Mahasweta Devi’s Bitter Soil: An Ecocritical Perspective

Abstract

This research article critically examines Mahasweta Devi as an Environmental crusader with special reference to Bitter Soil. It is a set of four short stories that is, “Little Ones”, “Seeds”, “Witch”, and “Salt”. These stories focus on the injustice done to the environment and to its environs. The first story “Little Ones” revolves around how the mainstream people exploit the environment and the Aghariya tribes in Lohri. The second story “Seed” set around Kuruda village. It deals with two themes; one is the exploitation of field labourers by not giving them a proper wage and the second is the exploitation by offering uncultivable land to the tribes in the name of ‘Budhanodyamam’. The third story “Witch” delineates the concept of daini in the villages of Hesadi and Murhai and the ecological imbalance in those villages. The fourth story in the collection is “Salt”. As the title suggests, the story revolves around the importance of salt.