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The South Asian Literary Recordings Project

Mahasveta Devi, 1926-

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Image of Mahasveta Devi, 1926- (photo credit: Gaurav Sharma)

Select page numbers to listen or LCCN to display the bibliographic record.

Readings:

  1. Mahasveta Debira pancasati galpa. Kolkata : Pratikshana Pabalikesanas, 1996.
    (LCCN: 2001362534)
    Realmedia excerpts: pp. 168, pp. 175-176,
    pp. 773, pp. 783-784

    MP3 excerpts: pp. 168, pp. 175-176,
    pp. 773, pp. 783-784
  2. Niranabbuiera galpa.
    Kolkata : Thema, 2000.
    (LCCN: 00289893)
    Realmedia excerpt: pp. 19-30
    MP3 excerpt: pp. 19-30

One of the most celebrated Bengali writers of recent times, Mahasveta Devi was born on January 14, 1926 at Dhaka in present day Bangladesh. Her short stories, novels, and plays display a black humor that arises out of her social activism and an acute sense of Indian history. The result is a body of literature that shines with intellectual quality and freshness. Her writings portray vividly the inner lives of the tribal communities and landless laborers through powerful dialogues in the region's local dialects. Though a creator of exemplary and powerful women characters, Mahasveta Devi asserts that her text is part of the discourse of class rather than gender. Today, her writings are recognized for giving voice to the "voiceless section of the Indian society."

She is the recipient of many awards including Lila Award, 1978; Saratchandra Memorial Award; Amrita Bazar Award, 1967; Tarasankar Memorial Award, 1977; Bibhuti Bhushan Smriti Samsad Award, 1990; Sahitya Akademi Award, 1979; Jnanpith Award, 1996; Magasaysay Award for literature, 1997. National civilian honors conferred on her are Padma Shri, 1986, and Deshikottama, 1999.

The Library of Congress has in its collection sixty-eight titles by her including translations and four titles on her works.

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November 15, 2002
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