Mahasweta Devi : An Icon of Subalten Literature
Journal Title: Notions A Journal of English Literature - Year 2017, Vol 0, Issue 1
Abstract
The subaltern in Mahasweta Devi‟s fiction on tribal life speaks in many voices, neither in unison nor in any unified forms. The tone and tenor of voices in the altogether sixteen fictions I have chosen for my study here are different in many respects. In The Right of the forest, BashaiTudu, Hulmaha, To the call of Shalgiraand in „Draupadi‟, for example, the voice is one of the aggression and revolt, whereas it is one of despairing withdrawal in „Pterodactyl, PuranSahay and Pirtha‟. In ChottiMunda and His Arrow, the eponymous hero ChottiMunda speaks of and practices resistance of restricted action. In „Douloti the Bountiful‟, the subaltern voice is one of silent and passive suffering, while in „Dhouli‟ and „Shanichari‟ they are voices of resolution for resistance based on awareness gained through suffering. The subaltern is also spoken of sympathetically by „organic intellectuals‟ from the mainstream, like Puran in „Pterodactyl‟, Mathur in „Witch‟ and the relief officer in „Little ones‟. The incommensurability of such voices with any one particular critical though supports my adoption of the current adventure in thought.
Authors and Affiliations
Dr. Rex Angelo
Keywords
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