Deepti Naval with actress Archita and (below) Mahasweta Devi and Deepti at the event Unique Women: Lives and Experiences in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, April 30: They did not choose to be mere spectators to injustice and vandalism but believed in taking action.

While one dedicated her entire life to uplift and fight for the rights of tribal people, the other penned her traumatic life experiences in a book of poetry.

So, when both Mahasweta Devi and Deepti Naval spoke about their enriching journey at a recent event in the city, Unique Women: lives and experiences, it was sure to evoke a warm response from the audience.

The event, organised by Sansristi, was dedicated to women who have achieved great feats in their unconventional lives.

Writer and activist Mahasweta Devi gave a detailed account of her journey from a school kid to an activist.

She spoke of her Shantiniketan days where she was treated on par with the boys. She recollected of never having faced gender inequalities during her days at the Tagore school.

“I was lucky to have done my schooling from a liberal school such as Shantiniketan where our opinions and views were always counted. This has helped during my visits to the tribal regions and my fight against the injustice done to them,” said Mahasweta Devi.

She also shared her encounters with different tribal groups all over India, including Odisha.

Her extensive work for the welfare of the de-notified tribes throughout the country provided an insight into the tribal culture.

“The tribals are far more civilised than us. They are extremely clean, they have immense respect for law and order and above all, they respect women. In every tribe that I have visited, it was conspicuous that women were treated as equals to men — a lesson the urban culture should learn,” added the writer.

After Mahasweta Devi, acclaimed actor, painter, director and now, a writer Deepti Naval talked about the special days during her shoots for the film Ankahee.

“I remember visiting the famous mental asylum in Ranchi and I was so disturbed by what I saw. Later, I visited a few other asylums in Maharashtra while writing a script. Badly affected by what I saw, I decided to write Black Wind,” said Deepti.

The actress then went on to recite some of her poems She’s mad if she thinks she is sane, Electric Shock, The Lunatic is out on a war and a few more.

After a few of her dark poems, she read out Smita and I, to liven up the mood, recounting her days with actress Smita Patil.

Actors Archita and Sabyasachi, who seemed to enjoy every bit of the evening, attended the event.

“It was such a pleasure to meet Mahasweta Devi and Deepti Naval. I have read many of Mahasweta Devi’s books and am very much inspired by her work. If I can contribute to society even a per cent of what she has done, I will be overwhelmed,” said the actress.