Exploitation and Deprivation of Women in Jayanta Mahapatra’s Poems
EXPLOITATION AND DEPRIVATION OF WOMEN IN JAYANTA
MAHAPATRA’S POEMS
Rita Shanthakumar
Lecturer, Department of
English, Cauvery College
for Women, Trichy.
Jayanta Mahapatra’s male dominated
world in Orissa believes in the
emancipation of women to be liberated
and considers them to be a human being
and not as an object of sexual interest.
From time immemorial women are
considered as the weaker sex, food giver,
pleasure maker but never has her status
and dignity of being a woman respected in
the society and at home. Women are never
treated in par with men especially in the
state of Orissa wherein the poet gives an
insight that patriarchal society plays a
major role wherein women are dumb and
silent bearers of humiliation and shame.
The denial of recognition and struggle for
a social entity determines a psychological
ambivalence of the patriarchy. Mahapatra
voices the staunch reality to the readers
through his poems that women are not
dolls but with persons to be dealt with
humanitarian concern. He gives voice to
the deep concealed emotion of the woman
because he feels that through literature the
agonies, pain and frustration be given
recognition it deserves.
Mahapatra is able to foresee the mind
and feelings of the deprived prostitutes
who are left forgotten in the society.
Society hardly cares about them. In the
poem “The Whorehouse at Calcutta
Street ” Mahapatra probes into the insight
of the prostitutes that they are human
beings who have left their families behind
to earn money by giving pleasure to the
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menfolk in need of sex. In the poem, the
reader can see the men folk being free
having a wide ranging social life of
immoral behavior and the prostitutes seek
for money by being as pleasure givers
forever but inwardly they are sad and
anxious to rush home to be with their
families.
“Perhaps their reminding
themselves of looked after children
and of home;the shooting stars in
the eager darkness of return”.
Mahapatra considers the prostitutes
as a part of the society and an identity is
created by him as he deals with pain and
agonizes the less unfortunate ones in
confronting the cultured society. In the
poem “Dawn at Puri” Mahapatra exposes
the pathetic plight of the widows who are
left forsaken and jilted by the society.
Even the widows are left behind to wait
until the auspicious ceremony is over in
the temple. The poem evokes pity on the
part of the readers.
“Their austere eyes
stare like those caught in the net”.
A simile is presented portraying the
widowed women’s plight to that of the
fishes caught in the net whose eyes stare
patiently waiting to enter the temple.
Mahapatra explores deeply the tragic
situation and the mind of the widow who
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is in darkness after the death of her
husband is considered as a bad omen. In
the poem “A Missing Person” the woman
talks to her own self as she has no one to
talk to and a mild form of narcissism is
sketched by the poet wherein the lady falls
in love with her own image and self love
is exposed.
Marriage, homemaking and child
rearing are some of the dictums that define
a woman. Man on the other hand is
regarded as a gift of God right from the
ancient times.The birth of a male child is
expected with great anxiety, love, smiles
and celebration in India. Women are
denied freedom and a widow becomes an
outcaste particularly in Orissa where a
widowed woman must never join the
family members when it is dinner time.
At this juncture when the rules
become more rigid and strict, the younger
generation is given an eye opener by
Jayanta Mahapatra claiming that women
must break the shackles of superstition,
narrow mindedness, suppression that have
been tied around them restricting their
movements.
In the poem “Hunger” the poet has
focussed the reality occurring in India
where poverty plays a pivotal role
promoting sex to earn money. “Hunger”
involves the hunger of money to satisfy
physical hunger and the hunger for sex.
The reader is astounded to see the father of
the daughter allowing strangers to have
sex with his own child.
The line “feel her, I’ll be back soon”
dumbfounds the reader with awe and
disgust that money plays a major role in
satisfying the physical hunger of the girl
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and the sexual needs of the strangers. In
the poem “Lost” the speaker is addressing
to the woman whom he happens to fondles
her but his lover does not reciprocate her
love. The predicament of the lover is that
he wants his desire to be met not wanting
to know why she is far away from
responding to his love. Physically he longs
for her to feel the pleasure of sex but he
identifies himself as a misplaced watch as
their love turns out to be sour.
Mahapatra is unhappy with the
people of India for being so cruel to Indira
Gandhi. The outlook of the people and the
present condition of the country depresses
the poet. He fondly remembers Indira
Gandhi who fell to the assasin’s bullet like
Gandhiji having rendered invaluable
services to the country. In the poem “A
Sullen Balance” Mahapatra portrays the
sacrifice of Mrs.Gandhi to keep our
country united but in turn she received her
end.
Mahapatra draws a keen insight of
the silent woman who is left unknown and
uncared and being treated as a toy in the
hands of men. Mahapatra blames that
poverty is the root cause of prostitution in
India. In the poem “Slum” the protagonist
sees an old whore on the road and looks
for a customer. Mahapatra exposes the fact
that the whore’s breasts look tired as she
has exposed her breasts to the customers
in order to earn money for her living.
Mahapatra also depicts a lonely girl who is
as sad as her life being ruined as she had
failed to lead a respectable life and hence
becomes a young whore. The poet portrays
the plight of women slum dwellers who
are an expression of insolence and
defiance painted on their faces. The truth
is well portrayed by the poet dealing with
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the hidden women, women of the dark,
women of money, tortured women,
penniless women and the atrocities faced
by women from men exists from the
ancient to the modern times. Women must
see the dawn of the light breaking the
darkness and need to be empowered to
face the challenges in the male dominated
world enhancing life style and status in the
society for a bright future. Mahapatra’s
characters well portray the true picture of
the forsaken woman pointing out the fact
that men are responsible and blamed for
their act of treating women as forgotten
members of the society.
REFERENCE
• The poetry of Jayanta Mahapatra
(Third Revised and Enlarged Edition),
By Bijay Kumar Das.
• Indo Anglian Poetry by Ramji Lall.

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