Mahasweta Devi

Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016)[1][2] was an Indian Bengali
Mahasweta Devi
fiction writer and social activist. Her notable literary works include Hajar
Churashir Maa, Rudali, and Aranyer Adhikar.[3] She worked for the rights and
empowerment of the tribal people (Lodha and Shabar) of West Bengal, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states of India.[4] She was honoured with
various literary awards such as the Sahitya Akademi Award (in Bengali),
Jnanpith Award and Ramon Magsaysay Award along with India's civilian
awards Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan.[5]

Mahasweta Devi
Born
Contents 14 January 1926
Matualalaya, Dhaka,
Early life Bengal Presidency,
Career British India
Literary works Died 28 July 2016 (aged 90)
Social activity Kolkata, India
Personal life Occupation Political activist, author,
Death diplomat
Awards Period 1956–2016
Major works Genre Novel, short story,
Film adaptations drama, essay
References Subject Denotified tribes of India
Bibliography
Literary Gananatya
External links movement
Notable Hajar Churashir Maa
works (Mother of 1084)
Aranyer Adhikar
Early life (The Right of the Forest)
Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in Decca, British India (now Dhaka, Titu Mir
Bangladesh) to literary parents. Her father, Manish Ghatak, was a well-known Spouse Bijon Bhattacharya
poet and novelist of the Kallol movement, who used the pseudonym (1947–1962)
Jubanashwa.[6] Ghatak's brother was noted filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak.[7] Devi's Asit Gupta (1965–1976)
mother, Dharitri Devi, was also a writer and a social worker whose brothers Children Nabarun Bhattacharya
were very distinguished in various fields, such as the noted sculptor Sankha Relatives Manish Ghatak (father)
Chaudhury and the founder-editor of Economic and Political Weekly of India, Dharitri Devi (mother)
Sachin Chaudhury. Mahasweta Devi's first schooling was in Dhaka, Eden
Montessori school (1930) but after the partition of India she moved to West Signature
Bengal in India. Then she studied in Midnapur Mission School(1935). After that
she admitted in Santiniketan from 1936 to 1938. After that she studied in
Beltala Girls' School (1939-1941) and got metric. Then in 1944 she got I.A. from Asutosh College. Then she joined the Rabindranath
Tagore-founded Patha-Bhavana Vishvabharati University in Santiniketan and completed a B.A. (Hons) in English, and then finished
an M.A. in English atCalcutta University.[8][9]

Career
Literary works
Devi wrote over 100 novels and over 20 collections of short stories primarily written in Bengali but often translated to other
languages.[10] Her first novel, titled Jhansir Rani, based on a biography of Rani of Jhansi was published in 1956. She toured the
[3]
Jhansi region to record information from the people and folk songs for the novel.

In 1964, she began teaching at Jadavpur, Kolkata-32 (an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta system). During those days,
Vijaygarh jyotish Ray College was an institution for working-class women students. During that period she also worked as a
journalist and as a creative writer. She studied the Lodhas and Shabars, the tribal communities of West Bengal, women and dalits. In
her elaborate Bengali fiction, she often depicted the brutal oppression of tribal peoples and the untouchables by potent, authoritarian
upper-caste landlords, lenders, and venal government officials.[8] She wrote of the source of her inspiration:

I have always believed that the real history is made by ordinary people. I constantly come across the reappearance, in
various forms, of folklore, ballads, myths and legends, carried by ordinary people across generations. ... The reason
and inspiration for my writing are those people who are exploited and used, and yet do not accept defeat. For me, the
endless source of ingredients for writing is in these amazingly noble, suffering human beings. Why should I look for
my raw material elsewhere, once I have started knowing them? Sometimes it seems to me that my writing is really
their doing.[11]

Postcolonial scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivakhas translated Devi's short stories into English and published three books Imaginary
Maps (1995, Routledge), Old Woman (1997, Seagull), The Breast Stories (1997, Seagull).[12]

Social activity
Mahasweta Devi raised her voice several times against the discrimination of tribal people in India.[3] In June 2016, the Jharkhand
State Government freed the statue of noted tribal leader Birsa Munda upon Devi's activism. The statue showed Birsa in chains as was
photographed by the then ruling British government. Her 1977 novelAranyer Adhikar was on the life of Munda.[3]

Devi spearheaded the movement against the industrial policy of the earlier Communist Party of India (Marxist) government of West
Bengal. Specifically, she stridently criticized confiscation of large tracts of fertile agricultural land from farmers by the government
and ceding the land to industrial houses at throwaway prices. she supported the candidature of Mamata Banarjee in the 2011 West
Bengal Legislative Assembly electionthat resulted in the end of the 34-year long rule of CPI(M).[13] She had connected the policy to
the commercialization of Santiniketan of Rabindranath Tagore, where she spent her formative years. Her lead in the Nandigram
agitation resulted in a number of intellectuals, artists, writers and theatre workers joining together in protest of the controversial
policy and particularly its implementation inSingur and Nandigram.[3]

She is known to have helped the noted writer Manoranjan Bypari to come into prominence as his initial writings were published in
her journal and as prompted by her.

