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Rudali, From Fiction to Performance
In certain areas of rajasthan, women were hired as professional weepers they were referred to as rudalis their work was to mourn in public for families that hired them for the job in this story, shanichari is a woman who has faced many difficulties in life apart from her father s death and her mother eventually leaving her to fend for herself, she was married to a man who failed to be a responsible husband however, she has never cried for anything her entire life now, she seeks a better life for her mentally challenged son and herself, and has found a job as a rudali this proves difficult for her as she does not know how to cry soon, she and a local landlord s son fall in love with each other, but she refuses to ask him for financial help and ruin their love for the sake of money
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Mahasweta Devi
185books307followersMahasweta Devi was an Indian social activist and writer. She was born in 1926 in Dhaka, to literary parents in a Hindu Brahmin family. Her father Manish Ghatak was a well-known poet and novelist of the Kallol era, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa. Mahasweta's mother Dharitri Devi was also a writer and a social worker.
She joined the Rabindranath Tagore-founded Vishvabharati University in Santiniketan and completed a B.A. (Hons) in English, and then finished an M.A. in English at Calcutta University as well. She later married renowned playwright Bijon Bhattacharya who was one of the founding fathers of the IPTA movement. In 1948, she gave birth to Nabarun Bhattacharya, currently one of Bengal's and India's leading novelist whose works are noted for their intellectual vigour and philosophical flavour. She got divorced from Bijon Bhattacharya in 1959.
In 1964, she began teaching at Bijoygarh College (an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta system). During those days, Bijoygarh College was an institution for working class women students. During that period she also worked as a journalist and as a creative writer. Recently, she is more famous for her work related to the study of the Lodhas and Shabars, the tribal communities of West Bengal, women and dalits. She is also an activist who is dedicated to the struggles of tribal people in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In her elaborate Bengali fiction, she often depicts the brutal oppression of tribal peoples and the untouchables by potent, authoritarian upper-caste landlords, lenders, and venal government officials.
Major awards:
1979: Sahitya Akademi Award (Bengali): � Aranyer Adhikar (novel)
1986: Padma Shri[2]
1996: Jnanpith Award - the highest literary award from the Bharatiya Jnanpith
1997: Ramon Magsaysay Award - Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts
1999: Honoris causa - Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
2006: Padma Vibhushan - the second highest civilian award from the Government of India
2010:Yashwantrao Chavan National Award
2011: Bangabibhushan - the highest civilian award from the Government of West Bengal
2012: Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Sahityabramha - the first Lifetime Achievement award in Bengali Literature from 4thScreen-IFJW.
