Vadodara: The ashes of late litterateur and tribal activist, Mahasweta Devi, will be brought to the city on Saturday. As per her wish, the ashes will be put to rest at the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh in Chhota Udepur district on Sunday.
Mahasweta Devi had died in Kolkata on July 28 after prolonged age-related complications. She had shared a close bond with the city-based Bhasha Research and Publication Center and its founder Prof Ganesh Devy, who will be bringing the ashes to Vadodara.
Devy said that Mahasweta Devi had first visited Vadodara for the Verrier Elwin Memorial Lecture. It was during her visit that the foundation of the Denotified Tribes Rights Action Group was laid. "We travelled and worked together extensively. She used to spend 10 to 12 days a month in the city," he said.
Devy added that she had seen the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh being created right from the scratch. "She would often say that she would take eternal rest at the academy. She even mentioned this while speaking at the Jaipur Literary Festival," Devy said. He said that Devi had visited the city for the last time for the Bhasha Vasudha conclave of languages organised by Bhasha in 2012. "After this it became difficult for her to travel due to old age and health problems and she could not come again," Devy said. She was also a member of the Bhasha Trust and its chairperson in 2004-05. She had inaugurated the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh on August 15, 2015.
The ashes will be kept at Bhasha's office in the city on Sunday morning for paying tributes. From there the ashes will be taken to Tejgadh. Devy said that a small memorial will be erected at Tejgadh.
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