Mahasweta Devi: A Saga Of Vigor And Compassion

She was an ardent fighter, but her arms did not consist of swords and shields. She had a pen in her hand that wrote prolific pieces. A woman of vigor andpassion, she knew that her contribution to literature would one day make her stand out from the crowd, quite literally. She was Mahasweta Devi, a woman who went on to change history through her thoughtful literary pieces.

Mahasweta Devi, one of India’s foremost literary figures Source: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailypioneer.com%2Ftop-stories%2Feminent-writer-mahasweta-devi-passes-away.html&psig=AOvVaw2cS9BYaZ04a3qTpxXO2O1M&ust=1681848084565000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCLCttL7asf4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

It is always believed that real history is made by ordinary people. We constantly come across the reappearance of the same 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 were 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.

An inspiration to the budding generation of writers, Mahasweta often found her inspiration from the most monotonous days and people in her life. At a point in time, when our country was suppressed and oppressed by the firangis and people of lower castes and unknown tribes faced discrimination, Mahasweta was the one who did not give up. Her determination to bring light to the issues that Dalits and other tribespeople faced made her do wonders in her career. How did she rise to heights where people not only appreciated her works but also supported her cause? Let's find out.

Born to a fantastic pair of litterateurs, she could weave magic in her words from a very young age. After completing her studies at some of the most reputed institutions in India, like Shantiniketan, Visva-Bharati University, and Calcutta University, she knew she would take up the road less traveled. Starting her career with a book that highlighted the life of a woman who was as strong and determined as her, she went on to write wonders. Jhansi Rani, or the Queen Of Jhansi, a book highlighting the life of a legendary fighter and queen, Rani Lakshmi Bai, was loved by many. Written after an in-depth analysis of various research papers, documentaries, historical accounts, and books, Mahasweta finally created her masterpiece.

Life went on, and she never looked back after that. After marrying the famous playwright Bijon Bhattacharya, Mahasweta went on to write more novels, essays, pieces of reportage and editorial pieces, short stories, and children's stories. Awards and honors kept pouring in, adding to her career; she was not impressed with her achievement. She knew that she was born for something more extraordinary, and unless she achieved it, life would always be incomplete for her.

With a direct and stark personality, Mahasweta Devi could never mingle with the fancy cultural circles of Bengal. She felt the need to support the helpless people and drag them out of their misery. By the late 1980s and 1990s, she was a public figure known for supporting the protest against land grabbing, discrimination against Dalits, industry closures, and official suppression of people's rights.

Apart from supporting these social causes, she went on to expand her literary career as well. One of her most extraordinary pieces was Breast Stories. Breast Stories is a series of short fiction portraying the breast as a severe condemnation of an oppressive social structure and an instrument of resistance rather than a sign of beauty, sexuality, or maternity. Mahasweta conducted enormous amounts of research on various tribal communities before drawing their lives on a piece of paper that would amaze generations of writers.

After she began supporting the tribal people, most of her works were protest writings that unceasingly flowed from her mighty pen. Perhaps the main reason behind the change in her writing tone was that in the early 1960s, she was teaching at Bijoygarh College, where women from lower castes came to study. It was during these years that she began her journey of creative writing.

One of her most famous novels based on tribal communities was Chotti Munda and His Arrow. This novel, written in 1980, tackled concerns regarding the role of indigenous peoples on the map of India's national identity. This novel also talks about human rights, and the legitimacy of violent resistance as a final resort.

She was so dear to some tribal groups that she was called 'Ma' or mother by the Kheria tribes and 'Marang Dai' or sister by the Santhals.

Mahasweta started writing at the age of thirteen, but she was recognized at thirty when her first book was finally published. Even after achieving this milestone, she knew that writing stories that readers would enjoy was not her only goal. She knew that her literary voice could bring out those nuances of the society that remain hidden forever.

Devi's works do not play on her readers' emotions. She was direct in her approach to discussing the daily realities of the underprivileged. Her language was straightforward, which is an odd contrast to the complexities of the subjects she discusses. She utilized simple language to engage the reader precisely because she is discussing complicated facts. Her literature allows the reader to examine cultural traditions, social institutions, identity constructions, and sexual roles in contexts with varying power relations. The arrangement of all of them in her stories shows the exploitation of caste, class, and gender distinctions.

One crucial question in our mind is whether people about whom she writes so vividly read her works. Let's look for an answer to this question through an anecdote. One fine day, when Mahasweta was traveling in a rickshaw, the rickshaw puller immediately recognized her and asked her a question that would change his life forever. He asked about the meaning of the word jijibisha (the will to live) in Bengali.

Impressed by his curiosity, she invited him to work in a magazine named Bortika, her Bengali quarterly magazine. This man was Manoranjan Byapari, an ex-Naxalite who taught himself to read and write while serving his punishment in Alipur Jail. Later on, he came to be known as one of the most famous Dalit writers in Bengal's literary history who had written more than a hundred short stories and nine novels about the lives of Dalits. This was not all as Mahasweta went on to inspire many other Dalit writers throughout her life.

The glorious years of Bengali literature ended on 23 July 2016. Devi suffered a major

heart attack and multiple organ failures. At the age of 90, she left for a heavenly abode. An activist, writer, mother, and politician, Mahasweta played these various roles throughout her life with utmost perfection and left a legacy that none could inherit.