At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2006, when India was the first country to be the Fair's second time guest nation, she made an impassioned
inaugural speech wherein she moved the audience to tears with her lines taken from the famous film song "Mera Joota Hai Japani" by
Raj Kapoor.[14]

This is truly the age where the Joota (shoe) is Japani (Japanese), Patloon (pants) is Englistani (British), the Topi (hat)
is Roosi (Russian), But the Dil... Dil (heart) is always Hindustani (Indian)... My country, Torn, Tattered, Proud,
Beautiful, Hot, Humid, Cold, Sandy, Shining India. My country.[14]

Personal life
On 27 February in 1947, she married renowned playwright Bijon Bhattacharya, who was one of the founding fathers of the Indian
People's Theatre Association movement.[7] In 1948, she gave birth to Nabarun Bhattacharya, who became a novelist and political
critic.[15] She worked in a post office but was fired from there for her communist leaning.[9] She went on to do various jobs, such as
selling soaps and writing letters in English for illiterate people. In 1962, she married author Asit Gupta after divorcing
Bhattacharya.[9]After that she broke up relationship with Gupta in 1976.

Death
On 23 July 2016, Devi suffered a major heart attack and was admitted to Belle Vue
Clinic in Kolkata. Devi died of multiple organ failure on 28 July 2016, aged 90.[16]
She also suffered from diabetes, septicemia and urinary infection.[7]

On her death, Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal tweeted "India has
lost a great writer. Bengal has lost a glorious mother. I have lost a personal guide.
Mahasweta Di rest in peace."[7] Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted
"Mahashweta Devi wonderfully illustrated the might of the pen. A voice of
."[7]
compassion, equality & justice, she leaves us deeply saddened. RIP

Awards
1979: Sahitya Akademi Award (Bengali): – Aranyer Adhikar (novel)[17]
1986: Padma Shri for Social Work[18]
1996: Jnanpith Award – the highest literary award from theBharatiya
Jnanpith[17]
1997: Ramon Magsaysay Award – Journalism, Literature, and the
Creative Communication Artsfor "compassionate crusade through art
and activism to claim for tribal peoples a just and honorable place in Mahasweta Devi Memorial unveiled
India’s national life."[2][19][20] at Adivasi Academy ofTejgadh,
2003: Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres[21] Gujarat
2006: Padma Vibhushan – the second highest civilian award from the
Government of India[17]
2007: SAARC Literary Award[22]
2009: Shortlisted for theMan Booker International Prize[23]
2010: Yashwantrao Chavan National Award[24]
2011: Banga Bibhushan – the highest civilian award from theGovernment of West Bengal[25]

Major works
Devi's major works are as listed below:[26]

Jhansir Rani (1956, biography)

The Queen of Jhansi, by Mahasweta Devi (translated by Sagaree and Mandira Sengupta). This book is a
reconstruction of the life ofRani Lakshmi Bai from extensive research of both historical documents (collected
mostly by G. C. Tambe, grandson of the Queen) and folk tales, poetry and oral tradition; the original in Bengali
was published in 1956; the English translation by Seagull Books, Calcutta, 2000, ISBN 8170461758
Hajar Churashir Maa (1974, novel)
Aranyer Adhikar (1979, novel)
Agnigarbha (1978, short stories collection)
Murti (1979, short stories collection)
Neerete Megh (1979, short stories collection)
Stanyadayani (1980, short stories collection)
Chotti Munda Evam Tar Tir (1980, short stories collection)
Film adaptations
Sunghursh (1968), Hindi film based on short storyLayli Asmaner Ayna[27]
Rudaali (1993)[28]
Bayen (HindI) (1993)a film based on Short story Directed by Gul Bahar singh
Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa(1998)[28]
Maati Maay (2006), Marathi film based on short storyDaayen[28][29]
Gangor (2010), Italian film based on short storyCholi Ke Peeche[28]
Ullas (Bengali film based on three short stories—Daur , Mahadu Ekti Rupkatha and Anna Aranya Anna Aranya)),
produced by Sankar Sarkar, directed by Ishwar Chakraborty, released in 2012.