মহাশ্বেত� দেবী একটি মধ্যবিত্� বাঙালি পরিবার� জন্মগ্রহ� করেছিলেন � তাঁর পিতা মনী� ঘট� ছিলে� কল্লোল যুগে� প্রখ্যাত সাহিত্যি� এব� তাঁর কাকা ছিলে� বিখ্যা� চিত্রপরিচালক ঋত্বিক ঘটক। মা ধরিত্রী দেবী� ছিলে� সাহিত্যি� � সমাজসেবী� মহাশ্বেত� দেবী বিখ্যা� নাট্যকার বিজন ভট্টাচার্যের সঙ্গ� বিবাহবন্ধন� আবদ্� হন� তাঁদের একমাত্� পুত্�, প্রয়াত নবারুণ ভট্টাচার্য স্মরণী� কবিতার পঙ্ক্ত� ‘এ মৃত্যু উপত্যক� আমার দে� নয়� এব� হারবার্ট উপন্যা� লিখে বাংল� সাহিত্যে স্থায়ী স্বাক্ষর রেখে গেছেন।
তাঁর শৈশব � কৈশোর� স্কুলে� পড়াশোন� ঢাকায়। দেশভাগের পর চল� আসেন কলকাতায়। এরপর শান্তিনিকেতনে� বিশ্বভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যাল� থেকে ইংরেজিতে অনার্স এব� কলকাতা বিশ্ববিদ্যাল� থেকে স্নাতকোত্তর ডিগ্রি নেন।
১৯৬৪ খ্রীষ্টাব্দে তিনি বিজয়গড় কলেজ� শিক্ষকতা শুরু করেন � এই সময়েই তিনি একজন সাংবাদিক এব� লেখিকা হিসাবে কা� করেন� পরবর্তীকালে তিনি বিখ্যা� হন মূলত পশ্চিমবাংলার উপজাতি এব� নারীদে� ওপ� তাঁর কাজে� জন্য � তিনি বিভিন্� লেখা� মাধ্যম� বিভিন্� উপজাতি এব� মেয়েদের উপ� শোষণ এব� বঞ্চনা� কথ� তুলে ধরেছেন� সাম্প্রতিক কালে মহাশ্বেত� দেবী পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারে� শিল্পনীতি� বিরুদ্ধে সর� হয়েছে� � সরকা� কর্তৃক বিপু� পরিমাণ� কৃষিজম� অধিগ্রহণ এব� স্বল্পমূল্যে তা শিল্পপতিদে� কাছে বিতরণে� নীতি� তিনি কড়া সমালোচ� � এছাড়া তিনি শান্তিনিকেতন� প্রোমোটারি ব্যবসা� বিরুদ্ধে� প্রতিবাদ করেছেন �
তাঁর লেখা শতাধিক বইয়ের মধ্য� হাজা� চুরাশি� মা অন্যতম� তাঁক� পদ্মবিভূষণ (ভারত সরকারে� দ্বিতীয় সর্বোচ্চ নাগরিক পুরস্কার,২০০৬), রামন ম্যাগসেস� পুরস্কার (১৯৯৭), জ্ঞানপী� পুরস্কার (সাহিত্� একাডেমির সর্বোচ্চ সাহিত্� সম্মান), সার্� সাহিত্� পুরস্কার (২০০৭) প্রভৃত� পদকে ভূষি� কর� হয়�
২০১৬ সালে� ২৮ জুলা�, বৃহস্পতিবা� বেলা ৩ট� ১৬ মিনিটে চিকিৎসাধী� অবস্থা� তিনি শেষনিশ্বাস ত্যা� করেন�
जन्म : 1926, ढाका�
She joined the Rabindranath Tagore-founded Vishvabharati University in Santiniketan and completed a B.A. (Hons) in English, and then finished an M.A. in English at Calcutta University as well. She later married renowned playwright Bijon Bhattacharya who was one of the founding fathers of the IPTA movement. In 1948, she gave birth to Nabarun Bhattacharya, currently one of Bengal's and India's leading novelist whose works are noted for their intellectual vigour and philosophical flavour. She got divorced from Bijon Bhattacharya in 1959.
In 1964, she began teaching at Bijoygarh College (an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta system). During those days, Bijoygarh College was an institution for working class women students. During that period she also worked as a journalist and as a creative writer. Recently, she is more famous for her work related to the study of the Lodhas and Shabars, the tribal communities of West Bengal, women and dalits. She is also an activist who is dedicated to the struggles of tribal people in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In her elaborate Bengali fiction, she often depicts the brutal oppression of tribal peoples and the untouchables by potent, authoritarian upper-caste landlords, lenders, and venal government officials.
Major awards:
1979: Sahitya Akademi Award (Bengali): � Aranyer Adhikar (novel)
1986: Padma Shri[2]
1996: Jnanpith Award - the highest literary award from the Bharatiya Jnanpith
1997: Ramon Magsaysay Award - Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts
1999: Honoris causa - Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
2006: Padma Vibhushan - the second highest civilian award from the Government of India
2010:Yashwantrao Chavan National Award
2011: Bangabibhushan - the highest civilian award from the Government of West Bengal
2012: Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Sahityabramha - the first Lifetime Achievement award in Bengali Literature from 4thScreen-IFJW.
