ABSTRACT
In this tribute to her role model Mahasweta Devi, the writer of this essay highlights aspects of this unique icon of literature, which have not been revealed earlier. According to her account, Mahasweta Devi never used sugar-coated words or wrote about her own personal life. She hints at the author’s deep love for her son, which was never publicly expressed. Mahasweta Devi was special because she had the ability to stay as true to herself and her character as possible, whatever the circumstances. Agnihotri points out that Mahasweta Devi demonstrated that writing was neither a deskbound activity nor divorced from human contact. Her literature was replaced by the responsibilities of a social worker. It was her search for the roots of the forgotten and undocumented history of the Adivasi society, intertwined with her personal involvement in their lives, which together constituted the essence of her writing and attracted readers. The writer admires the courage of her role model and hopes to be able to follow in her hallowed footsteps.
