Mahasweta Devi no more

Eminent Indian literary figure of Bangla language Mahasweta Devi is no more.

She breathed her last in Kolkata's Belle Vue Clinic at 3:16pm Indian time yesterday, an attending doctor said.

She was 90.

Noted writers, including popular novelist Samaresh Majumdar and Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, condoled her death.

Mahasweta Devi, also a journalist and social activist, is well known for her novel “Hajar Churashir Maa” (Mother of 1084) on the Naxalbari movement, which was later adapted into a film.  

It is the story of a mother (Sujata) whose son (Broti), corpse number 1084 in the morgue, was brutally killed by the state because of his ideology advocating continuous brutal killing of class enemies and counter-revolutionaries within the party.

Wife of one of Bengal's most prolific playwrights and litterateurs, Bijon Bhattacharya, the activist-writer grew up in the family of Bengal's leading writers, poets and filmmakers. Filmmaker Ritwick Ghatak was her uncle.

Influenced by the Communist movement of the 1940s, she chose to work among the poorest of the poor in the tribal areas of southern West Bengal and in other parts of the country.

“And the people whom she came across in real life slowly made their place in her stories and novels,” said Joya Mitra, a prominent writer and a close associate of Devi, told The Hindu.

Her mother Dharitri Devi was a social worker and writer, and Mahasweta Devi herself never shied away from politics.

About a decade ago, during the Singur-Nandigram movement, she had stridently criticised the CPM government's acquisition of fertile agricultural land from farmers to set up industrial plants.

In a 2010 interview to The Indian Express, when asked if she feared any repercussions for speaking out, the author had said: “Ami Ritwik Ghataker bhagni, Bijon Bhattacharya r ordhangini. Amaar kiser bhoy? Amra bhoy bole kichu jani na (I am Ritwik Ghatak's niece, I am the wife of Bijon Bhattacharya. What should I be scared of? We don't know what fear is).”

Mahasweta was born in Dhaka on January 14, 1926. After the partition in 1947 her family moved to Kolkata. Her schooling was in Dhaka. Later, she earned bachelor's degree from Visva-Bharati University and post-graduation from Kolkata University.

Her father, Manish Ghatak, was a well-known poet and novelist of the Kallol movement, a literary movement between 1923 and 1935.

Her son Nabarun Bhattacharya occupies an honourable position in Bangla literature. 

Mahasweta was admitted to the Clinic on May 22 with infection in her lungs. She had been suffering from old-age complications for long. Both her kidneys became inoperative owing to uncontrolled diabetes for a long time. She was kept on ventilation from July 16. 

Her condition improved slightly on July 25 but it deteriorated again yesterday.

Dhaka University Vice chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique has expressed deep condolence at the death of the noted litterateur.

In a condolence message, Prof Siddique said Mahasweta Devi was a great writer and human rights activist. 

“Bangla literature and culture has lost a great figure.”

Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu expressed profound shock at her demise.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sent her condolence message from New Delhi. 

In a tweet, Mamata said, “India has lost a great writer. Bengal has lost an illustrious mother. I have lost a guardian. Let her soul rest in peace.”

A litterateur with the zeal of an activist, Mahasweta Devi used creative expression as a tool to fight for the rights of the indigenous people and marginalised sections.

With the sincerity of an activist and the passion of a writer, the Bengali writer was the voice of the oppressed in her novels and short stories, which won her a number of awards including the Padma Vibhushan, Magsaysay, Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith, reports NDTV.

All her acclaimed works like “Hajar Churashir Ma,” “Aranyer Adhikar” (Right to the Forest), “Jhansir Rani” (The Queen of Jhansi), “Agnigarbha” (The Fire Within), “Rudali,” “Sidhu Kanhur Daakey” give us invaluable insights into the lives of the oppressed class.

She started her career as a teacher in Bijoynagar College, Kolkata. Later, she became famous as a journalist and writer.

Her body will be kept at Rabindra Sadan from 10:30am to 12:30pm today for paying last respects to her by people from all walks of life.

Then a condolence procession carrying her body will be brought out in Kolkata.

Her last remains will be cremated under the government arrangement at Keoratola crematorium in the afternoon.