 | Chotti Munda and His Arrow Written in 1980, this novel by prize-winning Indian writer Mahasweta Devi, translated and introduced by Gayatri Chakravorty Sprivak, is remarkable for the way in which it touches on vital issues that have in subsequent decades grown into matters of urgent social concern. Written by one of India's foremost novelists, and translated by an eminent cultural and critical theorist. Ranges over decades in the life of Chotti - the central character - in which India moves from colonial rule to independence, and then to the unrest of the 1970s. Traces the changes, some forced, some welcome, in the daily lives of a marginalized rural community. Raises questions about the place of the tribal on the map of national identity, land rights and human rights, the 'museumization' of 'ethnic' cultures, and the justifications of violent resistance as the last resort of a desperate people. Represents enlightening reading for students and scholars of postcolonial literature and postcolonial studies.Mahasweta Devi was born in what is now in Bangladesh on January 14, 1926. She received a B.A. in English from Vishvabharati University and an M.A. in English from Calcutta University. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a journalist and an English professor. During her lifetime, she wrote almost 100 novels and over 20 short story collections, primarily written in Bengali. Her first book, Jhansi'r Rani (The Queen of Jhansi), was published in 1956. Her other novels included Mother of 1084 and The Occupation of the Forest. She was the author behind the Hindi films Rudaali and Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa. She was also an activist who immersed herself in the lives of India's poor and marginalized as she chronicled their lives in fiction. In 1997, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for her writing and activism on behalf of tribal communities. She died from a heart attack and multiple organ failure on July 28, 2016 at the age of 90. (Bowker Author Biography) |