মহাশ্বেত� দেবী একটি মধ্যবিত্� বাঙালি পরিবার� জন্মগ্রহ� করেছিলেন � তাঁর পিতা মনী� ঘট� ছিলে� কল্লোল যুগে� প্রখ্যাত সাহিত্যি� এব� তাঁর কাকা ছিলে� বিখ্যা� চিত্রপরিচালক ঋত্বিক ঘটক। মা ধরিত্রী দেবী� ছিলে� সাহিত্যি� � সমাজসেবী� মহাশ্বেত� দেবী বিখ্যা� নাট্যকার বিজন ভট্টাচার্যের সঙ্গ� বিবাহবন্ধন� আবদ্� হন� তাঁদের একমাত্� পুত্�, প্রয়াত নবারুণ ভট্টাচার্য স্মরণী� কবিতার পঙ্ক্ত� ‘এ মৃত্যু উপত্যক� আমার দে� নয়� এব� হারবার্ট উপন্যা� লিখে বাংল� সাহিত্যে স্থায়ী স্বাক্ষর রেখে গেছেন।
তাঁর শৈশব � কৈশোর� স্কুলে� পড়াশোন� ঢাকায়। দেশভাগের পর চল� আসেন কলকাতায়। এরপর শান্তিনিকেতনে� বিশ্বভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যাল� থেকে ইংরেজিতে অনার্স এব� কলকাতা বিশ্ববিদ্যাল� থেকে স্নাতকোত্তর ডিগ্রি নেন।
১৯৬৪ খ্রীষ্টাব্দে তিনি বিজয়গড় কলেজ� শিক্ষকতা শুরু করেন � এই সময়েই তিনি একজন সাংবাদিক এব� লেখিকা হিসাবে কা� করেন� পরবর্তীকালে তিনি বিখ্যা� হন মূলত পশ্চিমবাংলার উপজাতি এব� নারীদে� ওপ� তাঁর কাজে� জন্য � তিনি বিভিন্� লেখা� মাধ্যম� বিভিন্� উপজাতি এব� মেয়েদের উপ� শোষণ এব� বঞ্চনা� কথ� তুলে ধরেছেন� সাম্প্রতিক কালে মহাশ্বেত� দেবী পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারে� শিল্পনীতি� বিরুদ্ধে সর� হয়েছে� � সরকা� কর্তৃক বিপু� পরিমাণ� কৃষিজম� অধিগ্রহণ এব� স্বল্পমূল্যে তা শিল্পপতিদে� কাছে বিতরণে� নীতি� তিনি কড়া সমালোচ� � এছাড়া তিনি শান্তিনিকেতন� প্রোমোটারি ব্যবসা� বিরুদ্ধে� প্রতিবাদ করেছেন �
তাঁর লেখা শতাধিক বইয়ের মধ্য� হাজা� চুরাশি� মা অন্যতম� তাঁক� পদ্মবিভূষণ (ভারত সরকারে� দ্বিতীয় সর্বোচ্চ নাগরিক পুরস্কার,২০০৬), রামন ম্যাগসেস� পুরস্কার (১৯৯৭), জ্ঞানপী� পুরস্কার (সাহিত্� একাডেমির সর্বোচ্চ সাহিত্� সম্মান), সার্� সাহিত্� পুরস্কার (২০০৭) প্রভৃত� পদকে ভূষি� কর� হয়�
২০১৬ সালে� ২৮ জুলা�, বৃহস্পতিবা� বেলা ৩ট� ১৬ মিনিটে চিকিৎসাধী� অবস্থা� তিনি শেষনিশ্বাস ত্যা� করেন�
जन्म : 1926, ढाका�
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 23, 2013
Essentially, this story concerns the life of Sanichari. From the caste she was born into to being unfortunate enough to be born on unlucky Saturday, her life continues to see tragedy. Sanichari sees many of her immediate family pass away leaving her in a permanent state of insecurity. Somehow Sanichari continues to cling tightly to her dignity and this allows her to discover opportunities to allow her to support herself.
The realities of poverty regularly struck me especially when it is written, ‘For them, nothing has ever come easy. Just the daily struggle for a little maize gruel and salt is exhausting. Through motherhood and widowhood they are tied to the money lender. While those people spend huge sums of money on death ceremonies, just to get prestige�.� This quote really is central to Sanichari story and the community that she is part of as well as her motivation to become a professional mourner. Those that do have money use it to improve their status.
Many readers refer to this book as a Feminist text because of Sanichari’s ability to (with the help of Dulan) to manipulate the patriarchal culture resulting in her ability to support herself and not rely on men for life’s essentials. In many ways I struggled with this idea of Rudali being a Feminist book as I never considered working for free for a wealthy landowner (as Sanichari had to do to) to pay a debt as very liberating or even manipulating the patriarchal paradigm as very progressive.
