Chapter m

Stories of Mahashweta Devi:

A Never Ending Story
"Being born among the working people
I know that poverty is a hard old hag,
And a monster, when you 're pinched for actual necessities.
And whoever says she isn 't, is a liar."
- D. H. Lawrence
Poverty
 CHAPTER-m

STORIES OF MAHASHWETA DEVI:

A NEVER ENDING STORY

Modem Bengali short stories are known for theirrichquality, variety of subjects and

experimentation in style. The story writer KamalMazumdar may be specially mentioned for

his special style. Sandipan Chattopadhyay, Yasodajiban Bhattachaiya, Manabendro Paul, Sushil

Ray and Mati Nandi are other story writers who have contributed profusely for the enrichment

of Bengali short story. Mahashwetha Devi has taken this genre to the greater height by using it

as an effective means of social change.

All the maj orfictionsand novellas ofMahashweta Devi that have been already discussed

in the preceding chapters are very serious in nature and are highly charged with her ideological

fervour. She does not lose any smgle opportunity to castigate the perpetrators of exploitation

and oppression in the name of caste, class, religion, democracy, development and civilization.

She virtually declares a war on all those who are responsible for the seamy state of affair in the

Post-Independent hidia. She 'prioritizes her urgent human themes' like class, caste, gender,

humanrights,tribal evacuations and so on. She questions and contradicts the dubious claims

of development and success as an independent democratic country.

Mahashweta Devi pursues her ideology with great vigour and determination in some

stories like "Draupadi", "Breast Giver", "Behind the Bodice", "The Hunt", "The

Children", "The Salt", "Dhoulati The Bountiful" etc. But there are many other stories

which bring home the sober side of Mahashweta Devi who looks at the life in a Ughter vein.

They are significant for various other reasons. They throw hght on the problems of the aged,

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the estranged children, hypocracy in the domestic and social life and reveal the master

story-teller in Mahashweta Devi who uses irony, humour, delicacy and warmth, copiously and

effectively. They are not much relevant to our topic under discussion. Therefore, only brief

references are made to them in order to concentrate on the stories that are more relevant.

The stories in the collections like, 7?//Dear/z Do L'is Parr (Five stories) (2001). Our

Non-Veg Cow "And Other Stories" (1998) etc. show an unusually tender side of

Mahashweta Devi who is generally known for her satiric prose and biting indictment of social

inequities. The variety,richnessand an excellent art of telling stores corroborate what Malini

Bhattacharya says "Mahashweta's forte is the long story rather than the novel. Her particular

kind of dialogic talent suits the structure of the former rather than the expanse of the full-scale

noYei:\EPWl003y

There arefivestories in the collection Till Death Do Us Part (2001) that are translated

by Vikram Iyengar. Thefirstone is "The Divorce" (1973). This is an interesting story of an

aged husband and wife, Arshad and Kulsum. They were poor but had peace and content

which made everyone, including Kulsum's two sisters who were rich but had no peace of

mind, jealous ofthem. Kulsum who was called Kuli and Arshad had a son called Hara. He

found ajob with a shipping company after his education. He too got married and had a loving

son. Thus, peace and content reigned the family for several years.

Arshad unexpectedly divorced Kuli once at thefitof an argument over a silly matter of

giving treatment to the grandson when he fell ill. After being divorced, Kuli lived with her

elder sister for some time and later with her younger sister, Duli. Arshad regrets for his act and

feels her absence very much. Therefore, their son Hara and some elders suggest Kuli

to marry hfan Mondal for a few days and he would divorce her to enable her to marry

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Arshad afresh, as it would not violate the religious restrictions. But Kuli refuses the proposal

to the disappointment ofArshad, who sells his house and poultry to become a fakir. Knowing

the matter, Kuli goes back to her home to take possession of her money and

jewellery before the new owner occupies the house. At last, Kuli and Arshad decide to go to

Calcutta and stay in a room without bothering about the gossips and

accusations of others. Anyhow, they do not live as husband and wife anymore, and at the same

time they cannot do without each other. Kuli tells Arshad who cannot walk and see in darkness,

"Hold one end of your stick, I'll had the other. I can't hold your hand any longer!"(8)^

Thus, Mahashweta Devi shows how the customs and religious practices impinge upon

the individual relations. But the inherent human feelings and human relations cannot be disrupted

by the external rituals. It is shown how the aged Kuli and Arshad try to keep then- emotional

relations intact without violating their deep-rooted religious beliefs. It is presented in a very

humorous and lighthearted manner.

"The Saga OfKagaboga" (1986) is a story of Mohini and Sadananda, an aged couple.

Sadananda had left his property and all his precious belongings to his nephew and settled in a

colony beyond Dhubulia. The elder son Ranjan is well settled in life and is living away at

Naihati. The younger son Manoj Kumar is a sought after criminal. Mohini dreamed a comfortable

life and a responsible son. Having lost both, Mohini becomes disappointed and contacts the

talking-to-oneself disease, which causes unhappiness and many quarrels between them. When

her verbosity was obj ected by the irked husband, she vowed to communicate only through the

invisible Kagaboga, and the direct conversation between them ceased.

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 Later, Mohini got her wishes fulfilled with the help of the money she got

by selling the land. When Sadananda fell ill, Mohini breaks the vow and talks directly

to him. Sadananda dies ofmassive heart attack. But Mohini worries that he died because she

had broken the rule of talking through Kagaboga. The tone of irony that pervades

Mahashweta Devi's works is evident when she talks about the craftsman Malandi. She says:

"Malandi is an expert in the manufacture of India's most plentifiil product. He had gifted his

motherland no less than eleven children."(21 f

"The Poet's Wife" (1985) is a touching story of the old blind poet Suprabhat Dutta

Choudhury and his wife Kamal (PrafullaKamal). The poet had a minorjob with the railways

and his only son Swapon too gets a job and lives at Kanchrapara, but keeps no touch with his

parents. The poet has four books to his credit and used to write for many periodicals and was

conferred with the title 'Kavyabharati' in a felicitation ceremony at Midinipur. He is old now

and is known only to the' old fogies'.

The Tarun Sangha of the local youth decides to felicitate the poet along with an artist,

smger and a sportspersonfromthat area. This news exalted the poet with emotion as he had

been leading a poverty ridden secluded life. He dictated the speech which his wife would read

after receiving the felicitation on his behalf She attends the ceremony in a 'borrowed sari'

and a 'borrowed necklace', as she did not have her own, with the great expectation of getting

due recognition and appreciation. To the disappointment of Kamal, neither the speech was

allowed to be read nor could she make her presence felt on the stage in the commotion. The

people were more enthusiastic to have a look at their star singer and the sports person. She

returns home broken hearted, with a citation, an envelope containing Rs. 101, a box of

sweets and a basket of flowers. On being enquired by the eagerly awaiting husband, she

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lies that his speech was appreciated with a big applaxise and his contribution was hailed. But

the cruel indifference ofthe heartless world continues to bum her heart.

Thus, Mahashweta Devi criticizes the lack of seriousness and commitment among the

youth and the lack of decency among the public and their craze for the popular sports stars and

the star singers.

"He Said, Pani" (1995) is a story of the poor Anandi and her companion old Mestiri.

Anandi's only son Bupi is a wastrel. He comes home only to eat and sleep. His bad habits and

carelessness estranged his wife. Anandi has been slogging to pay off the mortgage on her

house. She manages everything alone at home, after working as a part-time maid. Mestiri on

the other hand has two wives. The sons by the first wife live separately, working for the

contractors. Mestiri has to look after his two wives and the two daughters by his second wife.

The daughters are married but are abandoned by their husbands. Unlike Anandi, Mestiri is

prosperous. He is economically sound. But both of them are good friends. Everybody

knows, "Anandi and Mestiri were like the water tank or the over bridge - things that would

always be around."(49)''

The elderly person Mestiri would visit Anandi's house to while away his time after his

days works. He would talk a little, sip tea, eat biscuits and go off. During one such visit, he

slumps to the ground and becomes ill. He manages only to whisper 'Pani' with great diflSculty.

He dies after drinking a few drops of water that Anandi pours mto his mouth. While she

mourns the sudden and unexpected loss of her only friend and also the loss of the simple

pleasures of their companionship, the insensitive policemen interfere and suspect her in the

incident. They raise many questions regarding her links with the old man which hurt her more.

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 Thus, Mahashweta Devi is critical ofthose people who cannot understand the innocuous

friendship that existed between Anandi and Mestiri. They are too mean to expect the

possibility of such a simple and human relationship between a man and a woman. It shows the

unhealthy mental make up of the persons who always look the world through the 'colored

glass'. Mahashweta Devi exposes the 'prejudices' that exist in the society regarding man-

woman relation.

"Love Story" (1963) exposes the hypocrisy of the relatives and friends of a dead

playwright to which Kusum, the ageing actress, singer and the devoted lover of the deceased

becomes a mute witness. Some of the plays that the playwright had written were highly

acclaimed but later he receded into the background. ShefaU who is known as Kusum was a

much-sought-after actress and an opera singer. She remained a devoted lover ofthe playwright

for thirty years. Enraged by this relation, his relatives and well-wishers distanced themselves

from him. His daughter got married without informing him. The daughter and the son-in-law

were too ashamed even to refer to him. During the last four years of his life, when he was

bedridden, Kusum and the maidservant had to sell everything for his medicines. It was a

miserable straggle to make both ends meet.

When he dies, his relatives and well-wishers make a big show ofmourning with lengthy

speeches and large garlands. Some of them arrange a presentation of his play in his memory

with the help of Kusum. But they ignore Kusum throughout without mentioning her anywhere.

They merely talk of the playwright and his achievements. Even the reviewers, who appreciated

the playwright, had forgotten to refer to mention Kusum who was the real inspiration behind

his success. This hypocrisy of the people around hurts Kusum more than the death of the

playwright, her lover.

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 Thus, these stories which appear in the collection Till Death Do Us Part (2001)

present five ageing men and women living as husbands, lovers and fiiends. Though the

stories here look very sober and tender, Mahashweta Devi does not forget to expose the

hypocrisy, selfishness and narrow mindedness of the people around us.

The stories in the collection/« The Name Of The Mother (2004) reveal Mahashweta

Devi's interest in the idea ofmotherhood. This aspect ofmatemal idea is presented with diverse

figurative constructions in The Breast Stories (1997) which will be discussed towards the end

of this chapter.

In the four stories in this collection, Mahashweta Devi perceives a clever and calculated

move of the patriarchal society behind the traditional deification of motherhood. The

intention is to contain her freedom and right to articulate her individual needs and desires.

Deification ofmotherhood and associating the image ofmother with the concept ofmotherland,

mother nature and mother tongue has a long tradition in India. The hypocrisy that exists behind

the discourse of motherhood and the paradox of the myth of mother's divinity based on self-

denial and self-sacrifice is exposed in these stories. The issue of women's oppression is not an

isolated one. It is a part of the larger issues of social exploitation. Mahashweta Devi does not

forget to recognize the value of genuine motherhood which is a true force behind the self-

empowerment and emancipation of women.

