Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)

A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.5.Issue 4. 2017

Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (Oct-Dec.)
Email:[email protected] ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)

RESEARCH ARTICLE

DEPICTION OF SURVIVAL SEX IN JAYANTA MAHAPATRA’S POEM “HUNGER”

DHANISHA K.S.
Guest Lecturer, Department of English, Sacred Heart College, Chalakudy, Kerala, India
Email id: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
During the ancient period women enjoyed high status and played a significant role in
society and a feminine term “Shakti” literally means “power and strength”. Literary
evidence suggests that kings and towns were destroyed because the rulers troubled a
single woman. Ilango Adigal’s Sillapathigaram teaches us Madurai, the capital of the
Pandyas was burnt because Pandyan Nedunchezhiyan mistakenly did harm to
Kannaki. But the status and role of woman discriminated in the later periods and they
were considered to be the weaker sex, food giver and sex object. Her status and
DHANISHA K.S. dignity as a woman is not accepted in society as well as at home. Our history reveals
many instances how she is meted out injustice, deprived of her basic needs and even
fundamental rights. From the position of a deity she is degraded into a prostitute who
sells her body for money due to miserable living condition, poverty and starvation.
Such survival sex can be vividly seen in Jayanta Mahapatra’s poem “Hunger”. The
poem presents a sentimental touching story of a fifteen year old girl who becomes a
whore to keep starvation at bay with the consent of her father- a poor fisher man.
Here her father himself acts as a pimp because hunger reigns over the father-
daughter relationship. The poem is an unapologetic commentary on our society, i.e.,
how a girl of fifteen, who should be given a safe environment to live, is used for
satiates the hunger of so-called moralistic and upright civilized society. The poem also
throws light on the emerging survival sex and child prostitution in India due to poverty
and hunger.
Key words: Shakthi; weaker sex; Prostitute; survival sex; Child Prostitution; sex object.

Introduction from child marriage and sati, prostitution and

Women occupied a very important Devadasi system became widespread in the later
position, in the ancient India, in fact far superior periods.
position to the men of the time. “Shakti” a feminine From time immemorial women are
term means “power” and “strength. In Vedic times considered as the weaker sex, food giver, pleasure
women and men were equal in many aspects. But maker; but never have her status and dignity of
from enjoying free and esteemed positions in the being a woman respected in the society and at
Rig-Vedic society, women started being home. Though woman has always been considered
discriminated against since the Later-Vedic period in to be “part and parcel of life”, history is full of
education and other rights and facilities. Child instances where she is meted out injustice, deprived
marriage, widow burning, the purdah and polygamy of her basic needs and fundamental rights. Jayanta
further worsened the women’s position. The epics Mahapatra the famous Indian English poet throws
and Puranas equated women with property. Apart light on the status of women in Orissa and expresses

221 DHANISHA K.S.

Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)
A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.5.Issue 4. 2017
Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (Oct-Dec.)
Email:[email protected] ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)

