In the field of Bengali letters, Mahasweta Devi is an important figure, castigating political authorities for exploiting the poor and underprivileged and criticizing the literary establishment for failing to raise their voices against social injustice. As cultural critic Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak explains, Devi championed the cause of the “subalterns,” the poorest of the poor who were excluded from, and denied their rights by, an oppressive and exploitive society. Devi saw herself as a pan-Indian writer, addressing a nationwide readership in order to raise the national conscience about the plight of the lowest segments of Indian society.
In her fiction, she combined different registers of language including Sankritized Bengali, the colloquial idiom with localized flavours, tribal dialect, as well as snatches of Hindi and English. History, myth, folklore, and contemporary reality combined to create the ethos of her novels, plays, and short stories.
“Draupadi” first appeared in 1978 in Agnigarbha (Womb of Fire), which contained writings about the Naxelite movement. In the introduction to the collection Devi wrote, “Life is not mathematics and the human being is not made for the sake of politics. I want a change in the present social system and do not believe in mere party politics.” “Draupadi” was then collected in Breast Stories.
“Giribala” was first published in Prasad magazine’s Autumn 1982 issue. Devi herself created this publication as a vehicle for the people to gain class consciousness.
“Breast-Giver” was published in Breast Stories, written in Bengali (“Stanadayini”) in 1977 and translated in English by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in 1997.
“The Why-Why Girl” was published in 2003; it was Devi’s first picture book.
“Bayen” is better known as a play than a short story; Devi dramatized it in the 1970s because she thought it, and three other stories-turned-plays, would be more accessible to the people in a dramatic format.