"Ma, From Dusk To Dawn" (1970) is an amazing story of the transformation of an

ordinary woman, Jateshwari into a divine being and the dusk-to-dawn mother of her son

Sadhan. It is set in Kharagpur, West Bengal. Jateshwari belongs to the Pakhmara community

who claun to be descendedfiromJara, the hunter, whose punishment for killing a God had

208
placed them all under a curse. They were forced away from their land and were debarred

from marrying outside the community and were not supposed to have own houses. Violating

these rules Jati married Utsav, a Kandori by caste who weaves fine mats. Utsav, who was

working as a coolie at Kharagpur, died after the birth of Sadhan, the idiot. Jati had to wander

from place to place and had to face a number of problemsfrommen because of her beauty

and attractive appearance. She realized that without donning the armour of the supematural

she would have nothing to protect her. After much thought she became TTza^wrn/(a holy

woman) in order to save herselffromthe eyes of men and to save her idiot son who was just

a year-and-a half old. After assuming divinity, Jati becomes Jati Thakumi during the daytime.

She could be called Jati only during the night. Thinking of Thakumi as a mother, wife or as a

sister was forbidden during the day. Even her son could not call her mother during the day. He

can do so only from simset to sunrise. Thus, she became the dusk-to-dawn mother.

Some tea or ganja and the rice she got from the devotees was used to feed the

insatiable hunger of her son. When she was alive, her 'holy body' subsisted only on Ganga

water. As the narrator says, she died of the 'highly contagious disease of starvation for which

no cure has been found so far in the land of India'. Thus, Mahashweta Devi takes up the issue

of a woman and shows how a woman of a nomadic tribe becomes a spiritual mother by the

circumstances and her so-called mystical powers depend upon her denial of maternal affection

towards her own son, during day-time,fronically,she is exploited in both roles. In the role of

the holy Thakumi, she had to help those who sought her, and as the dust-to-dawn Ma she had

to use all the rice she got to feed the ever-hungry son. He even does not leave the rice to give

the priest to perform the last rites of his mother. His hunger was so strong. Getting exploited

is certain for a woman whatever may be the role she plays in life. Thus, here Mahashweta

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Devi shows another face of exploitation of women in our society.

"Sindhubala" (1971) is a moving story which reveals the anguish of a woman who is

forced to play the role of a divine healer by her mother, at the cost of her ovm physical and

emotional needs. Sindhubala who was bom with her feet first was the daughter of a

mason who dreamed of becoming a builder. The girl was ugly in appearance. After her father

died in an accident while working, her mother got her married to Sanneshi, the son of a mason.

Tempted by the prospect of getting more money andj ewellery, her mother-in-law made Sanneshi

discard Sindhubala and many a new bride.

While Sindhu's mother was struggling to survive, Manudasi's discovery of devangshi

in Sindhu provided a means of exploitation to Sindhu's mother. Sindhu was called upon to

save the lives ofinnumerable offsprings of other people with her holy kicks without getting

any chance to fulfill her own physical and emotional needs. Her mother managed everything

like a shrewd businessman. Her 'divine revelation' went on uninterrupted until Sanneshi's son

by his second wife died after receiving her 'divine touch'. After being exposed with that

incident, Smdhu stopped her practice irrespective of the criticism by others. The realization

dawns on her at last. The narrator questions the propriety of leading a life ofpretension in the

foUovmig words "Ifyou're human, you must bum. If you're holy, then too you must bum. If

life has the same end for both, then why should the woman Sindhu spend her days pretending

tobeaGoddess?"(44)5

Thus, Sindhu Mves like afiuitlesstree craving for the fiilfilment that her ugly appearance

had placed beyond her reach.After being discarded by the husband and exploited by the

mother, Sindhu realised the hoUowness of her divinity which is based on self-denial. But it was

210
too latcMahashweta Devi here focuses on another way of exploitation ofwomen in the society.

"Jamunabati's Mother" (1972) is one of the serious stories of Mahashweta Devi that

offers a stringent critique on the society which considers the margmalized like Jamunabati's

Mother (1972) as 'redundant', 'expendable' and 'are just garbage locking the path to success'.

It also criticizes and exposes the modem consumerist society which is unsympathetic even to

the simple needs of the poor people and considers them as the blot on the beauty of the cities.

Jamunabati's Mother and father, who belonged to the poorest section of the society,

do lowly works for their livelihood. Both were thin and timid. They were not in a position to

provide nutritious food to the only loving daughter. She too grew thin and was not healthy.

The mother's desire to get a doll, a red dress and the nutritious foods for her child remained a

dream. The money she collected with great difficulty to buy a doll had to be spent for her

treatment and by the time she collected money for the red dress the child died. The simple

desire remained unflilfUled.

The tone of narration is ironical throughout. The narrator ironically asks the planners

and the scientists, if it is not possible for them to rid ofpoverty. Why should they notfindout

measures to rid of the poor people themselves ? The narrator remarks:

"Now it seems that without getting rid of her, others like her, this city,
this country, this life will never look beautiful. Because they exist,
there are so many obstacles in the path of progress. It seems that,
for people like her, some immediate, emergency measures are
necessary. With so many scientists, so much planning, such a lot of
gas and so many chambers — was it not possible to arrange
something?"(55)^

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 The question the story poses is a challenge to the planners and the managers. It forces

the votaries of development into a soul-searching exercise. Apartfrombeing a stringent critique

of the heartless consumerist society, this story exposes the false claims of success and

development by the planners, scientists and other agencies whose years of deliberations have

been making the marginahzed more and more impoverished, resulting in a lopsided society.

"Giribala" (1982) is a story that deals with the phght of an innocent poor village woman

whose two lovely daughters were sold into thefleshtrade by their own father to materialize his

dream of building a house. Giribala, an ordinary girl of Talsana village in the Kandi

sub-division (Murshidabad district, West Bengal) was married to Aullchand, after taking due

bride-price. Aullchand, the ganjafiendhad no land or property of his own but solemnly

yearned to have his own dwelling. Giribala's parents had no clear idea about Aullchand's state

of affairs.

Giribala gave birth consecutively to four female children; Belarani, Paribala, Rajiv and

Maruni. Mohan, a pimp, had predicted Aullchand that he would get only male issues after the

fourth girl. But Guibala chose to have an operation to sterilize herself This act ofher enraged

her husband. She suffers a thorough beating by him. She had to pay penalty for her failure to

produce male offspring. Being obsessed with male offspring, Aullchand claimed therightto

sell off all the four daughters as an act of retribution for not giving birth to the male children.

Aullchand, in connivance with the bohemian vagabond, sold hisfirsttwo daughters

one after another for a few crisp hundred rupee notes. It was a part of common widespread

racket, the girl-trafficking business. The desperate Giribala raised a hue and cry and sought

everybody's help in vain. Nobody could do anything as the father himself got his daughters

212
sold in the garb of marriage. The helpless people could only say, "A giri's by fate discarded,

lost if she is dead, lost if she is wed. And your fate, no different."(77)^. At last, to the amazement

of every one Gin went to the town leaving her husband behind, to work as a maidservant and

to bring up her remaining children. Everyone disapproved this act of Gin. They started to

behave as if they were convinced that it was not Aullchand but Giribala who's at fault.

Thus, Mahasweta Devi takes our society to task for practicmg gender discrimination

and thereby encouraging the racket of girl-trafficking by the pimps. Though late, the

empowerment of Giri, at last, gives an optunistic end to the story.

The four stories in the collection Bait (2004) give us an idea of the transformation that

had taken place in the Bengali underworld during 1960s and 70s. It, in tum, brought about

changes in the social psyche of the Bengali population, leading to the criminalization of the

political scene. In these stories, Mahasweta Devi captures the police-criminal-politician nexus

that prevailed during those days in Bengal. It reflects on the Naxalite Movement and the

anti-Naxalite offensive by the police which was rather machiavellian. The police also

launched the dkect onslaught by recruiting local young hitmen tofinishoffthe Naxalites in their

respective localities. How the police used to manipulate the underworld criminal gangs or

eliminate them according to political situations and other socio-political trends ofthe time are

veiy vividly presented in these stories. By using slang ofthe underworld, distinctive pseudonyms,

titles and euphemistic terms the writer has added a touch of reality to the stories. Regarding

this SumantaBanerjee, the translator of these stories opines:

"It is these hoodlums and desperados, the derelicts and drifters of the
Bengaali underworld as well as their political patrons and protectors
in the police, whom Mahasweta brings to life with her caustic pen
in the pages of these stories. As she pillories the respectable

213
 representatives of power in our political system who sustain this
underworld, she offers us the extraordinary chance to watch a lifelike
effigy of the bizarre structure of Indian democracy burning in the
background."(XXII)8

The story "Fisherman" (1973) is linked withNaxalite movement in West Bengal. At a

time when the pohtical scene v^as getting increasingly criminalized in West Bengal during 1960s

and 1970s, the ruling politicians and the administration made a tactful move to destroy the

emerging Naxalite movement. They took the help of the underworld for the purpose.

Mahashweta Devi makes no mention of the Naxalites. But the intrigue and suspense that goes

into the ruthless anti-Naxalite offensive laimched by the police in those days, looms large over

this interesting story.

At a time when Jagat, the fisherman had no fish to net, found a work which was

enigmatic but more profitable. The local police found his expertise very useful in

retrieving the bodiesfromthe Raypukur tank. Jagat would get seven rupees per corpse. He

is ignorant of why the young men drown in the tank in such a large number.He wonders why

people have become indifferent to such ghastly murders. Later, it comes to his realization that

the last resort of all those boys who disappear often from the locaUty would be the bottom of

the tank. The value of money and human life had become cheap.

In the course of time Jagat becomes a part of the tangled web of the criminal world.

He was confidant of mobilizhig required amount of money for his son's business. His son

Abhay had undergone technical education. Both the father and the son remained ignorant of

each other's activities. Everything became clear to Jagat whenAbhay was also killed. Daroga

babu's dead body, that was found in the tank, was tied to his bicycle with Abhaya's Gamchha.

People who are familiar with Bengal of 1970s, easily come to know that the dead bodies
214
dumped into the tank are of those boys whom the poUce suspected to be NaxaUtes and are

killed in suspicious manner. The narrator ironically says that the police treated the Naxalites

as, "more dangerous than tigers in the forest, more deadly than snakes in their holes."(4)'. It

was a common practice to kill the suspected Naxalites and their sympathizers in a surreptitious

manner and dispose then bodies in some distant places. They would be added to the list of

unaccounted murder.

Thus, Mahashweta Devi revives all the intricacies of criminal and inhuman acts that

Bengali society witnessed during 1970's in the name ofNaxalite and anti Naxalite movements.

