Book Review: RUDALI
This is a short-story written by Mahasweta Devi. It
centres around the life of Sanichari, a tribal woman, who had to endure much
hardships in life. She faced many deaths in her life, each of a near and dear
one, yet she never had the luxury to shed tears for any of them, as each time
she had to wage a struggle for mere survival. Finally, for the sake of living,
she became Rudali, a professional mourner. She had to sell her pent up tears to
earn a livelihood.
It’s a heart-wrenching story of a woman and brings
tears to the readers eyes. It offers great insights into the tribal life, who
are exploited by the upper castes generation after generation. The book was adopted
into a movie. Though I haven’t seen the movie. Yet the book moved me deeply.