the plight of those ‘unvoiced beings’ in his poems. conditions of women form a part and parcel of his
He encounters every day realities with the insight of poetry. Mahapatra’s ‘Hunger’ poem shows his
a scientist and portrays it with the objectivity of an distress over poverty and the discrimination of
artist. His universally acclaimed poem “Hunger” women which are undoubtedly the greatest
throws light on the emerging survival sex and child problem in our country. He obviously feels much
prostitution in India. In India, prostitution (the perturbed by poverty and destitution of the Indian
exchange of sexual services for money) is legal, but a people. ‘Hunger’ is brimmed with an integrated,
number of related activities, including soliciting in a specific content, quite exceptional in Mahapatra's
public place, owning or managing a brothel, canon.
prostitution in hotel, child prostitution, pimping and The poem 'Hunger' by Jayanta Mahapatra, a
pandering, are crimes. Prostitution is legal only if well-known poet from Orissa, India, depicts two
carried out in private residence of a prostitute or kinds of hunger. One is the hunger of food and
others. Generational prostitution occurs at almost another is the hunger for sexual gratification. The
every brothel. But many women go for prostitution poem explores the informal child sex trade lurking in
for their survival and many agents employ children the social fabric, and is unique in its bold treatment
to satiate carnal crave of the hungry society. The of sexuality unlike a typical poem by him. The poem
poem explores the themes of the sex trade, poverty, presents a sentimental touching story of a fifteen
and emotional vacuum. year old girl who is enslaved in the social fabric of
Any discussion on Indian English Poetry is prostitution in order to keep starvation at bay with
incomplete without reference to the poetical works the consent of her own father –a poor fisherman.
of Jayanta Mahapatra. Physicist, bilingual poet and Her father himself acts as a pimp here because
essayist, the poet holds the distinction of being the hunger reigns over all other relationships. The poet
first Indian English poet to have received the Sahitya also throws light towards the society like a hungry
Akademi Award (1981) for Relationship. In 2009 he wolf swallows the pathetic condition of a young girl
was awarded by Government of India with in one gulp. In a country like India, renowned for
"Padmashree Award", country's most prestigious hospitality, it is our moral responsibility to give a
award for civilian citizen for his outstanding secure environment for our children to live
contribution to the field of literature. “Hunger” by peacefully. Instead the society utilizes the deprived
Jayanta Mahapatra is one of the darkest, dreadful, state of a young girl and compels her to indulge in
and daring poems published in 1976 as the part of prostitution in order to satisfy the sexual urge of so
the poem collection, A Rain of Rites. The poem called upright and moral society.
established Mahapatra as one of the superstar poets Background
in the Indian English literature world. In Mahapatra's It is usually seen that men who are not
own words, "In “Hunger” I was writing from satisfied with their married life or are not married or
experience." But, he never commented, whether the are divorced, go to brothels and give money for their
protagonist was he, himself, or somebody else. The own pleasure. It has become a business now,
poem is an expression of the poet's loneliness as a especially in India. Saying India a poor country will
youth, as Mahapatra had a disturbed childhood. be an understatement. India now is not just poor by
Mahapatra focuses on the theme of money, but poor by morals. The basic moral of a
discrimination of female sex in his poetry. He is human being to realize that women are responsible
unhappy to observe the overwhelming decline of for the creation of a new generation is wiped off our
human values in his time. Mahapatra is deeply minds. It is a shame that we have forgotten women
mortified at the sufferings of women in India. He are not toys meant for sexual gratification or
shows their plight and predicament through satisfaction of men. They are the creator of the
multiple images. The sense of presenting the entire human race. Rapes, prostitution, household
realities of woman’s life has always been sensible tortures, are these the only aspects women are
and significant in the Indian scenario, so the pathetic meant to go through now. The women, in the world

222 DHANISHA K.S.

Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)
A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.5.Issue 4. 2017
Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (Oct-Dec.)
Email:[email protected] ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)

