The Girl Who Loved Words : Mahasweta Devi
by Lavanya Karthik
“The Girl Who Loved Words : Mahasweta Devi” by Lavanya Karthik. Published by Duckbill. A power packed short biography of Khuku before she grew up and became known to the world as Mahasweta Devi, the writer and human rights activist.
The renowned Bangla writer Mahasweta Devi used her pen to write about the lives and injustices meted out to the tribal communities of India. Before she became a writer, she was a girl called Khuku who loved words and had made friends with them. The words attracted her and she would be lost looking at them in the newspapers. They seemed to call out to her from her parents’ books. Khuku followed them delightedly as they danced and led the way for her.
Khuku could not stop reading books. The words in them opened up windows for her to explore worlds way beyond her home in Dhaka which was then part of undivided Bengal. They lit up her dreams and became knives. They could be used to cut deep into her thereby hurting her. Read the incredible story of how Khuku went on to become the writer and human rights activist that the world came to know her as when she grew up.
My 8.5 year old and I enjoyed reading the book. It was amazing to know about Mahasweta Devi’s childhood as we had already read some of our favourite books written by her such as “Our Incredible Cow” and “The Why-Why Girl” in the last two years several times. It was time for us to know more about her. Her passion, determination and perseverance to stand up and represent the unheard voice of suppressed tribal communities is commendable. The fact that she travelled herself to remote villages and lived with the people to understand their lives before writing their stories is amazing.
The illustrations are gorgeous and inspired the work of artist Chittaprosad Bhattacharya whose sketches and prints voiced the suffering of millions of people during the Bengal famine of 1943. This aspect gives a beautiful regional touch to the narrative. This book is part of the “Dreamers Series” from Duckbill. We have enjoyed reading some of the other books from this series such as the ones on Teejan Bai , Satyajit Ray, R.K.Narayan & R.K.Laxman, Janaki Ammal, Dr. Salim Ali and Bachendri Pal. Looking forward to reading more from this amazing series which is one of our favourites! :)
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 6 and above.
Reasons to Read
The book showcases the power of words and stories through the story of the childhood of Mahasweta Devi.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!