''Hajar Churashir Maa'' (''No. 1084's Mother'') is a
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...
winner
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016) ''
. It was written in 1974 on the backdrop of the
Naxalite
Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology.
Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight ...
revolution in the Seventies.''Hajar Churashir Maa'' Retrieved 17 July 2012
Overview
''Hajar Churashir Maa'' (means Mother of 1084) is story of a mother (Sujata) whose son (Brati), corpse number 1084 in the
morgue
A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cu ...
, was brutally killed by the state because of his
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
of advocating the brutal killing of class enemies, collaborators with the State and counter-revolutionaries within the Party. The story starts on the eve of Brati's death anniversary when Sujata recollects her son starting from his birth. She meets Brati's close accomplice and tries to justify Brati's actions and his
revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
ary mentalities. Throughout the story she is portrayed as a strong woman who fought against the odds. She is advised to forget her son, as people like her son are what are often called "''cancerous growth on the body of
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
''". It's a story of a mother as she relives, years later, the death of her son in the political upheaval that left almost no home untouched.THE SIXTY-YEAR JOURNEY: BHASHA LITERATURE
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
. Published Sunday, 7 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2012 ''Hajar Churashir Maa'' also portrays the other faces of the human stories that emanated from the restless political adventure of the vibrant Bengali youth, which was ruthlessly cowed by the then
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
government until the Communist Party displaced them and who then again themselves ruthlessly cowed their opponents, the same Bengali youth.
Characters
* Sujata: Main
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
and a ''modern'' strong mother.
* Brati: Rebel and son of Sujata.
* Dibyanath: Husband of Sujata and seen as same type of people against whom Brati fought.
* Nandini : girlfriend of Brati
Film adaptation
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema, particularly the movement of parallel cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Aw ...
Jnanpith Award
The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...
in 1996 for this book, which she received from
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n freedom fighter and president
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
. Published 29 March 1997. Record Number : A0080925. Retrieved 18 July 2012
* (''Karuna Prakashani'',
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
-9)
* (''Karuna Prakashani'',
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
-9)Hajaar Churasir Maa(Hardcover, Bengali)
Flipkart
Flipkart Inc. is an Indian e-commerce company, headquartered in Bangalore, and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company. The company initially focused on online book sales before expanding into other product categories such as con ...
.com. Retrieved 18 July 2012
References
External links
Biography of Mahasweta Devi Retrieved 17 July 2012
''emory.edu''. Retrieved 29 July 2012
One Of A Rare Tribe ''outlookindia.com''. Retrieved 29 July 2012
* Roy, Pinaki. "''Mother of 1084'': A Chronicle of Deadly Times". ''Mahasweta Devi's 'Mother of 1084': Critical Readings and Rereadings''. Eds. Sarkar, J., and S. Debnath.
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...