As a feminist who grow up in the west where the focus was on very western issues such as pay equality, abortion rights and a more equal distribution of household responsibilities, I often felt uncomfortable when I read about Rudali being regarded a feminist text. When I first began read Rudali, I couldn’t really understand why it was considered feminist. But since finishing the story and thinking about it, my understanding of feminist has grown to appreciate that the struggles and agendas are culturally specific and different depending on where you live. In the West the aim is to push the boundaries of the patriarchal system but in Rudali and in more patriarchal cultures generally, women have to manipulate the system to suit their agenda in the same way that Sanichari does in the story.
Rudali and the story of Sanichari is defiantly worth reading and joins my long list of great Indian stories. While this book is a challenging one, it provides a lot to talk about, making it an ideal book for a book club and a priority read before your Indian adventure.
The realities of poverty regularly struck me especially when it is written, ‘For them, nothing has ever come easy. Just the daily struggle for a little maize gruel and salt is exhausting. Through motherhood and widowhood they are tied to the money lender. While those people spend huge sums of money on death ceremonies, just to get prestige�.� This quote really is central to Sanichari story and the community that she is part of as well as her motivation to become a professional mourner. Those that do have money use it to improve their status.
Many readers refer to this book as a Feminist text because of Sanichari’s ability to (with the help of Dulan) to manipulate the patriarchal culture resulting in her ability to support herself and not rely on men for life’s essentials. In many ways I struggled with this idea of Rudali being a Feminist book as I never considered working for free for a wealthy landowner (as Sanichari had to do to) to pay a debt as very liberating or even manipulating the patriarchal paradigm as very progressive.
As a feminist who grow up in the west where the focus was on very western issues such as pay equality, abortion rights and a more equal distribution of household responsibilities, I often felt uncomfortable when I read about Rudali being regarded a feminist text. When I first began read Rudali, I couldn’t really understand why it was considered feminist. But since finishing the story and thinking about it, my understanding of feminist has grown to appreciate that the struggles and agendas are culturally specific and different depending on where you live. In the West the aim is to push the boundaries of the patriarchal system but in Rudali and in more patriarchal cultures generally, women have to manipulate the system to suit their agenda in the same way that Sanichari does in the story.
Rudali and the story of Sanichari is defiantly worth reading and joins my long list of great Indian stories. While this book is a challenging one, it provides a lot to talk about, making it an ideal book for a book club and a priority read before your Indian adventure.
August 14, 2017
Although Mahashweta Devi asserts that her agenda isn't feminism, 'Rudali' is a piece of feminist writing. She has not only shed light on the problems of women in a lower caste setting, but also their empowerment. This gives a positive end to the story.
What I liked about this edition is that it includes a play adaptation of the story by Usha Ganguli as well as an essay by Anjum Katyal. The play dramatises the story accurately. Ganguli has managed to bring about the incidents in a dramatic way without compromising the story-line. She manages to pick up the details and fill in the blanks as per the requirement of the medium(play).
Coming back to Devi, the interesting thing about this writing is the format. It is written in more of a report form instead of your usual short story narrative. Yet, it has dialogues in indirect speech. I've read so many books, but, never come across anything like this. And it is quite effective!
What I liked about this edition is that it includes a play adaptation of the story by Usha Ganguli as well as an essay by Anjum Katyal. The play dramatises the story accurately. Ganguli has managed to bring about the incidents in a dramatic way without compromising the story-line. She manages to pick up the details and fill in the blanks as per the requirement of the medium(play).
Coming back to Devi, the interesting thing about this writing is the format. It is written in more of a report form instead of your usual short story narrative. Yet, it has dialogues in indirect speech. I've read so many books, but, never come across anything like this. And it is quite effective!
July 5, 2015
Mahasweta Devi's style of writing is simple and powerful. Her work as an activist with the Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes of India informs her writing and her stories are as shocking as they are well written, a fantastic resource for someone wanting to understand the lives of the marginalised of our society.
