Social Problems Implied in Old Women

Mahasweta Devi is not only one of the most prolific Bengali authors, but she’s also an important activist. In fact, for Devi, the two seem to go together. As you can probably tell from the titles, she writes about women and their place in Indian society. Some of the characters in her stories are old women living in poverty, and some of them are exploited because of their lack of wealth; however, some of them are middle class (one of them is even college-educated). Regardless of their status, though, they all suffer some kind of mistreatment, whether it’s physical or mental abuse, but not all of them are willing to accept their fate.

Deep Ecological Reading of Mahasweta Devi’s “The Book of The Hunter”: An Eco-Conscious Approach

Deep Ecology is one of the newly emerging areas in ecocritical studies. Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess has coined the word in order to promote ecological consciousness and encourage a feeling of shared identity between humans and the biosphere. Studies in Deep Ecology propose that the human being is just one more among the many species in nature, and not the supreme one; the belief that humanity is somehow exceptional is swiftly leading us towards the anthropogenic depletion of the environment. Mahasweta Devi, a well-respected author and social activist, shows great concern for the health of the ecosystem and its importance for the continuity of the human species, to the extent that a significant amount of her work can be used as apposite study material for eco-critical analysis. The novel considered here, The Book of The Hunter, incorporates salient features of the concept of Deep Ecology. Consequently, the present study reviews the novel with an ecological perspective, all the while discussing the author’s efforts to create eco-consciousness among the readers. The story follows the lives of two couples, the medieval poet Kabikankan Mukundaram Chakrabarti and his wife, and the youngsters Kalya and Phuli. While the novelist aims to capture the different socio-cultural conventions of XVI century rural society (in this Devi acknowledges her debt to Mukundaram’s 1544 epic poem “Abhayamangal”), she nonetheless offers a significant commentary on the deep-seated, beneficent attitude of the forest-dwelling Shabar community of Odisha and West Bengal towards ecological management. At the same time, the author illustrates the effects of the growing number of settlements encroaching upon the forest.

Classism, Casteism and Sexism a Curse in the Life of Dalit Women: A Social and Literary Analysis

Class, caste and, gender systems prevail since ancient times in society. Lot has been said and studied about it but yet society is not free from these stigmas. The division of society on the basis of class, caste, and gender has hindered the progress of society at the same time has treated the lowest castes also known as Dalits or former ‘Untouchables’ as underdogs and have tremendously ill-treated this section in the society. The mainstream has made them marginalized and unheard. Dalit women are triple victims and are the most sufferers in Indian community. Though the Indian Constitution talks about equality, freedom, and justice to all Indian Citizens, irrespective of caste, class, creed, religion, and sex there are many who are not privileged for the same. This research paper focuses on the understanding of class and caste system with addition to Dalit women as the triple victim of class, caste, and gender with the background of social structure in India and Dalit and Non-Dalit writers unveiling their plight and sufferings. Select works of major writers such as Mulk Raj Anand, Munshi Premchand, Mahasweta Devi, Urmila Pawar, will be considered for this research. The research makes the unheard voice of Dalit women reach the masses and ignite the spark of justice and respect for them in society.

Mutant worlds, migrant words: Rabindranath Tagore, Mahasweta Devi and Amitav Ghosh

Drawing upon the insights of Rabindranath Tagore, who coined the term viswasahitya to express his own understanding of comparative literature, this essay resituates translation as the cornerstone for new directions in world literature. While conventional understandings of world literature tend to reconfirm existing power structures and hierarchies, translation opens up the possibility of thinking beyond the national/global binary by interrogating the lines along which such binaries are conceptualized. Translation operates at the borders that are seen to divide cultures, languages, worldviews and geographies. This essay explores the dynamic relationship between translation and world literature within contemporary South Asian writing, through an analysis of heteroglossia, multilingualism and ‘translatedness’ in selected texts by Mahasweta Devi and Amitav Ghosh, opening up larger questions about multilingualism and also about the very discipline of comparative literature. Highlighting the role that translation has historically played in shaping power relations in the world, this paper projects the transformative potential of translation as the key to a radical reconceptualization of a world literature for the future.

