Other works by Devi include her first novel, The Queen of Jhansi (1956), a story based on an actual princess who fought and lost her life in the Mutiny of 1857 against the British, Mother of 1084 (1974), and The Occupation of the Forest (1977). Bitter Soil is a short story collection that includes “Salt”, “Seed”, “The Witch” and “Little Ones”, all written in the 1980s. According to Seagull Books, “they resonate with anger against the exploitation she witnessed firsthand as well as the complacent hypocrisy of the upper castes and classes.”
Works by revered Indian poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, may also be relevant, especially since Devi attended a school founded by Tagore for her...
