Draupadi - Mahasweta Devi
Set in 1970s Bengal, the story is around the time of immense sociopolitical problems, further fueled by the Maoist insurgency.
Draupadi is the story of Dopdi (the Santhali name for the Sanskrit Draupadi). Dopdi is a naxal wanted by the police for killing a landlord. She is captured by the policeman and gangraped.
Drawing parallels with the Draupadi of the Mahabharata, who is saved by Lord Krishna from the Kauravas, this naxal Draupadi is treated with the lowest point of humanity. Readers are exposed to the question, if we only worship the ancient goddesses in clay statues or do we respect them in real life?
A RajaRavi Verma painting
No comments:
Post a Comment