Excavation of History and Narration of Subaltern Orality in the Short Stories of Mahasweta Devi

In 1979 Mahasweta Devi had written and published a short story collection in Bengali language. Later, the short story collection had been translated into English by Ipsita Chanda and published in 1998 under the title of Bitter Soil. This paper studies two short stories from this collection of translation, which entitled as Little Ones and Salt respectively. Mahasweta Devi made tremendous contribution to literary, social and cultural studies in this country and she always believed that the real history is made by the ordinary people as she is also a political activist. Both these short stories represent the history of post independent India. Mahasweta Devi’s empirical research into oral history and haunting tales of exploitation and struggle as it lives in the cultures and reminiscences of tribal communities is highly relevant today.

Positioning the Gendered Subaltern: Body, Speech and Resistance in Mahasweta Devi’s Narratives

The postcolonial theory locates subaltern women as ‘doubly effaced’ and distanced from achieving agency to speak and participate in resistance. Due to her diversified colonized identity, much of the critical thought does not see any possibility for subaltern women participating in resistance. This line of argument implies a critical space in which the engagement with problematics inevitably leaves out subaltern women in the emergent resistance discourse. Moreover, such a position is suggestive of perceiving human activity and experience in closed terms and an intent to preserve subalternity. The present paper argues that, if perceived through a wider understanding of the concept of resistance, subaltern women may be seen to achieve agency as they communicate their plight vocally or silently and participate in resistance. Taking inferences from the literary narratives of Mahasweta Devi like Imaginary Maps, Breast Stories, the paper examines the strategies Devi employs to bring marginalized women into resistance and establishes that the ‘body’ emerges not only as a site of oppression but also as an important trope of power and resistance in her stories.

Cultural Inheritance and Subjugation in Mahasweta Devi’s Water

This paper focuses on the cultural inheritance and the Subjugation of the oppressed in Mahasweta Devi’s play, Water (Jal), which was translated by Samik Bandyopadhyay. Mahasweta Devi, a Bengali writer, was a committed social activist, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and winner of many prestigious awards for her contribution to the field of literature and cultural studies. She has written several novels and short stories in her native language, almost half of which were later translated. Her works are based on the marginalised and the oppressed, projecting her concern for the downtrodden. In the play, the basic consent was denied for a particular group of people which in turn exploded into a rebellion.The use of characters, plot construction and structure paves way for the exploration of the conflict between the oppressor and the oppressed. This paper also focuses on the myth and the agrarian society of the post-colonial India in regard to the play.

Voice of Subaltern Souvali in Mahasweta Devi’s After Kurushetra

In the contemporary scenario, Subaltern Studies group brings together the writers, like Amitav Ghosh and Mahasweta Devi who have been frequently associated with subaltern concerns. Mahasweta Devi is a champion of subaltern community and through her works she always indicts and questions the government and other people about the sanctioning of human rights to dalits, tribals, women and children. Mahasweta Devi’s After Kurushetra narrates the stories of women who were subalternized by the kings and queens of Hastinapur. The life stories of these women appeared in the forms of short stories namely “The Five Women (Panchakanya)”, “Kunti and the Nishadin (Kunti O Nishadi), and “Souvali” in After Kurushetra. “Souvali” narrates the story of Souvali who was a dasi working in the royal palace of Hastinapur: She was sexually exploited by Dhritarashtra and gave birth to a son named Yuyutsu. Though Yuyutsu @ Souvalya was not considered by Dhritarashtra as his first son, yet he was allowed by Yudhishtira to give ‘tarpan’ to Dhritarashtra during the time of ‘mahatarpan.’ Souvalya, as a son, had done his duty to Dhritarashtra but Souvali voiced against the oppressions meted on her by the king through her action. She did not adhere to the norms of widowhood after the death of Dhritarashtara for she was never considered by him as his wife.