Research Gateway

Man-Nature relationship and the presentation of this relationship in literature are the underlining principles of Eco-criticism. Mahasweta Devi beautifully portrays this communion of nature and man in many of her works. Focusing her works on the plight of tribals, she studies this relationship from very close quarters. The tribals are natural guardians of rich flora and fauna of our dense forests. Their folktales, the myth, the dreams and the visions find an expression in Pterodactyl, Puran, Sahay and Pirtha, a story collected in Imaginary Maps. Pterodactyl is an extinct reptile bird of the Pterosauria class from Mesozoic era. This flying reptile is visible only to Puran Sahay and Bikhia in tribal region of Pirtha in Madhya Pradesh. Through Puran Sahay, the reporter, and Shankar, the tribal boy, Devi strongly comments on tribals' life and problems. Caught in the whirlpool of government sponsored developmental schemes, the tribals struggle hard to protect their primitive and pristine culture. The paper seeks to highlight the impact of modernization of the 'ecological equilibrium' of tribal culture, which hitherto, has been beautifully managed and maintained by tribal people.