The story "Knife" (1985) is a graphic account of gang warfare in Anantapur, a suburban

town of West Bengal, bordering Bangladesh. It evokes the trauma the BengaU society was

undergoing during 1980 's. The system had used Naxalites during 1970's. Those gang lords

started demanding their duesfromtheir political patrons and the police during 1980's. The

criminal activities ofthe underworld gangs continued to thrive by unleashing horror and anarchy

into the society. As a result the underworld had not only come out in the open but also

dominated the social life. Mahashweta Devi exposes the unholy nexus of the gang lords -

police - politician troika. In the underworld slang, the ganglords are called Mastaans or

controllers. The five Mastaans - Germany, Sachcha, Baba, Bota, Paolan - virtually ruled the

small border town of Anantapur. They used to extort their share in every transaction and

harassed the public. Germany enjoyed the tacit support of the poUce who expected him

to snuff out the remaining four controllers. So the police did not take a serious note of their

ghastly activities and inter-gang warfare.

The thirteen-year-old girl of Hamid was raped and murdered by Germany. He was

215
left scot-free by the police. Instead, a poorrickshawpuller was arrested. Explosions and

murders had become almost a routine. When the situation reached an intolerable stage, the

public formed a Citizens Committee in the town. They took the law into their hands, caught

Germany's miscreant followers red handed and thrashed them thoroughly. Enraged by the act

of the Citizens Committee, Germany, the policemen's goonda planned to remove Akhil Babu,

the elderly leader of the committee. He would like to execute the plan with the help of Hamid,

an expert knifer. But Hamid avenged his daughter's murder by killing Germany at an opportune

time. People celebrated the end of the Mastaan Raj but the Thana Babu (police officer) was

unhappy as he could not save Germany.

Thus, Mahashweta Devi gives a vivid account of how the Bengali society suffered

under the goonda raj during 1980s. At the same time she hints at the rise of the people's

power. The story becomes more vivid with her use of the lexicon of the Bengali underworld.

The use of certain nomenclature shows her perfect knowledge ofthe ways and habits ofthe life

of the underworld. The names like Sachcha and Paolan are the distorted forms of' Sacha'

(honest) and 'Palowan' (wrestler). She uses the terms like 'freedom', 'struggle', 'controllers',

'action', 'Mastaan'and so on euphemistically. They are elevatedfromtheir derogatory meaning.

The role-played by Malati, the whore is very significant. She became a 'repository of

the town's news'. By hiding the stolen goods and by sheltering the gangsters who were on

the run, Malati acted as a hnk between the police and the underworld. She played a significant

role in bringing about the downfall ofthe notoriovis gang lord, Germany.

hlheextiEmely condensed stoiy''Bo(fy''(1972),MahashwetaDevi reflects on various crirninal

activitiesfcatwmtonunint)aiv5)tedbaiea(h1hesemiing^calmarKiga^

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 Ketaki, who is called 'girl', is the daughter of the tribal parents who were hanged for

committmg several murders. She grew up and studied in the Government institutions and later

took to the act of filching. Once when she was caught by the police, a man called M, 'an

operator' rescued her. Later, he supplied her to Nripati. It was his chosen busmess to supply

girls to such men. Nirpati was a typical politician, always talking about the ways and means of

reviving this nationfromits ignominious, death-like stupor. He was always yelling on behalf of

the' common man'. But he had nursed an intense fascination for ugly faces with beautiful

bodies and found the perfect combination of his choice in the girl. He had maintained fifteen

separate flats forfifteenseparate girls. "The girl' gave shelter to Anupam who was on the run.

Nripati, Anupam and M. used her as a secret agent. All the intrigues and underworld' operations'

were woven around her body which was her only asset. She expressed a sense of protest, an

ultimate protest against the patriarchal establishment by destroying her body, the only asset she

had.

Thus, Mahashweta Devi, in this very mteresting narration, hints at the emergence of a

new class of call girls moving with the higher ups in metropolitan society like, Calcutta and

carry out, their' operation' in a more subtle and sophisticated manner, by using that links with

both the police and the criminals.

"Killer" (1987) is a story ofAkhil aUas Sona, a twenty sbc year old unemployed youth

who became aprofessional killer and killed thirtyone young boys in two years. He did it at the

behest of his master, Anupam Mitra. Rajan's case was Sona's first lesson. After that he

discovered himself. He discovered his true identity of a killer. Then he never looked back.

His 'profession'went on uninterrupted until the peasant SajadMandal's 'case'. In that incident

217
Sona had been attacked unexpectedly which left him partially deaf. At the same time, he

received a terrific beatingfromKhoka and Taju who left his both arms disabled for a long time.

The two incidents convinced Sona that he was taken over by the 'professionals'. He was

advised to' stay off' and he also perceived a great danger and threat to his life. Hence, he left

Calcutta to stay for sometime in Coochbehar. This shows that the desperate urge for self-

protection beats within a killer too, just as in everyone else.

Anupam Mitra, who had been performing various social works and had widely travelled,

could easily envisage the danger if Sona lived. Sona had carried out all the thirtyone killings at

his behest. He would remain an authentic witness to all the crimes committed by Anupam

Mitra. So he planned to sacrifice Sona just for the sake of leaving no witness to his evil deeds.

He took the help of a young boy who had started mucking about with Anupam's favourite

Basanti.

Sona was summoned to Calcutta and was told to wait at Satish Patra's Garden. There

he was cornered by the boy with a knife and other four men. The interestmg thing in the story

is that thefanulyof Sona,the 'pre-university fail', unemployed son, never bothered about the

sourcefi-omwhere he was getting so much of money, histead, they treated him like a rare

gem and played the game ofhide-and-seek. The 'profession' gained so much of sophistication

in the hands of 'professionals' that they managed to publish the report of a crime in the

newspapers before the vans (police vans) could reach the scene of crime. The use of the

underworld slang like 'case', 'profession', 'business', 'job', 'contract', 'record' and so on

gives a touch of reality and vividness to the story. It once again refiects Mahashweta Devi's

knowledge ofthe life ofthe underworld and its very compUcated network.

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 "Wrong Number" And Other Stories (Seagull, 2005) is the collection of four

stories where we find Mahashweta Devi's usual theme of exploitation of the poor low-caste

people by the rich. She also highlights the failure ofthe system in givingjustice to the marginalized

as per the provisions of our constitutions. She criticizes the police-landlord nexus, the violence

in front of Gandhi's statue and in places named after him, the money mania of the heartless

society and so on. The problems of the parents in Calcutta whose educated young children

had become victims of the socio-political changes during 1960's and 1970's are also revealed

in these stories. In her inimitable manner, Mahashweta Devi brings us face to face with the

reality of oppression and repression that haunts our country.

"Wrong Number" is the story of a middle-class father who lived in Calcutta. But he

found himself in a wrong place, cherishing wrong hopes, as the things went on too fast to

cope up with. This was the experience of many parents of middle-class families in

Calcutta during 1960s and 1970s. Their educated young boys were being attracted

more and more towards the radical movements like Naxalism. They used to keep their

parents in darkness about their activities. Hence, their death would bring their parents anguish

and shock, as they would not be prepared mentally to receive such unexpected and painful

news.

Dipankar, the only child of Tirtha Babu and Sabita, did not keep them abreast with his

activities. They had believed that their son Dipankar was in Lucknow with his cousin Niren.

They thought that he was plaiming to get admission into a Delhi College. At the same time

there had been a fearful doubt that disturbed them. They did not know why neither of them

had not vmtten to them. They stayed away without informing the parents about their

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whereabouts. They knew that the place was not safe and the time was not good. ' Calcutta

was missing Calcutta'. The spirit of Calcutta vanished after leaving behind only the buildings,

houses, maidan, the monuments and other extemal trappings to the city. Every one welcomed

death with sheer indifference and unclaimed bodies used to pile up in the morgue.

Tutha Babu had a natural hope that his son would stay with him and share his miseries

and pains. People like him fovind it very difficult to come out of the strong and deep-rooted

impression of the traditional Calcutta and accept the hard realities which the city became

witness to. Hence, the shrill ring of the telephone in the depths of night increased the anxiety of

Tirtha Babu, leading to his nervous disorder. He refiised to face the fear that his son might have

been killed. When he received the message of his son's death, through the telephone, he

defied it by saymg that it was a 'wrong number'. He experienced hallucination about his son.

Mahashweta Devi very effectively brings out the agony and uneasiness of the parents

whose mind is caught between love, affection and hope for the only child on the one hand and

the hard reality of educated young men getting attracted towards Naxalism, and being killed in

the process. Allusion to Tagore's historical novel Rajarshi and Girish Chandra Ghosh's

mythological play Jfl«a shows the intensity of the mental conflict. The experience of Tirtha

Babu reminds us of Suj ata's experience in The Mother ofl 084 (1974).

The story Fundamental Rights And Bhikari Dusad shows how thefiindamentalrights

guaranteed in the constitution have remained beyond the reach of the poor people like Bhikari

Dusad. They are being enjoyed by therichand the powerfiil. Mahashweta Devi exposes the

system that has failed to implement the provisions ofthe constitution in their true spirit without

which independence has no meaning. Nothing seems to have been done to bridge the void

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between therichand the poor, hastead, it has been growing wider and wider. The most tragic

aspect of the story is that being unable to defend the seventh fundamental right, therightto

property, BikariDusad was forced to rescue himself intiiethirdfimdamentalright,the right

to freedom; therightto pursue any occupation. He pursued the occupation of begging.

Bikari Dusad, an extremely timid and harmless shepherd had nothing else to call his

own but the goats whom he used to tend with great care. He had a simple hope of buying a

small dhoti to wear like a loin cloth and a new gflwcMa (towel). He also dreamt of setting

his own family in ajhopdi, somewhere with some utensils and household things. But no dream

ever came true in Bhikari's life. The wolves and jackals are the natural enemies of goats. It

was not a problem for Bikari to protect his goatsfromthem. But the only enemyfromwhom

he strived hard to protect his goats was the police. He was forced to flee from Noagarh to

Nada and agam to Noagarh to protect his goatsfromthe police. Whenever the police setup a

camp or posted on duty, they usually robbed Bhikari Dusad of his grown up goats. Wiih that

they used to destroy the very method of his survival every time.

At last Bhikari, returned to his place Noagarh, thinking that the police had left. But

Rajasahib, the landlord invited the whole thana for dinner. The police took away all the

grownup goats after beating and injuring Bhikari. He desperately pleaded them to respect his

'fundamental right' over his property of the goats as they respected Rajasahib's right over his

property. After getting all his dreams shattered, Bhikari became a new member of the large

society of beggars.

The irony and paradox that prevail in the system are exposed in the story. The claim

of the bataidars (share croppers) of their rights over the sharecrop was considered a law

221
and order problem. Whereas Raj asahib getting six lakh rupees compensation was considered

a constitutional right. The police who should have been the protectors of the constitutional

rights, deprived Bhikari Dusad of his rights. They protect the rights of only the rich and the

powerfiil like Rajasahib and Ganeshi Singh. Sukhchandji, wiio talks on constitution, fimdamental

rights, equality and so on, does not eat the food served by Bhikari. The question that Bhikari

asks himself is the question that Mahashweta Devi poses to the protectors ofthe constitutional

provisions in Independent India. Bhikari says, "The police never loot Lalaji's shop, never grab

the milkmen's cows. The police let everyone else keep their own. Then why rob my goats?"(l 7)'°.