of Mahapatra live in penury, hunger and starvation. In the poem we can see the fifteen year old
They are the most important facet of the life of the daughter of fisherman indulges in sex with the
Indian masses. In Mahapatra’s work, the tourist in order to keep her hunger at bay. Survival
discriminated are the women who live a sex is when the prostitute is driven to prostitution
meaningless and futile life. They struggle for their by a need for basic necessities such as food or
own identity and they survive amidst sorrows and shelter. This type of prostitution is common among
hardships. They were allowed to live in darkness and the homeless and in refugee camps. The term is
left with nothing expect vacuum filling their lives used in the sex trade and by aid workers, although
which is nothing but a hell. This paper throws light some practitioners do not regard the act as
on those deprived women through the eyes of exploitative. The fisherman, the father who pimps
Jayanta Mahapatra. his daughter, is careless in his offer of the girl as
Setting of the poem though his words sanctified the purpose with which
Mahapatra skillfully portrays the landscape he faced himself. The poet craftily pushes the reader
of Orissa in his poems. Orissa, one of the poorest to question the very ideas of sanctity here. The utter
States of the country, is endowed with a treasure of hopelessness in the life of the fisherman and his
tourists’ attraction, which is varied catering to every daughter is too much that they could only see it as a
facet of tourism - be it religious, cultural, heritage, means of livelihood.
leisure or eco-tourism. The poet proudly proclaims The poet describes the undernourished
that the landscape of Gopalapur chose him in his state of the fisherman and his daughter. The
poem. Gopalpur is a town and a Notified Area fisherman’s white bones and his daughter’s long and
Council on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district lean and wormy legs are testimonials to their
in the southern part of Odisha, India. The story takes penury. The daughter of fisherman lies silently in the
place in a shack of a poor fisherman near the sea shack and indulges in sex without any passion. The
shore. The roof of his shack was thatched with palm goal of sex can be defined in one word: fulfillment.
leaves. There was dark inside except a lamp with a True sexual fulfillment is when physical pleasure
flickering flame and the walls are covered with soot, occurs within the context of an intimate and loving
collected for a long time. relationship. In this way, fulfilling sex transforms
The three main characters in this poem are what could be a pleasurable and merely mechanical
a tourist, fisherman and fisher man’s daughter. The event into an expression of intimacy and love. Here
tourist came to the tourist spot to enjoy the it is not a spiritual bond but a business for
beautiful sight of Gopalpur sea shore. He is the transaction of sexual pleasures. It is perceived only
protagonist of the poem. The poem begins with the as a means to keep poverty at bay. The fate of a
sudden spurt of lust for the protagonist. child to become a whore is much worse than that of
The tumescent protagonist encounters a death.
poor fisherman who offers him his daughter. The Here poet also leads our attention to the
fisherman said: will you have her carelessly. emerging child prostitution in India. Child
Starvation overpowers the inhibitions of a father prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is
pimping for his own daughter. It becomes a a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
convenient pretext for the fisherman to fish The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor,
customers for his daughter. The fisherman is or person under the legal age of consent. Children
nervous. He has to compel himself to make the are often forced by social structures and individual
proposition. The fisher man tells the tourist that his agents into situations in which adults take
daughter is only fifteen. Prostitution is a perfectly advantage of their vulnerability and sexually exploit
competitive business with simple logic. The younger and abuse them by selling them or selling their
the merchandise the higher the profits the pimp can bodies. According to Vladimir Putin Prostitution is a
draw. serious ugly social phenomenon. Young women do

223 DHANISHA K.S.

Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)
A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.5.Issue 4. 2017
Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (Oct-Dec.)
Email:[email protected] ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)

this because they have no other way and that is the Draupadi in public. Karl Marx once said the social
problem of society. progress of a nation can be measured by the social
His poem “The Whorehouse in a Calcutta position of the female sex.
Street” seemed to deal with the pains and agonies Conclusion
that these prostitutes suffer in their everyday life. In The poem is an unapologetic commentary
the poem a customer enters the premises with a on our society, i.e., how a girl of fifteen, who should
great hope of seeing pretty faces of the whores as be given a safe environment to live, is used for
advertised on posters and public hoardings. But he satiate the hunger of so-called moralistic, upright,
experiences a sense of guilt and shame and learns civilized society. Through this poem Mahaptra
something more about the women as the whore exemplify the brutality of our society towards poor
asks him to hurry up and finish his turn so that she people. When agony and suffering become
may be able to go away for another customer. Love intolerable, weak spirited poor people tend to
does not have any existence in today’s life. Only surrendered to inhumanity. The ethical and moral
burning passion is involved. The woman becomes values have no place in such utterly degraded
the victim of the commercial, passionate instinct of human plight. These offences are spreading like wild
exploitation. fire in our society. ‘Hunger’ brings out the role of
But the poverty stricken girl had no other poverty in brutalizing the sexual relationship. The
way but to subjugate to her fate. She lies silently in article deals with how food insecurity has led to an
the dark room without any complaints. The only increase in commercial sex work, especially for
light present there is the flickering beam of an oil young women. It also reveals the emergence of
lamp. The dark room symbolizes the life of the girl. survival sex and child prostitution in India due to
Like her life that room is dark and wrap with soot. poverty. Sex-for-food prostitution remains prevalent
Prostitution in such a shack will be an open secret even in our country where women enjoyed a very
for many. The economic and social inferiority of high position in the society.
women is responsible for prostitution. Prostitutes Bibliography
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