Jyotirmoyee Devi

Jyotirmoyee Devi (Bengali: জ্যোতির্ময়ী দেবী) (1896–1988) was an Indian writer in the early twentieth century. She wrote predominantly about women in the Rajasthan of her childhood and in what is now Bangladesh at the time of Partition. She is best known for her short stories, which have a wonderfully understated dry wit and sharp sociological observations.

Biography

Jyotirmoyee Devi was born in the Princely State of Jaipur in 1894, where her family had lived since 1857. Her father, Abinash Chandra Sen, was the eldest son of Sansar Chandra Sen who had come to Jaipur as a schoolmaster but quickly rose to the post of Dewan to the Maharaja of Jaipur. Jyotirmoyee grew up in Jaipur, receiving little formal education but observing keenly all that she saw around her. She was much impressed by the mixture of decadence and splendour that characterised the society of the zenana (women’s quarters) in a Princely State of the time. Jyotirmoyee was allowed to read whatever she liked in her grandfather’s well-stocked library and thus acquired a rather eclectic exposure to the world. At the age of 10 she was married to a lawyer, Kiran Chandra Sen, from a literary and aristocratic family from Guptipara, who were well known to many of the leading figures of Bengali literature.

Jyotirmoyee might never have written had she not tragically lost her husband in 1918 due to influenza. Barely 25 years old, with six small children (Amia, Anubha, Arun Chandra, Asoka, Amitava and Anjuli), she returned to her parents' house, leaving one child with her husband’s family. There she lived under the rigid rules of orthodox Hindu widowhood, rules which she continued to observe punctiliously even though she began to question their basis. In her abandonment, Jyotirmoyee turned to literature for solace. She read John Stuart Mill’s On the Subjection of Women which she got from her grandpa, and this led her to think deeply on the question of women’s rights. Conservative in her own behaviour, she nevertheless made it a rule always to treat her sons and daughters equally. She now began to write the trenchant, luminous Bengali short stories for which she is remembered. Set in Rajasthan, Delhi and Bengal, they are unsentimental yet deeply sympathetic, richly detailed yet intellectually limpid. She also has non-fiction to her credit, writing especially about the rights of women and Dalits. Her collection of short stories, Sona Rupa Noy (Not Gold and Silver) won the Rabindra Puraskar in 1973. From 1959 to 1988 she resided in the Shyambazar area at 2G, Kartick Bose Lane, Kolkata-700006.

Style

Her poems as well as her stories are written so that anyone and everyone can understand them. Yet the message conveyed was as strong as a brick. No use of sophisticated vocabulary is a great feature of her writing, also practised by Swami Vivekananda in his speeches. Her writing is based on real life experience and learning. She might not have been formally educated but that was no wall to her writing. A great inspiration for anyone wanting to write but is not confident about doing so.

Books

Her books are available in various stores in Kolkata as well as other places. The short story, "Daini" is part of the Bengali syllabus of Indian Certificate of Secondary Education. Her daughter Asoka was in charge of her books but unfortunately she died in June, 2008. Much of her work has been translated by Barnita Bagchi.

A translation (by Apala G. Egan) of her story "The Princess Baby" appeared in J Journal: New Writing on Justice (Spring 2014). J Journal is the literary journal housed at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.

Bibliography

Jyotirmoyee Devi, The Impermanence of Lies (Calcutta: Stree, 1999) Introduction by Mahasweta Devi.