Bhikari continues to ask, "Has the Government forgotten to remind the policemen of our

fimdamental rights?"(25)"

Thus, Mahashweta Devi reflects on the harsh reality of life in Independent India. Ifthe

poor people like Dusad want to live in this motherland, the only way to do so is to become

beggars. The anger and concern of her over the present state of affair and the mockery of the

system are expressed in the following words:

"Surely the Indian Constitution will guarantee that he stays that
way, stays a beggar all this life and even the next? And if anyone
strives to raise him to a better standard ofliving, to a better occupation?
The Constitution will never tolerate such a blatant violation of
fundamental right. No matter where in India such an injustice occurs,
the constitutional machinery will at once deploy the police, reserve
police, military police, the military, tanks and combat aircraft,
everything."(31-32)'2

The story "Gandhi Maidan And Raghu Dusad" reflects on the prevailing class

persecution, tyranny and exploitation in the state of Bihar. It is the result of caste system and

big land holdings. The existence oflandlord^x)lice-administration nexus has made it impossible

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for the poor low-caste people to get justice. Their efforts to get justice would result in the

scenes of drama enacted after regular stage rehearsals, where the poor, innocuous people

are not merely the mute spectators but the worst sufferers. The great irony we face in the story

is that many camages and atrocities take place in the presence of Gandhi's statue and in places

associated with his names. Bihar, the land of Buddha and Ashoka is 'sown with so many seeds

of violence, so much hatred, casteist repression'.

Seven Dusads famiUes lived on the outskirts of Kanera. There was an open sewage

drain. All the refuse and excrement from the service-latrines of Kanera flowed into it. It

separated the Dusad toll (the Dusad area)fromthe rest of the town. The primary school and

the Balwari centre were on the other side of the drain. They used to cross the drain on the

planks that were laid over it. The efforts of Charan, the primary school teacher and other

Dusads to get the entire drain covered with cement failed. But Moharchand, the upper-caste

landlord got it done easily to the surprise of every one. The Dusads thought that their 'stigma'

of ostracism had ended at last. As some Dusads had doubted, Moharchand had a selfish

motive behind the whole effort. He started to build a shopping complex on the drainage. The

Dusads protested it and complained to the police in vain. The pohce who advised the Dusads

not to take law into their hands, remained silent spectators when Moharchand's hoodlums

involved in atrocities on the poor Dusads. At last, when the Dusads were forced to protect

themselves, the police became 'alert' and fired at them killing the two and injuring the several.

Some miscreants bumt the residences of the Dusads and made them virtually homeless.

The 'true Harijan tale' concluded with the decision that any construction by the Dusads

m the Dusad toli would be illegal and they could build new houses only on the scorched land.

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The violence against them continued uninterrupted. The relentless violence of the upper-

caste agamst his kith and kin at Aarowal, Kansara and Kanera left the little boy Raghu terror

struck. Incidentally, the violence took place either in the very presence of Gandhi's statue or in

the places named after Gandhi. Paradoxically, the name 'Gandhi' came to denote violence

and horror. After the fiineral of his father, Harao along with Charan and other Dusads would

like to sleep under a tree at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna. But the name Gandhi made the six-

year-old Raghu restless. He expresses his shock and fear in the following words:

"No, not Gandhi Maidan, not Gandhi Maidan. Dadoa! Didn't you

tell me there was a Gandhi school, yet at Aarowal . . . and . . .

there's a statue of Gandhi infrontof our school too ... no, not

Gandhi Maidan ... please don't go Dodoa . . . If they kill you too

where will I go? Don't say Gandhi."(51)'3

Thus, mindless violence against his kith and kin inextricably luiked m his mmd to the

name Gandhi after whom public places are so often named. For children like Raghu, Gandhi

is going to be another word for terror. It is a critique on the way in which the meaning that the

word 'Gandhi' assumes in the course of time under a changed socio-political milieu. It also

reflects on how the society has departedfromthe Gandhian ideologies.

The story "Ram And Rahim" draws our attention to the cruelty, unmorality and blind

belief that are being practiced in the name of reUgion. The poor and innocent people always

remain at the receiving end. It also shows how a common grief brings two hearts together,

though separated by religion.

This story is set in West Bengal. Sajumoni, a midwife, whose knowledge ofthe country

was limited only to her place, Hetompur, was the mother of Ramlal. When Ramlal was ill, she

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had been to the Siddha Kali temple that was situated halfway between Hetompur and Kejokhali

to pray for his recovery. Baidyanath Ghosal was the priest whose sons Adyanath and Saktinath

had succeeded in establishing satta dens for gambling, chullu dens for selling country liquor

and many other such 'welfare' institutions. Once, when Sajumoni visited the temple, the two

sons of the priest who used to receive 'divine instruction' of the Goddess Kali, at once started

brandishing scimitars as they billowed, "Kali! Kali!" and beheaded all those who were getting

shelter in the temple. Panchubibi's son, Rahimwas one among them. Ramlalwhohadbeento

Dashehra fair to sell muri and batasha had not retumed home. Panchubibi, who expressed

all her grief on the death ofher son, could bear the loss but Sajumoni, whose son did not

return even after two months, nor his dead body found, could not bear the loss. Life became

unbearable for her. At last, his decomposed body was found along with the bodies ofNasib Molla

and Rupendra Gope.

The more interestmg thing in the story is that Ramlal's two brothers who had always

lived away, attended the funeral only to know if they could get the compensation. People

became jealous and started showing enmity towards Sajumony and Panchubibi after knowing

that both would get huge amount of money as compensation. The heartless society coiild not

feel the irretrievable loss suffered by these two mothers. Only the two mothers could understand

each other's grief as both' sailed in the same boat'. Bipul Dhal received a loan of mpees fifteen

hundredfi:oma bank but was forced to sign for the receipt of rupees two thousand. This

incident exposes the corruption that has taken its roots in every comer of our society.

After Kurukshetra (2005) is a collection of three stories. In these stories

Mahashweta Devi, keeping the Kurukshetra battle of the epic Mahabharata in the

background, takes us through the unexpected lanes and by-lanes of the traditional epic saga.

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She looks at this epic event through the eyes of women, the marginalized and

the dispossessed. She throws light on the futility, inhumanity and wanton waste of war. The

untold miseries and the trauma that follow the war are stressed here. Mahashweta Devi says,

"This Kurukshetra is not the legendary dharmayuddha of the popular imagination but rather a

cold-blooded power game sacrificing countless human lives."(Blurb)"'. The life as it is lived in

lokavritta is foregrounded here by contrasting it with that of the life in rajavritta. Their

proximity to nature makes theyanav/'iY/a more human and stronger, enabling them to

face the challenges of life in a robust manner. Whereas, the rq/ovn/^a crumbles at the face

of challenges with its pretentious glory, unnatural arrogance and the absence of warm human

feelings.

"The Five Women" (2000) is the story where an attempt is made to look at the

Kvirukshetra battle ofthe Mahabharatha through the eyes offivemarginalized peasant women,

whose lives have been shattered by the war. Here we find the life of the Janavritta - the

' common humanity and the life of the rajavritta - the royalty that are being contrasted. A

contrasting view of the Kurukshetra battle is also presented here. It is no more a legendary

dharmayuddha for the establishment of the virtue and the punishment of the vice. Bit it is

considered a fratricidal, savage and a cold-blooded power game that caused the death of

countless human beings.

Godhumi, Gomati, Yamvma, "S^tasta and \^pasha were thefivepeasant women fi'om

the Kurujangal region whose husbands were farmers and had tofightas foot soldiers -padatis

- in the Kurukshetra war and died in the course. Madraja, the head dasi of the royal women's

quarters, was looking for recruits to look after the young Uttara, the widowed daughter-in-law

of the Queen Subhadra. Madraja accidentally caught sight ofthem. As they refused to serve

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as dasis, they were allowed to remain Uttara's companions. The earth of Kurukshetrathat

was scorched rock-hard by thefimeralfiresand sent waves of angry heat everywhere prevented

themfi-omgoing back to thek places. They would retum when the earth would become cool.

Uttara, who had experienced just six months of married life and cherished natural

dreams of a young bride, was everyone's darling. The untimely death ofAbhimanyuhad left

her in an immeasurable grief. The death ofmany warriors on both sides had left the itmer

quarters teeming with countless young widows. Stunned with grief, they were silently performing

the last rites of their husbands and preparing themselves for therigorouslives of widowhood.

Uttara's grief-striken heavy heart became lighter in the company of the five women. She

became lively and developed a deep intimacy vvdth them. The curse of widowhood that had

weighed down the spirit of the women folk m the rajavritta had nothing to do with the women

in the lokavirtta. They too had lost their husbands, near and dear ones but the robust way

they face the grief and trauma was eye opening to the rajavritta - the royalty. They worried

nothing and spent theirtimesolvingriddles,singing mourning songs, telling stories and fialfilling

the life demands. Their positive outlook was amazing. They would like to go back and marry

their brothers-in-law as per their customs, get children, create Hfe and make the village resound

with chatters and laughter. That was what the nature had taught them. Unlike the rajavritta

they did not take an illusion of the war. They knew that there was no divyalok for their

husbands. They fought and died for the King's war and crying wouldn't bring them back.

They believed in the continuity of life. Everything goes on as usual even after deadly calamities

and wars. They worshipped the earth. The marriage and naming ceremonies were performed

as per their customs. The grand parents, elders, maternal uncles, the women and musicians

had major roles 'unlike the rajavritta, where the priests, acharyas,pujas,yajnas, offerings

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to Agni dominated their ceremonies.

The women in lokavritta had a strong physic. They lived on hard work. Even the

pregnant women did not indulge in pampering their bodies. They knew that the childbirth

would be easier if they remained active during pregnancy. They always lived together. The

women too knew the art of using weapons. Kurukshetra war could not be adharmayuddha

- a righteous war - for the lokavritta. Brothers killed brothers, uncle killed nephew, shishya

killed guru and so many mothers had lost their sons leaving countless widows behind. Thus,

Mahashweta Devi very effectively projects the views ofthe marginalized on war and life. This

is optimistic in nature. This view stands in direct contrast with that ofthe view ofthe elite which

is pessimistic, traditional and iUusionaiy. There by she exposes the hoUowness ofthe rajavritta.

The authenticity of Mahashweta Devi's reference to the farmers taking part in the

battle as the foot soldiers is doubtful. It is opined by Dr. Ambedkar m his book Pakistan or

the Partition of India (Thackers Publishers, Bombay, 1946) that the ancient battles were

fought only between the two forces. When the wars were waged the remaining people had

dispassionately engaged in then- respective activities. Only the trained soldiers took part in the

battles. Against this background Mahashweta Devi's idea of farmers taking part in The

Kurukshetra Battle is difficult to accept. It is obvious that the concept of'war' has undergone

a sea change over the years. How one can justify the act of looking at the ancient battles based

on the contemporary experiences, is a question.

