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Maitreyi Devi

マイトレイー・デヴィ

Maitreyi Devi

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1914-09-10 （Chittagong (now Bangladesh)）
Died
1989-01-29 （Kolkata, West Bengal, India） age 74
Nationality
India
Languages
Bengali, English
Religion
Hinduism
Residence History
Chittagong (birthplace) → Kolkata (principal residence) → Mungpoo (summer retreat; site of Rabindra Museum)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Novelist, Social activist
Active Years
1930-1989
Affiliations
Council for the Promotion of Communal Harmony (founder), All-India Women's Coordinating Council (vice-president)
Influenced By
Rabindranath Tagore

Education

St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School
Country: India
Attended secondary school in Calcutta before university-affiliated women's college
Jogamaya Devi College (affiliated with University of Calcutta)
Country: India
Graduated from an affiliated undergraduate women's college of the University of Calcutta

Awards

Sahitya Akademi Award
1976
Work: Na Hanyate (It Does Not Die)
Organization: Sahitya Akademi (India)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Na Hanyate (It Does Not Die)

1974 Novel (autobiographical elements) 280 pages

A novel with autobiographical elements responding to Mircea Eliade's account of their past; it explores youthful passion, memory, and the representation of intimate events, offering Devi's perspective and rebuttal.

MemoryLove and passionSelf-representationConnections to Tagore
Translations
  • Translated into English (It Does Not Die) and several European languages, including Romanian.

Tagore by Fireside (Mongpute Rabindranath)

1943 Memoir / Essays

A record of Rabindranath Tagore's visits and Devi's personal recollections, including accounts of his stays at Mungpoo.

ReminiscenceTagore studiesMentor-disciple relationship

Rabindranath—The Man behind His Poetry

1973 Biography / Study

A study introducing and analyzing the personality of Rabindranath Tagore and the contexts of his poetry.

Tagore studiesBiographyLiterary criticism

Bibliography

  • Tagore by Fireside (1943)
  • Rabindranath—The Man behind His Poetry (1973)
  • Na Hanyate (It Does Not Die) (1974)
  • Aditya Marichi (poetry, 1972)

Adaptations

  • Film adaptation of Mircea Eliade's Bengal Nights (La Nuit Bengali / The Bengali Night, 1988) led to legal challenges by Devi over character naming and depiction.

Translations of Works

  • Na Hanyate was translated into English and several European languages (including Romanian); in 1994 the University of Chicago Press republished Bengali and Eliade's work as companion volumes.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Lyrical and reflective proseReminiscent and measured narrationBlurring boundaries between autobiography and fiction
Recurring Motifs
Memory and reinterpretationMentor-disciple relationship (Tagore)Youthful passion and its aftermath

Legacy

Maitreyi Devi is an important figure in Bengali literature and Tagore studies; she gained international attention for Na Hanyate and contributed to social causes and communal harmony initiatives.

Museums

  • Rabindra Museum (Mungpoo) Mungpoo, near Kalimpong, West Bengal

Academic Societies

  • All-India Women's Coordinating Council (served as vice-president)

Archives

  • Library of Congress (authority record exists)

In Popular Culture

  • Controversy over Mircea Eliade's Bengal Nights and its film adaptation affected public recognition of Devi beyond literary circles.

Trivia

  • Published her first poetry collection at age 16 with a preface by Rabindranath Tagore.
  • Her youthful relationship with Mircea Eliade and the literary exchange it spawned attracted international controversy.
  • Founded the Council for the Promotion of Communal Harmony in 1964 and was active in social welfare, including establishing orphanages.