e n

‘Gondi literature stands out for its proximity to nature and anger against subjugation’

Ushakiran Atram, a scholar of Gondi language and literature, says Gondi literature is markedly different from the literature of other languages. Gondi literature is primarily oral and is close to ‘Nisarg’ – that is, Earth and nature

Ushakiran Atram is a well-known Gondi litterateur. She lives in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. She has written prolifically in Marathi, too. Among her published works are Motyarin (anthology of Gondi poems), Mhorki (Marathi poetry), Aher (short stories in Marathi), Ek Jhonka Anandacha (children’s songs in Marathi), Gondwana Ki Mahan Viranganayein (Hindi), Gondwana Mein Kachargarh: Pavitra Bhumi (Hindi) and Aheracha Badla Aher (Marathi play). Ushakiran Aatram spoke with Forward Press Hindi Editor Nawal Kishore Kumar. Edited excerpts:  

When and where were you born? What is your family background? 

I was born at Nandori village on 28 April 1954. My father was Dadaji Kushan Shah Atram and my Aayi (Marathi for mother) was Shalubai. My father was the son of a landlord who hailed from the Atram royal family of Chandagarh. My grandfather’s name was Sundarshah Atram.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: ‘Gondi literature stands out for its proximity to nature and anger against subjugation’

About The Author

Nawal Kishore Kumar

Nawal Kishore Kumar is Editor (Hindi), Forward Press

Related Articles

‘Sahitya Akademi has brought itself honour by honouring Sanjeev’
In his more than a dozen novels, Sanjeev has depicted the reality of the post-Independence Indian society. The issues and topics that he has...
In his ‘Ambedkar: A Life’, Shashi Tharoor betrays his privileged-caste naivete
After coming out with ‘Why I Am A Hindu’, Tharoor has predictably set out to look for Ambedkar’s ‘flaws’ in his biography of Ambedkar,...
Phanishwar Nath Renu – who gave centrality to the toilers of ‘the provinces’
Renu took the genre of reportage to new heights in Hindi literature. No one has been able to match him to date. In his...
For Ambedkar, Mahad Satyagraha was the end of a road and the beginning of a new one
The burning of the Manusmriti on 25 December 1927 during the Mahad Satyagraha marked the end of Ambedkar’s attempts to reform Hinduism, writes Siddharth
Rajesh Paswan: Criticism within Dalit Literature is still in its infancy
Our Dalit writers don’t take criticism well. They begin enquiring about the caste and ideology of the critic. They evaluate criticism on these parameters,...