In the story "Kunti And The Nishadin" (1999), we come across ageing

Kunti, living out her last years in the forest after the Kurukshetra battle. She was

being haunted by two severe guilts of her life - one was over her unacknowledged son Kama

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and the other one was regarding the ghastly killing of the family of the forest

dwelling Nishads in the house oflac, Jatugriha, which she had long forgotten. Thefirstguilt had

haunted her throughout and she had come to terms with it by voicing her shame aloud. But she

became a helpless victim to the latter. Kunti was torn apart by the life in rajavritta

and by her guilt over Kama. This character is presented in contrast v^dth the character of

Gandhari who was stately fearless and upright and with the Nishadins who happily lived by the

law of nature.

The ageing Kvmti had to retreat into the forest in order to tend Dhritarashtra and

Gandhari. They were in a forest ashram in thefinalchapter of their Hfe. Inspite of the victory

of the Pandavas, Kunti felt exhausted and weak. She was tom into pieces by the suffocating

Hfe in the rajavritta. She was heavy with deepest thoughts.' The Kama episode' had weighed

her down completely. On the other hand, Gandhari had remained calm, fearless and unperturbed.

Even the loss of a himdred sons had not succeeded in shattering her composure. It was she

who consoled Draupadi and Uttara who were devastated by the death of their sons. She

displayed the magnanimity of her heart by mourning for Abhimanyu. She raised her voice

against war and bloodshed on behalf of all the women in this world. Her piercing cry at the

death of Kama struck Kunti like a whip.

Kunti's proximity to nature gave an opportunity to express a long suppressed thoughts

and got herself 'purged' and 'cleansed' which her life in rajavritta prevented so far. She

confessed her crime over Kama and expressed heartfelt appreciation ofGandhariforher

moral courage, purity of thought, innocence, magnanimity of heart and her unshakable and

upright nature. Kunti used to confess regularly for her crimes. The Mother Earth, hills, water,

all living things and the Nishadins remained witness to her confession. The confession made

229
Kunti warm, lively and fearless. She felt a sense of relief But a Nishadin who had observed

Kiinti for many days, wondered that she had confessed all the crimes except the greater one

which was related to her. One day she reminded Kunti of the greatest sin she had forgotten;

the sin of killing a Nishadin mother along with herfivesons in the house of lac at Varanavata.

Kunti begged forgivenessfi"omthe Nishadin. The idea of 'forgiveness' was typical of the

rajavritta which the Nishadms did not understand.

The values of the lokavritta are differentfi-omthat of the rajavritta. If aNishad girl

loves a boy of her choice and gets impregnated, they celebrate it with a wedding. The widow

marriage was an accepted social practice. Hence, the episode of Kama which burnt Kunti to

the core was not a sin for the Nishads. Their intunacy with nature had made them strong and

could easily predict the calamities like forestfireand soon protect themselvesfi-omthem. The

story ends with the incident of Gandhari, Dhritarashtra and Kunti welcoming death with patient

resignation. Mahashweta Devi's statement that 'Life outside the rajavritta had not touched

Kunti at all' is difficult to accept. Kunti was with her sons during their exile in the forest for

twelve years and had lived through the thick and thin in her life. Hence, it is not possible to

believe that she had no idea of the life outside rajavritta.

"Souvali" (2000) is a story of Souvali, a low-caste serving woman. She was a dasi for

Dhritarashtra by whom she got her son Souvalya. Hewascalledadasiputra. Here Mahashweta

Devi takes up the issue ofthe marginalized and shows how they are exploited by the elite. The

interesting thing in the story is the way the marginalized develop resistance against the elite

exploitation. Souvali, who was bom into a vaishya family was taken by Dhritarashtra to serve

as dasi. When Gandhari was carrying, Dhritarashtra impregnated her and thus, Souvalya,

the half-royal offspring was bom. He was named Yuyutsu. Souvali recollects all the

230
incidents and the treatments meted out to Souvalya since his birth till the Mahatarpan; the

practice of offering water to the spirits of the dead. She exposes the hypocracy, greed

and arrogance of the rajavritta. Dhritarashtra gave the boy the name and that was the end of

his responsibihty and emotional attachment.

As a protest to the ways of the rajavritta, Souvali never mentioned the name given by

Dhritarashtra to her son. She named the boy as Souvalya. As per the typical tradition of the

rajavritta, he was sent to the gurugriha at the very young age. But it was a separate

gurugriha for him and he had to merely do the work of retrieving the arrows and fetching the

birds the Kauravas shot down. Souvali lived separately out side the rajavritta, cherishing the

sweet memories ofher child and was eager to meet him. Though Souvalya was theirfleshand

blood, the Kauravas never treated him so. He never tasted the paternal love. He was merely

treated as dasiputra which he detested. Hence, he sided with the Pandavas during the

Kurukshetra battle. He was neither allowed to mingle with his mother nor to express his

emotions freely. It was considered unmanly by the rajavritta.

Souvalya offered tarpan for his father as his duty, though the Kauravas never treated

him as theirfleshand blood and he was never allowed near Dhritarashtra and he never called

him 'father'. He refused to offer tarpan to Kunti and Gandhari, as they never accepted him.

Thus, Souvalya expressed his protest for the discrimination meted out to him. At last, the

mother and the son come together. The mother became extremely happy. She would like to

feast on delicious food and sleep peacefully holding her son in her arms. She rejected

Dhritarashtra completely and refused to observe mourning for his death. She had left the

palace on her ownfreewill and would like to follow her own J/jonwa, even after Dritarashtra's

231
death. She considered her son foolish for following the norms and rituals ofthe royalty.

Thus, Souvali protests the arrogance of the rajawitta, challenges their superiority and

asserts the sense of freedom and the natural human emotions of the lokavritta. The story is a

criticism ofthe sense of arrogance, discrimination and sheer indifference ofthe rajavritta. This

inherent feature of the royalty is in contrast to the life ofthe common people.

Mahashweta Devi is known to the outer world mainly as an activist and a writer who

protests and condemns all sorts ofhypocracy that pervade our life. Shefightsagamst exploitation

and oppression with her volcanic eruption. The stories that appear in "Our Non-Veg Cow"

And Other Stories (1998) show another face of Mahashweta Devi. They are lighter and

playful, equipped with fim and fantasy to catch the imagination of the children. She seems to

have taken leave from her programme of awareness creation. In this regard her translator

ParamitaBanerjee remarks "Here Mahashweta Devi has taken a break from her awareness-

raising programme to play with children, to swing with their fantacies, to give their imagination

anudge."(IX)i5

Mahashweta Devi was familiar to the young readers of Bengali Children's magazines

like Mouchak and Sandesh. She started writing for children in Mouchak from 1965 and in

Sandeshfrom1975. All the stories in this collection were first published m Sandesh between

1976 and 1992.

In these stories Mahashweta Devi is recalling and reliving her childhood days. She is

didi, the eldest ofthe nine children in an intimate family atmosphere, recording all the minute,

funny and incredible but harmless behaviours of all the members of her family, including her

232
parents. There is no room for intellectual calculations and logical arguments or the sense ofreality.

Only the child-like innocence and beliefrule these stories. Even the elders like the father, mother

and aunts would also become apart ofthis etemal world of innocence.

"Those Boys" (1982), "Nyadosh", "The hicredible Cow" (1976), "Not a Cock and

Bull Story" (1982), "Phalgu's Stoiy" (1992), "Phalgu and The Cheetah-Man" (1982), "The

Seven Ghosts" (1985), "Khudey The Dacoit" (1978), "Shivaji's Horse" (1979), "All Alone"

(1982), "Chittu" (1987), all these stories in this collection sound like cock and bull stories.

But in reality they are not so. In most of the instances, she is simply narrating her family

anecdotes which invariably soundfictitious.It is hardly possible for anybody to believe Nyadosh

as a real cow. It was a pet belonged to her mother. Though it lived during Gandhij i's time, it

had no faith in non-violence. It was afisheatmg, anti-establishment cow. It had a special taste

for schoolbooks, hilsa pieces, lobsters, meat and date-palm juice. It had a selective hatredness

for the police and the bondage. It was revolutionary and was recorded in the policefileas an

'anti-police cow'. Possibly, it was the only cow in British India to have police cases lodged

against her.

Once Mahashweta Devi's father, who went down to the ground floor to see off a

fiiend in just a lungi,punjabi and bedroom slippers, carried on chatting all the way to Howrah

station, boarded a train and went to her aunts place in Gaya. One of her patemal aunts who

had come to Calcuttafi"oma densely forested regions of Madhya Pradesh, purchased twenty-

six-thousand cow dung cakes for they were cheap. But after covmting it was found that there

were onlyfifteenhundred cakes. Once a chefhad cooked, to the surprise, mounds of venison

withjust one clove of a 'royal garlic'. All the members of Mahashweta Devi's family had gone

233
away during a holiday. Her father, who had been to the market, came home with a procession

of rickshaws carrying four hundred cauHflowers and twentytwo mounds of rice. It was too

much just for two members. Even thefreedistribution in the neighbourhood failed to exhaust

the stocks. Cows too got fed up with eating them.

Phalgu, the most mischievous person of the family, got an opportunity to teach in a

school in which he himself had studied. He used to slap a student on a regular basis. The boy

was his ex-teacher's son. Asked for the reason, Phalgu replied that he had learnt itfromthe

boy's father who as ateacher used to slap him just like that without any reason. Phalgu's craze

for pets used to cause a great embarrassment to others in the family. His pet hens laid eggs all

over the place—inside hats, in the folds of mosquito nets—and made the house dirty. Phalgu

got blessed with a 'wishing stone', which enabled him to meet a compassionate Cheetah-man

of Garhwal who narrated his story to Phalgu. The Cheeta-man was so compassionate that he

volunteered to be shot at by Jim Corbett. He did so in order to save Jim Corbett!

Here we are taken through the wonderful experience of aperson called Awadhlal who

knew a subtle diJfference betweengitgitas, pichpichas, kir kichas, bilbilas and seven types of

such ghosts. It is wonderful to see a boy coming out of the television set and play with the

lonely Tilak. He plays wonders even on Tilak's teacher. He makes it possible to have a

flowering rose garden in the backyard of the house. Overnight, incessant

Bachi gets an opportunity to ride on Shivaji's ultra special horse, holding his waist,

tickling him and talking with him. It is very interesting to see Khudiram, a singer of

gowalia songs turning into a robber and helping the police to seek the so-called

robber. The only serious thing in the entire collection is the warning coming from Chittu, a

234
helpful little creature. It can change its shape from man to stone to animal. It serves and

protects man. He warns, "Before you people came, we lived happily. You came, and we

lost our rivers, ovir forests—everything. God will punish you terribly. It will rain fire like in

ancient times. Everything will be bumt down."(l 08)'^

Thus, in these stories, Mahashweta Devi takes us through a different world and makes us

look at children with great deal of love and respect. They are enj oyable even for the grown ups.

