User:Tithithakkar/sandbox

Introduction
Stanadayini is a work of Mahashweta Devi, it first appeared in and has been reprinted in. The story concerns the character Jashoda and her transformation from a mother to a professional mother.She took a job in a big family, Haldar Family to breastfeed their children.She was given this job after a son of Haldar Family injured her husband in an accident. It is Jashoda whose survival is seriously jeopardized by the castration of her husband’s feet and then the death of their patron, lacking as she is of anything monetarily or spiritually relevant to a patriarchal culture — save for her prophetic lactation, her ever flowing supply of breast milk. In producing heirs, husbands of the house wanted to preserve their wifes' beauty — and this became the deal sealing point for Jashoda’s induction into professional motherhood. The mistresses of the house thought of grabbing the opportunity as they thought that the daughter in laws will be mothers and will continue to be for as long as possible and suckling will ruin a woman's shape. As she extends her task to not only her own but to many more, Jashoda becomes ‘Martyr’ — a role that suggests both significance and sub-ordinance, and even worship, while she constantly secures her ‘never ending’ lack of milk and nourishment. In the end, Jashoda suffers a painful and a lonely death. Her plentiful breasts were now only a wound.

About the author
Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in Dacca. She has written more than hundred books which include novels, plays and a collection of short stories. She was a leading contemporary writer in Bengali. She is recognised nationally and internationally due to translations of her work into Indian languages. She was known for Sunghursh (1968), Rudaali (1993) and Maati Maay (2006). She was married to Asit Gupta and Bijon Bhattacharya. She died on July 28, 2016 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.