References
1. Detailed Biography (http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/BiographyDeviMah.htm)Ramon Magsaysay
Award.
2. John Charles Hawley (2001).Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies(https://books.google.com/books?id=tQILKOwnX
-0C&pg=PA142). Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 142–.ISBN 978-0-313-31192-5. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
3. "Tearing the curtain of darkness"(http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/mahasweta-devi-tearing-the-curtain-of-dar
kness/article8922158.ece). The Hindu. 2016-07-31. ISSN 0971-751X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0971-751X).
Retrieved 2016-07-31.
4. "Mahasweta Devi: The Life Immortal"(http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/mahasweta-devi-the-life-immor
tal-gayatri-chakravorty-spivak-2943277/). 2016-07-30. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
5. Datta, Sudipta (31 July 2016)."Tearing the curtain of darkness"(http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/Tearing-the-
curtain-of-darkness/article14517167.ece). The Hindu. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
6. Sunil Sethi (15 February 2012).The Big Bookshelf: Sunil Sethi in Conversation W
ith 30 Famous Writers (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=iPDjseAl0ooC&pg=P A74). Penguin Books India. pp. 74–.ISBN 978-0-14-341629-6.
Retrieved 5 October 2012.
7. "Mahasweta Devi passes away"(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mahasweta-devi-writeractivist-passes-awa
y/article8911291.ece). The Hindu. Kolkata. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
8. Johri 2010, p. 150.
9. Tharu 1993, p. 234.
10. "Who was Mahasweta Devi? Why her death is a loss for Indian readers" (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mahaswet
a-devi-dies-at-90-bengali-writer-social-activist/1/726438.html)
. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
11. Bardhan, Kalpana (1990).Of Women, Outcastes, Peasants, and Rebels: A Selection of Bengali Short Stories
(http
s://books.google.co.in/books?id=1gJog_PRLlIC&pg=P
A24). University of California Press. p. 24.
ISBN 9780520067141.
12. Stephen Morton (2003).Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak(https://books.google.co.in/books?id=y27-uhJSE6IC&pg=P
A14
5). Routledge. pp. 144–145.ISBN 978-1-13458-383-6.
13. Biswas, Premankur (29 July 2016)."Mahasweta Devi, voice of subaltern, rebellion"(http://indianexpress.com/article/i
ndia/india-news-india/mahasweta-devi-author-writer-social-activist-death-2941143/)
. Indian Express. Retrieved
1 August 2016.
14. Johri 2010, p. 153.
15. "Writer Nabarun Bhattacharya passes away"(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/writer-nabarun-bhattachar
ya-passes-away/article6271522.ece). The Hindu. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
16. Staff, Scroll. "Eminent writer Mahasweta Devi dies at 90 in Kolkata"(http://scroll.in/latest/811738/eminent-writer-mah
asweta-devi-dies-at-90-in-kolkata). Scroll. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
17. "Who was Mahasweta Devi? Why her death is a loss for Indian readers" (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mahaswet
a-devi-dies-at-90-bengali-writer-social-activist/1/726438.html)
. India Today. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
18. "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2014)"(http://www.mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/YearWiseListOfRecipient
sBharatRatnaPadmaAwards-1954-2014.pdf)(PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 21 May 2014. pp. 72–94.
Retrieved 22 March 2016.
19. Citation (http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationDeviMah.htm)Ramon Magsaysay Award.
20. Prasad 2006, p. 216.
21. Kurian, Nimi (1 January 2006)."Of ordinary lives" (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-literaryrevie
w/of-ordinary-lives/article3218963.ece). The Hindu. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
22. Haq, Kaiser (14 April 2007)."On Hallowed Ground: SAARC Translation Workshop at Belur, Kolkata" (http://archive.th
edailystar.net/2007/04/14/d704142103101.htm). The Daily Star. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
23. "The Man Booker International Prize 2009"(http://themanbookerprize.com/international/2009)
. Man Booker Prize.
Retrieved 31 July 2016.
24. "Yashwantrao Chavan Award for Mahasweta Devi"(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/yashwantrao-chavan-aw
ard-for-mahasweta-devi/article1532464.ece). The Hindu. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
25. "Soumitra refuses Banga Bibhushan Award" (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Soumitra-refuses-Banga-
Bibhushan-Award/articleshow/20142611.cms). The Times of India. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
26. Tharu 1993, p. 235.
27. Upala Sen (17 April 2016)."The book thief" (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160417/jsp/7days/story_80508.jsp).
Telegraph India. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
28. Devarsi Ghosh (28 July 2016)."Mahasweta Devi, RIP: Rudaali to Sunghursh, 5 films that immortalise the author's
works" (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mahasweta-devi-death-dead-famous-films-rudaali-hazaa
r-chaurasi-ki-maa/
1/726293.html). India Today. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
29. Marathi cinema has been producing a range of serious films..(http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2320/stories/200610
20001908200.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080227051654/http://www .hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2320/s
tories/20061020001908200.htm)27 February 2008 at theWayback Machine. Frontline, The Hindu Group, Volume
23 – Issue 20: 7–20 Oct. 2006.

Bibliography
Johri, Meera (2010). Greatness of Spirit: Profiles of Indian Magsaysay A
ward Winners. Rajpal & Sons. ISBN 978-8-
17028-858-9.
Prasad, Amar Nath (2006).Feminism in Indian Writing in English. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 978-8-17625-684-1.
Tharu, Susie J.; Lalita, Ke (1993).Women Writing in India: The twentieth century
. Feminist Press at CUNY.
ISBN 978-1-55861-029-3.

External links
from the website of Emory University
Mahasweta Devi: Witness, Advocate, Writer – A film on Mahasweta Devi by Shashwati T
alukdar
Mahasweta Devi on IMDb
The Rediff Interview/Mahasweta Devi

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mahasweta_Devi&oldid=820215722

"

This page was last edited on 13 January 2018, at 18:33.

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.