The collection Old Women (1999) includes two stories - "Statue" and "The Fairy

Tale of Mohanpur". This collection is named Old Women, as the protagonists in both the

stories are old women who become helpless victims ofthe socio-political milieu in which they

are living. It is both oppressive and reactionary. The society which is infected with taboos,

selfish political motives and gender discriminations is bound to become heartless and inhuman.

They are deeply moving and poignant tales of two old women—Doulati and Andi. They

remain a witness to the society which bogs itself down deep into the quagmire of ignorance and

indifference.

In "Statue", Brajadulali, who is known as Dulali, got married at four and became a

widow at six. Haunted by a tragic, forbidden, unrequited love, Dulali at seventy-eight came to

feel unappeased hunger as more real and immediate in life than anything else. The Bhunya girl

Dulali and the Brahmin boy Dindayal Thakur were ofthe same age. Dinu fell in love with Dulali

who was very beautiful and looked like the daughter of a divine house. But Dulali could not

express her love though she loved him very much. The taboo ofwidowhood, caste barriers

and social customs prevented herfromexpressing her natural instinct. Since childhood, she

had learnt only to fear the word 'love'. She was not allowed to participate in any auspicious

235
events. She was made to accept all the humihations, hardships and social falsities with a stoic

resignation.

The elders arranged Dinu's marriage witii another girl. But Dinu denounced and rej ected

it and left home to join the militant struggle against the British. At last, he was arrested and

executed at the age oftwenty-four, in 1924. All these things were a distant memory by the time

the decision to install a statue of Dindayal Thakur in Chhatim village was taken. The decision

was takenfiftyfour years after his execution. Dulali who was 78 by that time was preoccupied

only withfillingher stomach and survivingfromday-to-day. Sense of love remained a memory

and accepted defeat in the hands of hunger, oppression and inhuman society. Nabin, Dulali's

nephew was the only human face she knew. He welcomed the decision to set the statue with

the hope of getting road, school and health centre to Chatim village.

The political decision to establish the statue was taken on the basis of a researcher's

findings on Dinu's role in the armed revolutionary struggle against the British. It did not

materialize the expectations ofNabin, but it provided an opportunity to Dulali to recollect her

distant memories and experiences. The greatest paradox is that Badan Khan had helped the

British to capture Dinu for the sake of money. His ofisprings were honoured as great patriots

on the occasion of installing Dinu's statue. They had spent Rs.74,851 only on the statue.

The village remained with no roads, school and hospital. They could have gold plated the

enthe village with that much of money. These incidents in the story are the critique on the

Post-Independent Indian reaUty, with hypocracy, corruption and selfishness as its features.

"The Fairy Tale Of Mohanpur" is a story ofAndi, a poor innocent and a low-caste

woman whofindsa happy and comfortable life only in the fairy tales, contrary to the miserable

and painful reality. Crushing poverty, societal indifierence and Governmental apathy together

236
contributed to the loss ofAndi's eyes. For Andi, the old low-caste woman from Mohanpur,

poverty was a bom companion. Though her four sons used to work vmder the despotic

landlord, Hedo Naskar, she had to sweat herself hard for belly's sake. In the course of her

search for food, she fell mto a mossy pond mistaking it for a meadow and caught water snake

mistaking it for a fish. It happened naturally as she was going blind.

She was taken to a badly equipped and poorly managed Government hospital where

there was no arrangement for eye treatment. The doctor gave some eye drops and multivitamin

tablets for her satisfaction on her persistence. She was told that her eyes had cataracts. They

would be operated when they would become ripe. When a severe pain developed in her eyes,

she was treated by a quack in Jabadpur market, which intum increased her pain and also

caused an irreparable damage to her eyes.

At last, she was taken to Naskar's hospital where the doctor advised to take her to

Tamil. 'The screw-loose body' of Andi could not be taken out there. Gobindo, a sincere

party activist and a social worker, was able to persuade an ophthaknologist at the district town

who agreed to go to Naskar's hospital to treat Andi. But the ophthaknologist did not turn up

as promised. It was found that he had been to the pond to fish along with Hedo Naskar.

Later, he was forced by Gobindo to undertake the treatment of her infected eyes. Here

Gobindo tried his best to give her the treatment, but not with expected result.

Hedo Naskar is a typical landlord in Independent India who turns the concept of

'freedom', 'democracy' and 'equality' to a ridiculous shape. The transfer of doctors, the

supply of groceries and medicines to the hospital are manipulated by Hedo Naskar. The

ophthalmologistfromthe district townfishingin the pond with the landlord instead ofattending

237
the serious patient in the hospital is a critique on the rotten system in the Post-Colonial India.

The close reading of these stories reveal us more and more hidden meaning. They

provide a strong critique on the gender discrimination, failure of male centred nationalism, the

failure of decolonization and the hard earned independence. Thus, in these stories, Mahashweta

Devi gives us most sensitively and delicately drawn portraits of Dulali and Andi, the old women

along with a strong and ruthless critique on the socio-economic oppression within which they

are forced to survive.

Outcast (2002) is the collection of four stories which deal with four characters —

Dhouli, Shanichari, Josmina and Chinta—who hailfromthe most oppressed and marginalized

segment of society. It is shown how they become the victims of unending class, caste and

gender exploitation that prevail in post-mdependent India. With their victimization and the

relentless struggle for survival, they force their society to rethink their societal norms.

Mahashweta Devi is highly critical of the societal norms that make them helpless,

exploit them and at last, brand them sinners. The people, who entice them with false promises,

enjoy them to their content and at last throw them away, remain respectful individuals in the

society. The agents who sell the poor women to the landlords and the pimps who involve in the

racket of flesh trade are left scot free. Such hypocrisies, dual standards, the caste, class and

gender arrogance ofthe privileged segments of society are exposed.

"Dhouli" (1979) is a touching story of a young untouchable Dusad woman, Dhouli,

who found herself an outcast in her own community, in the village Taharr. The saga ofunending

caste and gender exploitation which made her life miserable and a relentless stmggle for survival.

DhouU, a widow left her in-laws to escapefromthe eyes of her husband's elder brother and

238
joined her mother at Taharr. She was unusually beautiful and attractive but had not encouraged

aayofiheyoimgdusadmen. She was made to observe all the taboos ofthe widowhood. The

life continued struggling with poverty and hunger. Misrilal, a Brahmin boy fell in love with her.

She had taken utmost care to guard herself, for she knew what had happened to Jhalo and

Shanichari. Li the course of time, all her caution was swept away in a flood of passion and as

a result Misrilal unpregnated her.

Dhouli did not heed the mother's suggestion to take medicine for abortion as Mistrilal

had promised her to marry. The caste barrier and the family honour did not allow him to fulfil

his own promise. He washed away his hands by paying a hundred rupees to DhouU. He got

married with somebody else and never turned up. Dhouli, who had to take up prostitution to

quench her himger for food, became an object of ire of her community and also of Misrilal's

brother Kundan. She was forced to leave Taharr along with the aged mother and the child.

Mahashweta Devi lambastes at the upper-caste arrogance and their pseudo sense of honour.

They treat the low-caste women as puppets, use them for their sensual pleasure, give false

promises and desert them later.

"Shanichari" (1982)

It is another important story in the collection. Let us go through the following dialogue

between two characters.

'Remember the four girls who never returnedfi-omthe brick kiln?

Ofcourseldo
They were sold off
Who sold them?
Malik
Sold them?

239
 Of course, they were sold off, turned into whores,
made pregnant like me.

It's our destiny.'

These lines from the story tell a lot about the Post-Independent Indian reality of all

pervading class, caste and gender exploitation. It is a tragic story of Shanichari, the Oraon girl

who was forced to work in the brick kilns outside Calcutta. Pressing poverty and draught

came in handy for Gohuman Bibi, the agent ofthe brick kiln owners in Calcutta to cast her

net tofishm the helpless girls from the poor marginalized communities.

Shanichari could not help being an easy victim to' Gohuman's fangs' though she was

aware of Gohuman's designs. Harilal, the beggar singer, had warned her about Gohuman.

The terror and oppression that the Government unleashed to suppress The Adi Jati Raksha

Morcha Movement, forced the marginalized to take shelter in hills and forest caves without

food and cloths. Gohuman could easily entice them and supply them to the brick kiln owner,

Rahmat at Calcutta. After undergoing tortuous, inhuman and nightmarish experiences,

Shanichari returned home v^th Rahmat's' seed' planted in her womb. It made her an outcast

in her own community.

Gohuman bibi and many such agents enticed poor helpless girls and suppUed them to

the brick kibi owners at Calcutta. They were sold off, turned into whores and made pregnant

like Shanichari. The tragic story did not end with Shanichari alone. It is an endless tale. The

narrator tells:
"As long as people like Rahmat unabashedly run brick kilns, as
long as Gohumans entice girls like Shanichari, till our motherland
can provide basic food and clothing to girls like her, thefreezeshot of
Shanichari pointing her finger at the accused will remain."
(Outcaste 55)''

240
 Shanichari's fingers point at every one of us who remain mute spectators at these

goings on.

"The Fairy Tale Of Rajabasha" (1982) is a significant story in the collection. "Fairytales

are stories which have a beginning but no end,"(77)'^ writes Mahashweta Devi in the story. It is

one such never ending tragic story of Josmina, a Ho tribal woman who with her husband got

sucked into the racket of trade in cheap labour and became an object of run-on stories.

Josmina who was bubbling and lively as the river Koyena in the monsoons had been

leading an impoverished but happy and peacefiil Hfe with her husband Sarj om Purti and the

Child Masidas. The beginning of her tragedy was marked with Nandlal Shahu, the landlord

slithering like a snake into their peacefiil home, through the crack caused by hunger. Enticed

by Nandlal's promise of attractive salary and clothes, both Josmina and Saijom left Rajabasha

and went to Punjab, the irresistible virbhumi. There she had to bear the sexual assaults and

the sensual greed's of the landlords, one after another. In their attempt to escapefromthe

lusts of one landlord they would fall into the hands of another more heartless and inhuman one.

They were; Niranjan Singh of Haripur village, Pritam Singh of Kosa village, Sardar Gyan

Singh of Hoshiarpur, Dileep Singh, the son of Sarban Singh of Badala village.

At last Josmina returned to Rajabasha along with her family, after being exploited

thoroughly. They became outcasts in their own place. Eventually, Josmina committed suicide

by drowning herself in the river Koyena. This is a stricture on the inhuman exploitation and

oppression of women in the society that lead to the tragic end of mnumerable iimocent and

helpless women like Josmina.

"Chinta" (1959) is an example of gender exploitation where even the caste privileges

241
do not come to protect against the harsh social strictures. Even the ownership of four bighas

of land, two rooms, a couple of goats and a cow do not help Chinta, a Brahmin widow, from

being exploited by the cheats and the prevailing social taboos.

Chinta, the widow who found it hard to protect herselffromthe prowling men, was

easily enticed by the handsome young man, Utsab who promised to marry her in Calcutta.

