Life of Women Adversely Affected by Communal Frenzy in Felanee by Arupa Pathangia Kalita

Abstract

The adverse consequences of war and violence are always more on women and children. Men are always the active participants in violence, and women are invariably observed as the passive receiver of the same. Women have to face the harmful effects of war and violence in the form of lost husbands and loss of self-respect. This paper explores the life and struggle of a single woman who lost her husband during the ethnic conflicts. Arupa Patangia Kalita is a famous Assamese novelist who lives in Darrang, Assam. Her novel Felanee was originally written in Assamese in 2003 and translated by Deepika Pukan in 2011. The story of Felanee reveals the awful experiences of a woman, Felanee in the midst of ethnic riots and frenzy atmosphere in Assam. The events mentioned in the novel relate to the real lives of the people living there. Through her protagonist, the writer describes some of the adverse experiences of people during ethnic conflicts, especially the women living in such places. At the time of Felanee’s birth, she was thrown into damp to die but somehow, she survives and starts her battle against all odds. The paper reveals how women sustain their families, especially children, while facing many troubles due to ethnic violence and bloodshed. It also explores how they are marginalized in society and how they support each other in difficult times. Felanee has to face all the brutal consequences of the communal frenzy. She lost almost everything she had, including her loving husband. She was once a queen, but after the riots, she was forced to live like a laborer.