specifically in the region known as Vidarbha. The Wandhares, a family of cotton farmers, are desperately trying to marry off their daughter Savita, who, apart from being uninterested in arranged marriage, has a desire to study sociology and enter the civil services.

I found that the film arrayed a variety of emotions, starting off light and humorous and gradually deepening in its seriousness.

The core focus of the film is the rigidity of oppressive, patriarchal social structures in rural India and how impossible it is for individuals - both those rebellious and those complicit - to break free.

I really enjoyed the performances in the film, especially lead actor Savita Chikte, who I thought was effortlessly charming. I think the film is a 3.5/5 overall, so I really liked it and I would recommend it as one of the better Marathi films to watch!

Of special note is the authenticity of the language used in the film, which is the Vidarbha dialect of Marathi. The director is himself from this region, and so he sought to capture the language as well.

I was too engrossed to make notes on the dialect, but I noticed an increased smattering of Hindustani words, and also the use of राहणे [rāhṇe] (to stay) as a copula. For instance, the Marathi phrase "What have you done?", हे काय केले? [he kāy kele], may be rendered as हे काय करून राहिले [he kāy karūn rāhile].

She is a local woman hailing from the Vidarbha region who is brought to the new King Jyamagha and his wife Shaivya once her kingdom loses its independence.

She is married to Vidarbha, the much younger son of Jyamagha. Her sons include Kratha, Kaishika and Lomapada.