She followed him to Calcutta leaving her son Gopal and the property behind. But Utsab

cheated her. He would beat her, take all her money and absconded after giving two daughters

to her. Thus, Chinta was forced into working as a part-time maid in Calcutta. Society came to

consider her a sinner. Then she had to spend two hundred rupees, feast the people of her

village onriceandpithey and forsake her two girls as a penance for havmg sinned. She had to

pass all these tests in order to get herself accepted back by the community. Chinta's late

husband's uncle and his son who came to Calcutta created a scene and forced her to sell her

two daughters for ten and eight rupees each.

Thus, the story is a critique on the social circumstances that made Chinta to sell her

daughters, Giri and Gouri. It is a shame on any civilized society. The story also exposes

the middleclass conscience of'being benevolent to her at no cost to themselves'. The postscript

of the story collection reads:

"Mahashweta Devi's acute and perceptive pen brings to life with
a deep empathy and sensitivity which makes these women step out
of the margins ofsociety to live in our minds, impressive in their quiet
courage and tenacity, their will to survive."(Postscript)'^

Bitter Soil (1998) is the collection that mcludes four stories - "Little Ones", "Seeds",

"The Witch" and "Salt". They reflect on the contemporary realities of the Indian society. As

242
Mahashweta Devi herself admits, her reputation as a writer stands largely on some of her

works of which the four stories in this collection form a maj or part.

Set in Palamau district of Bihar State (now it comes under Jharkhand), these stories

draw our attention towards the prevailing caste and class exploitation which according to

Mahashweta Devi is rooted in our land system. WhatistrueofPalamauistrueofhidia. She

says, "Palamau is a mirror of India.."(Bittersoil VII)^". The failure of the successive

Governments smce independence to redistribute rural and urban land above the land ceiling to

the landless had contributed to the continuation of the feudal system. It has lead intum to the

exploitation of and the oppression and the brutalities on the poor and the marginalized. This is

really a blot on the hidependent India. So Mahashweta Devi writes these stories with a sole

purpose of sensitizing the people towards the state of affair and also to make them feel ashamed

of the true face of India. Hence, she uses the language here which is brutal and lethal at time.

"Little Ones" is one of the serious stories of Mahashweta Devi. She says that this

story was bom of her tribal experience (Bitter Soil DC). Set in Palamau, it expresses the

savage anger ofthe tribals, Aagarias at the system which forces them to starve, whereas allows

some people to eat three meals a day. She found her idea expressed in this story being

corroborated by the founder of the Nutrition Institute of Brazil, D. Castro in his book The

Geography of Hunger, published in 1952. It was said that the chronic malnutrition hinders

the growth ofhuman and animal bodies. Even the dwarfhorses grow big and strong ifprovided

with nutritious fodder. The Uttle ones wefindin the story have been reduced to that distorted

human shape due to the lack of nutritious food.

About fourteen years back the Aagarias of Kubha village in Lohri area of Palamau

243
District had put a violent opposition to the efforts ofthe Government to get ironfromthe area

They beheved that their three Demon Gods live in the area. They had killed the Government

officers and the geologists who visited the area. After the incident, they took shelter in the

forest to escapefromthe cruel and oppressive measures the Government would take.

The barren land, continuous drought and the lack of food made these people suffer

from malnutrition and lack of nourishment. It naturally hampered the growth oftheir body. So

they used to steal the relief materials supplied by the Government in order to quench their

hunger. The BDO and the Tehsildar who got used to the place warned the reUef officer to be

careful, as the materials would be stolen by the tiny, naked children, with long hair and

strange limbs, who did not look like humans. Therefore, the reliefofficer took utmost care

to protect the materials supplied by the Government. When he himself saw the materials

being stolen, he followed them, and to his surprise, he came to know that they were neither

ghosts nor children. They too were the adult Indian males and females, reduced to the ghostly

appearance due to the lack of food and nourishment. They gathered around the relief oflBcer,

rubbing their sagging breasts, dry and shriveled penises. That strange experience panicked the

ofiBcer for some time. The impact ofrealization exploded in his mind. He felt that the miserable

appearance ofthe undemourished bodies and the laughable height ofthe ordinary Indian males

and females was a heinous crime of civilization. It is a mockery offreedomand progress.

The rehef ofScer was stunned by the sense of guilt. As the narrator in the story tells, he

felt like, "A criminal condemned to death. Pronouncing his own death sentence for their stunted

forms, he lifts liis face up to the moon, his mouth gaping wide".(Bittersoil 20yK Thus,

Mahashweta Devi expresses a ruthless anger against the exploiters and the system that helps

244
them. She exposes the naked brutality, savagery, caste and class exploitation by unmasking

the face of India as being projected by the successive Governments.

In the story "Seeds", MahashwetaDevi exposes the feudal landlords, their henchmen

and the system and she shows hov^ all these exploiting agencies are hand in hand in sucking the

low-caste blood. It is also revealed, how aU these vested interests together make the Government

laws and constitutional decrees futile. This story is not a fiction based on the figment of

imagination. As Mahashweta Devi herself claims, it is based on her real Ufe experiences {Bitter

Soil DC). It is only an attempt to unearth deeper roots for on going Harijan killings, class and

caste wars in Bihar, UP, MP and other places.

Lachman Singh, his brother and co-heir Daitari Singh were the typical landlords of

Tamadih in the Kuruda belt. They displayed all the traits of feudal heads. They were in

possession of hundred and thousands of acres of land. They never used to give more than

forty paise as wages to the labourers. Any demand for more wages or protest against injustice

would be replied with the guns or the Ganju Dushad, Dhobi quarters would go up in flames.

Persuaded by the Sarvodaya workers, Lacham Singh had given a piece of barren land

to Dulan, not without selfish motives. But Dulan with his natural gmle and wit, managed to get

seeds, fertilizer and moneyfromthe B.D.O. He was able to feed his family without cultivating

the land. Karan Dusad, Asrafi and their brothers, Dulan's son Datua protested the injustice of

the landlords. Hence, they had to become victhns of Lachman Smgh's gun. All of them were

buried in Dulan'sfield.Dulanknew everything but he maintained secrecy with fear ofLachman

Singh. He kept watch of his land though there was no crop.

At last, when Dulan's tolerance exhausted, he killed the 'invincible' Lachman Singh and

245
bimedhiminlhesameMdvsiierehehadburiedKaranDushadaiidothers. ThenDulancultivated

paddy seeds in thefieldsand that grew copiously as the dead bodies buried in thefieldbecame

a very precious fertilizer. Thus, Mahashweta Devi shows us how the heinous crimes ofLachman

Singh go unpunished. She criticizes harshly the system which is corrupted to the core.

"The Witch" is a touching story of a low-caste woman, Somri. Mahashweta Devi's

anger is directed here towards the exploitation and the oppression ofthe low-caste, especially

the low-caste women by the upper-caste. The exploitation becomes more poignant as the

victim Somri is dumb and mentally retarded.

Somri is a slow-witted and voiceless daughter ofPahaan, the tribal Priest of Tura. Her

body grew but not her mind. A year back, the father had sent her to the house hold of

Haniunan Misra in Tahar to work in the cowshed. There had been no news of her for the next

five months since then. The poor father had searched high and low for her without success.

Later, he came to know that Misraji's son had spoilt her. When Somri's father had been to

Misraji to enquire about his dumb daughter, he got a shoe in his face. Hanuman Misra had let

the daini story loose to cover his son's crime. He spread the rumour that she had become a

daini (a witch). It sent a sense of nameless horror among the people.

Somri, who was considered a daini was chased awayfi-omplace to place. Hunger,

fear, exhaustion and the continuous wandering made her assume a strange appearance. People

started to associate her with the ^daini story'. With melted hair, distended stomach, near

nakedness and the act of gnawing the rawfleshof a bird, Somri resembled the unnamed horror

that Hanuman Misra had unleashed. People realized the fact when her father recognized her

246
and explained the fact behind the entire 'daini busmess'. The role of Misraji's son in the entire

episode was made known to the people. The incident of Somri giving birth to a child inside a

cave, at a time when the excited people were trying to hunt out her, mistaking her for a witch is

the most excruciating incident in the story.

Thus, Mahashweta Devi exposes the hypocracy and the tactics the upper-caste people

use to cover up their unpardonable crimes. The way they capitalize on the ignorance and blind

belief ofthe marginalize4 is also highUghted.

hi the story "Salt", Mahashweta Devi focuses on the novel ways the upper-caste

landlords follow to exploit the landless labourers and the sharecroppers. Once again she targets

the system which leaves the perpetrators of crime jfree and makes the victims suffer. Uttam

Chand Bania, who had declared, nimakse marega (I will kill you by salt) and virtually achieved

his goal, remained a respectable gentleman in the society. Whereas, the elephant and the tribal

youth were expendable.

All the seventysix Adivasis belonging to seventeen families ofJhujhar village, that lay in

the lap ofthe Palamau Reserve Forest, were bound mthe shackles of Betbegari to the landlord,

Uttam Chand Bania. Those Adivasis were too innocent and ignorant to understand the fact

that the system ofwageless labour was illegal. Purti Munda of Jhujhar village, who had seen

the outside world, protested the bonded labour system that Uttam Chand Bania practiced in

the village. With the help ofthe youth teamfromthe city, Purti Munda enabled the Adivasis to

get their due share in the crop. Enraged by the act ofthe Adivasis, Uttam Chand Bania felt

defeated by them and vowed to avenge himself by killing them by salt.

All the grocery shops in the surrounding markets belonged to Uttam Chand and he

247
stopped selling salt in his shops. As a result, the Adivasis of Jhujhar village had to struggle hard

to get a pinch of salt for their ghato (gruel, mash, poor man's food), though salt was supposed

to be the cheapest commodity in hidia. Their proposal to work in the forest department for

salt was turned down by the contractor. They were consigned to a saltless darkness. Purti

Munda and his fellow Adivasis had no other way but to steal the saltfromthe salt licks that the

forest department used to provide for the elephants and deer, hispite of warning by the village

elder, Purti and his friends continued to steal the salt from the salt lick. That act of them

enraged the ekoa, an elephant which had become irresponsible after being exiled from the

leadership andfromthe herd. Later Purti and two other Adivasi youths were killed by the

ekoa. At last the ekoa was declared rogue and was shot down by the commissioned hunter.

Thus, Uttam Chand's refrisal to sell salt led to the death of three Adivasis and an

elephant. Mahashweta Devi is angry towards the society, the system and the law which do not

count the act ofUttam Chand as a crime. These harsh and hard-hittmg stories are the outcome

of Mahashweta Devi's extensive travels in the tribal-intensive Palamau region. She witnessed

various instances of exploitation and oppression. Therefore, these stories are abound with her

anger against the exploitation she had witnessed herself and also against the complacent

hypocracy of the rich and the upper-caste.

