A
Poetic Tribute to Mahasweta Devi
K.
V. Dominic
Mahasweta Devi literally means Goddess
Saraswati
Her mother’s name Dharithri meaning Earth
Yes, Mahasweta Devi who departed us on
28th July
was Saraswati to millions of tribals, dalits
and marginalized
who were lifted from doom and darkness to resurgent light
She was indeed proud daughter of Mother
Earth
committed to protect Earth and her
inhabitants
from all kinds of exploitations and
maternal assaults
Didi, you were the loving compassionate
sister as well as
mother of the millions of helpless miserable
fellow beings
Even at ninety you were eager to fly to
wipe out tears
You could hear the scream of tortured
people and
neither health nor distance could stop
your incessant flights
Didi, you were the crusader of the
downtrodden,
tribals, dalits, women, landless,
migrants, prostitutes
You were savior of denotified tribes
Lodha and Shabar
You were their mouthpiece—spoke for
them, raised funds for them
legally fought for them, and organized
them to fight for their rights
Didi, you are role model to all writers
in the world
Unlike others writing from mansions full
of luxury
and shedding crocodile tears at the
plight of the poor
you lived among them, ate from their
plates and
braved all dangers supporting their
noble survival cause
Gandhi and Mother Teresa influenced you
a lot
Practised in your life what you wrote
and preached
And your social life and literary life
merged into one
Your writings created an Everest in
literary world
More than hundred novels and over twenty
books
of short fiction all dealing with human
sufferings
And your priority was for content than
to form
Didi, you wanted to work for ever for
your people
And hence told “I don’t want to die. I
want to live forever.”
Only your body has departed and your
spirit remains immortal
And like the mahuva tree which grows on
your grave
the values and messages you have sown in
the minds
will germinate and spread all over the
world and
bower aching minds from terrible burning
issues
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