Civilized Tribal Relations Vs Disabilities of Modern Societies: A Reading of Mahasweta Devi’s Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay o Pirtha

Abstract

The so-called modern civilized society describes the term ‘tribal’ as the antonym of ‘civilized’. However, Mahasweta Devi’s Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay o Pirtha (the novel that Devi describes as the essence of her tribal experience) exposes this sham of the modern society while bringing out its disabilities and uncivilized inhumane aspects. And this she does by delineating not only the interpersonal and societal relations in tribal communities but also by describing the tribals’ relation with the Nature that sustains their existence. The civilized-to-the-core tribal society, Devi shows in the novel, is brutally exploited by the savage outsiders—the representatives of the so-called modern civilized society. These are government officials, journalists, businessmen, contractors, money-lenders from the modern world whose lust, of all the types there, has brought the tribals on the verge of extinction. Based on the first hand experiences of Mahasweta Devi, this novel belongs to the category of docufiction, through an analysis of which the present paper attempts to expose the disabilities of the contemporary society—the society that in the name of development mercilessly exploits the tribals as well as the Nature and is incapable of respecting their existence.