Imaginary Maps

Weaving history, myth and current political realities, these three stories by Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi explore troubling motifs in contemporary Indian life. Both delicate and violent, Devi's stories map the experiences of the "tribals" and tribal life during decolonization. Whether rendering the themes of ecological loss, the connections between local elites and international capitalism, or the role of gender in expressing resistance, as in "The Hunt", Mahasweta Devi always links the fate of tribals in India to that of marginalized people everywhere. Devi's texts are examined and amplified by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Her essays analyze the scope and impact of these stories, connecting the local and international power lines in them.