The coUectionfireas^Stories (1998) includes three stories: 'T)raupadi", "Breast Giver"

and "Behind the Bodice". They are the well-known stories of Mahashweta Devi that are more

often discussed and debated in the academic circles. They are known for their multi dimensional

values and many layers of meaning. They provide a serious critique on the socio-economic

values that prevail in our society. As the title suggests, 'Breast' is a common phenomenon in

these stories. But they express different points of view and they differ in their treatment ofthe

248
subj ect. The three protagonists of the stories—Dopdi, Jashoda and Gangor—suggest the

divergent views that are evident in the stories.

hi "Draupadi", 'breast' becomes an object of torture, revenge and oppression with

class, caste and the gender overtones. It is a survival object transformed into a commodity in

"Breast Giver". 'Breast' which is a part of the body becomes a 'symbol' ofthe whole person

in "Behind the Bodice". Mahashweta Devi uses this part of human body as a means to indict

the exploitative social system that is discriminatory and oppressive towards the weak, both

physically and economically.

"Draupadi" (1990) jSrst appeared mAgnigarbha (1990), a collection of short political

narratives. "Draupadi" (1990) is a story of Dopdi Mejhen, she was the most wanted tribal

revolutionary who went underground and instigated many tribal youth tofightagainst injustice.

She was arrested at last and gang raped in the police custody. The climax of the story lies in

the manner Dopdi Mejhen turns the terrible injuries, pain and humiliation into a means of

counter offensive.

Dopdi Mejhen, the wife of Dulna Majhi, was a most notorious female and long wanted

in many crimes, as per the records of the police. She went underground along with Dulna for

a longtimeafter the famous' Operation Bakuli' in whichthe landlord SuijaSahu was murdered.

Captain Arjun Singh, the architect of the Operation Bakuli and who was sent once again on

the 'Operation Forest Jharkhani', had to take premature and forced retirement due to the

dreadful fear ofthe black skinned tribals.

The Senanayak, who took over the charge ofthe operation against the tribal insurgency,

followed the hunter's way rather than the soldier's, to capture the tribal youth. He was able to

249
kill Dulna while he was drinking waterfromthe river and used Duhia'scorpseasabaitto

capture Dopdi and other tribal youth, but without success. At last he was able to capture

Dopdi, helped by the treacherous Shomai and Budhna. The subordinates of the Senanayak

literally followed his instruction, 'make her do the needful'. She was imdressed, gang raped,

breasts and nipples were bitten and torn. When she was asked to put on the cloth, she told

with an indomitable laughter that it was not as easy to clothe her as they had stripped her. She

says:
"What's the use of clothes? You can strip me, but how can you
clothe me again? Are you a man? ... There isn't a man here
that I should be ashamed. I' will not let you put my cloth on me.
What more can you do? Come on, kounter me - come on,
kounter me - T\Breast Stories 36-37)^^

While uttering these unexpected volley of words, Draupadi pushed the Senanayak

with her mangled breasts. He was terribly afraid to stand before an unarmed target for the first

time in his life. Gayatri Chakravorthy Spivak says that this story insists on the fact that the male

leadership stops at this point. This story, as she finds out, "is an allegory of the woman's

struggle within the revolution in a shifting historical moment."(5rea5^ Stories 12)^^

Thus, Mahashweta Devi presents Dopdi in contrast to the romanticized version of

Draupadi in the epic Mahabharata. She hadfivehusbands and was infinitely clothed by the

Lord Krishna who rescued herfrombeing stripped naked. Whereas, Dopdi in the story is

easily stripped and gang raped by the police. When she has nobody to rescue her, she poses

an unexpected and a novel way of resistance by refiismg to be clothed by the men in office.

When she questions, 'are you a man?' and says, 'thereisn'tamanhere', she is questioning

their manliness and making them to be ashamed of their own act. Oppression, taken to the

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extreme end, forces the oppressed to express the extreme possible resistance which makes it

impossible for the oppressors to face.

"Breast Giver" (1997) is a story of a woman, Jashoda who had taken motherhood as

her profession to support her family. At last she died of painful breast cancer, betrayed by all

those who got their needs fulfilled by her.

Jashoda, the wife of Kangalicharan, a Brahmin, was atypical traditional Indian wife.

She was a mother oftwenty children including both the living and the dead. Motherhood was

always her way of livmg. There was no time when there was no child in her womb. She was

a perennial source of pleasure and a Paradise for Kangalicharan. He was working for the

landlord Haldar. He became handicapped in an accident caused by the whimsical Haldarson.

He was imable to work and earn food for the family. Jashoda had to do the work of a

wet nurse to the grand children of Haldar in order to support her own family. For that she had

to see that there was always milk in her breast. It was possible only if she had a child in her

belly. So Kangalicharan became a professional mother. The women of Haldar family worrie

much how to 'keep theirfigure'and how to keep their men folk in good humour. They found a

great utilitarian value in Jashoda's ever secreting breast. She suckled dozens of the grand

children ofthe Haldar family. It enabled her to help her own family. But her fortune vanished

with her inabiUty to bear children. The most tragic experience in the story is Jashoda stmggling

with burning pain in her breast abandoned by her own sons, the sons she suckled and the

husband. At last she died in the hospital, unwept, unhonoured and unsung by any one and was

cremated by an untouchable.

This story shows how man uses woman's body and how woman's body is being

abused by the system, particularly the system which is economically sound. Irony is that the

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system comprises ofwomen also. This story is situated within theframeworkofthe economic

position ofthe families. It shows how the mother-child relation too is controlled by the economic

principles. It has a thematic relation with another Bengali story "Parasuram" by Subodh Ghosh

and Premchand's story "Dudh Ka Dam" (The price of the Milk). Premchand's story has a

sweeper (bhangi) woman, who acts as the foster mother of a landlord, neglecting her own

son. When she dies, the landlord takes care of her orphan son. But the landlord's son, fed on

the Bhangi's milk, treats the orphan contemptuously. This is the price of the 'mother's milk'.

The mother image in Indian literature represents the ideals and concepts sanctified by

time and enforced by the society. Deification of mother and presenting her as a 'noble mother',

representing the supreme power, has appeared in greaterfrequencyin Indian literature. The

mother-child relationship provides a basic link and the ultunate goal ofthe social relationships

in India. For the Indian mother, male child is the most important medium of self-expression of

hope,fiilfilmentand redemption, even more than the husband.

The contemporary literature abounds with another aspect of the motherhood which is

nearer to the real life experiences. She is projected as the suffering woman neglected by the

m-laws, husband and children.

In this story Mahashweta Devi tries to expose the treachery, a sense of exploitation

and utter selfishness that lay behind the deification of mother and the mother-child relation.

Her power to depict the degeneration and dehumamzation brought in by poverty, socio-economic

inequality is at its height in this story. The noted writer and critic Jaidev considers this story an

allegory ofthe Post-Independent IndiaEndorsing this argument Mahashweta Devi herself says:
"Stanadayini is a parable of India after decolonization. Like the

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 protagonist Jashoda, India is a mother-by-hire. All classes of people,
the post-war rich, the ideologues, the indigenous bureaucracy, the
diasporics, the people who are sworn to protect the new state, abuse
and exploit her. If nothing is done to sustain her, nothing is given
back to her, and if scientific help comes too late, she will die of a
consuming cancer."{Breast Stories 78)^"

But Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak focuses on the subaltern as gendered subject rather

than an allegorical seme for Mother India (In Other Worlds 264).

"Behind The Bodice" (Cholike Piche, 1997) is a story of a migrant labourer Gangor,

whose'statuesque'breastmakes a'seismic upheaval' in the mind of the itinerant ace-

photographer Upin Puri, who clicks the photo of Gangor and sells it for money which leads to

a series of violence and to a tragedy at last.

Gangor's crowd came to Jaroa looking for work during a semi famine condition.

They worked on a piece wage basis in the kilns for light bricks and tiles. Gangor was healthy

and her mammal projections were enticing. When Upin once saw Gangor suckling her baby,

took a photo which she did not object. Instead, she demanded some money. Those artless

people were not aware of the 'hidden agenda' of the men like Upin.

The copies of the photo taken thus, by Upin were sold and even appeared in the

newspapers. 'The Half Naked Ample Breasted Female Figures of Orissa' received public

attention. As a result, the innocent migrant labourer Gangor became a victim ofthe' craze' of

the police, the contractors and other exploiting E^encies. She was raped and gang raped in the

lock-up and out side, implicated in a court case and made to wander from Jaroa to Seopura

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and jfrom Seopura to Jharoa. Upin was shocked to see Gangor who had turned into a whore.

Her statuesque breast was a thing of the past. There were no breast at all, only two dry scars,

wrinkled skin, quite flat. 'The two raging volcanic craters' spew liquid lava at Upin.

Thus, MahashwetaDevi raises the question of ethics in aesthetics and responsibility in

archivization. The story is a critique on the irresponsibility of the artist Upin. For the person

like the caretaker, the destruction of Gangor's breast was a casual thing. The suffering, pain

and the inhuman act that lay behind the entire episode, eludes the knowledge of the so-called

hitellectuals and the custodians of Indian culture who 'meet in a closed seminar in the capital

city and make the (un)wise decision'. Mahashweta Devi is highly critical ofthis kind ofintellectual

bankruptcy and hypocrisy.

In this story, the 'part object' becomes a 'symbol' and represents the whole

person. Hence, what Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has said in this regard becomes

very pertinent. She opines. Behind the Bodice is the rape of the people... The archivist could

not understand it, and died in the understanding. Let us call it archive-fever."(^rea^'/^Sfone^

Thus Mahashweta Devi, the master story teller attacks the social evils that prevail in

our society and castigates all those who are responsible for them. She exposes the failure of

our system to bring justice to the marginalized sections of our society. It is clear that the

number and variety of her stories enable us to peep into the vast web of Indian Ufe with all its

complexities and varieties.

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 END NOTES

1. Malini Bhattachaiya, "Mahashweta Devi: Activist and Writer", Economic and

Political Weekly, (10 May 1997) 1003.

2. Mahashweta Devi, Till Death Do Us Part (Five Stories), trans. Vikram Iyengar

(Calcutta: Seagull, 2001) 8.

3. Devi 21.

4. Devi 49.

5. Devi, In The Name of The Mother, trans. Radha Chakravorty (Calcutta, New

Delhi: Seagull Books, 2004) 44.

6. Devi 55.

7. Devi 77.

8. Devi, Bait, trans. Sumanta Baneijee (Calcutta, New Delhi: Seagull Books, 2004)

xxn.
9. Devi 4.

10. Devi 17.

11. Devi 25.

12. Devi 31-32.

13. Devi 51.

14. Devi, After Kurukshetra, trans. Anjum Katyal (Calcutta, New Delhi: Seagull

Books 2005) Post Script.

15. Devi, Our Non- Veg Cow and Other Stories, trans. Paramita Banerjee (Calcutta,

New Delhi: Seagull Books, 2000) IX.

255
16. Devi 108.

17. Devi, Outcast,trans. SarmisthaDutta Gupta (Calcutta, Seagull Books, 2002) 55.

18. Devi 77.

19. Devi, Post Script.

20. Devi, Bitter soil, trans. Ipsita Chanda (Calcutta, Seagull Books, 2002) Vll.

21. Devi 20.

22. Devi, Breast Stories, trans. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (Calcutta, Seagull Books,

1998) 36-37.

23. Devi 12.

24. Devi 78.

25. Devi XV.

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