January 28, 2019
Too much to write about this book. Though set in the era of advent of British era. Mahashweta Devi has beautifully captured how women are marginalised in the society on three fold-class, caste and gender. The story of Shanichari will strike a cord and leave you thinking whether the society has really changed from then.
May 1, 2023
A heart wrenching story of hunger and women. Includes a play script at the back. Very nicely done.
May 27, 2024
A pure and undecorated perspective of a woman accustomed to suffering.
Well meaning people often say that there is something to be learned from the resilience of the downtrodden, that if they can find contentment living in slums, we have no excuse to do otherwise.
I think to those people tears are worthless, they will not provide food for their children or wood for their husband’s funeral pyre. Sanichari understands this, and instead finds value in crying elsewhere, capitalising on the deaths of the men that have built the glass ceiling she was born under.
Rudalis only make sense with context, the context being a society where the deathbed of a loved one is seen as an opportunity and where well choreographed theatrics at a funeral can wash away a lifetime of sin. Unlike the emperors new clothes, the veil is seemingly never lifted.
But a lifetime without a roof to protect from nature and without the time to concoct a personal story different from reality allows some to always see the truth. The veil is removed and the emperor is naked.
While a rich man’s stories will be written into history, women like Sanichari will always protect the counter narrative, one told in brothels and in the fields and in lamp-lit huts over a shared plate. Truth is unblemished, and is passed down by the poorest, free of rust and evil eyes. Truth has value and makes a simple life worth more than a great one.
Well meaning people often say that there is something to be learned from the resilience of the downtrodden, that if they can find contentment living in slums, we have no excuse to do otherwise.
I think to those people tears are worthless, they will not provide food for their children or wood for their husband’s funeral pyre. Sanichari understands this, and instead finds value in crying elsewhere, capitalising on the deaths of the men that have built the glass ceiling she was born under.
Rudalis only make sense with context, the context being a society where the deathbed of a loved one is seen as an opportunity and where well choreographed theatrics at a funeral can wash away a lifetime of sin. Unlike the emperors new clothes, the veil is seemingly never lifted.
But a lifetime without a roof to protect from nature and without the time to concoct a personal story different from reality allows some to always see the truth. The veil is removed and the emperor is naked.
While a rich man’s stories will be written into history, women like Sanichari will always protect the counter narrative, one told in brothels and in the fields and in lamp-lit huts over a shared plate. Truth is unblemished, and is passed down by the poorest, free of rust and evil eyes. Truth has value and makes a simple life worth more than a great one.
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April 16, 2022Rudaali is about Life Force, to create life, unleashes forces beyond control, tragic chain of events, brink of solace, all emotions connecting creation. A treacheroud journey to understand hidden forced of Nature. Gothic with Epic Battle,exploration of limits of creativity.
Rudaali Has the best cenamatographic technology and montage creates compact plots. Meaningful to understand What is next in Science Fiction at Peak.
Rudaali Has the best cenamatographic technology and montage creates compact plots. Meaningful to understand What is next in Science Fiction at Peak.
August 26, 2020
There's a lot changes reading a fiction part and the play. I felt in deep while reading the fictional part. Their, pain and emotions was really seen through this and as the story ends, it made my emotions to those characters even worse.
March 17, 2025
A really well-written story. Well in portraying the many lived realities of women in India. And I liked the way the author employed many parallels, ironies and the 'inevitability' of 'fate' all throughout the story.
June 6, 2019
Awesome book
June 26, 2020
Excellent of agony
October 6, 2021
It's brutal and here struggle is devoid of any self pity.What stood out for me is the level of indifference the protagonist shows towards its oppressor.
October 30, 2024
প্রথ� গল্পটিতে জীবনের বহ� বিপরীতধর্মী ব্যঞ্জনা� পাশাপাশি অনন্তর অবস্থা� বড� ভালোলেগেছে� লেখিকা� এই তিনট� গল্প� জীবন ছেঁচ� নেয়�, রক্ত-ঘা�-অশ্র�-বঞ্চনা� রূঢ় বাস্তবিক নিপা� বুনন� অনন্�, সম্ভ্রান্ত �
December 6, 2012
I read the play based on Rudali loved it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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