Four women—Dhouli, Shanichari, Josmina, Chinta—all from the most oppressed, marginalized segments of society. Whether it is Dhouli, the young Dusad woman who finds herself an outcast in her own village; Shanichari, the Oraon girl who is forced into working in the brick kilns outside Calcutta; Josmina, the Ho tribal who, with her husband, gets sucked into the racket of trade in cheap coolie labour; or Chinta, a Brahman widow whose caste is no protection against the harsh social structures that force her into working as a part-time maid in Calcutta—the life stories of each of these women have one thing in common: the unending class, caste and gender exploitation which makes their lives a relentless struggle for survival. Mahasweta Devi’s acute and sensitivity which makes these women step out of the margins of society to live in our minds, impressive in their quiet courage and tenacity, their will to survive.
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