Breaking Free: A Novel

A magical storyteller -- SHASHI DESHPANDE

'Doesn't this life strike you as shameful?'

'I am an artist. That's the only thing that matters to me.'

Kasturi and Lakshmi are born into the devadasi clan. While Kasturi thinks of nothing other than the joy she experiences when she's dancing before the deity in the temple, Lakshmi is troubled by the treatment dasis receive from society, the secretive manner of her father's visits to their house, and his reluctance to acknowledge her publicly as his daughter. To the surprise of those around her, instead of learning to dance, a frustrated and angry Lakshmi insists on getting an education, and becomes a doctor. As their paths diverge, the differences in their opinions cause a rift in Kasturi and Lakshmi's relationship. But when tragedy strikes, Kasturi's faith in tradition is shaken and she finds herself turning to Lakshmi once again.

Set against the rising clamour for India's independence, Breaking Free is a nuanced and thought-provoking story of three generations of women and the effect history and memory--and secrets--have on their lives. Brilliantly translated by N. Kalyan Raman, it brings Vaasanthi's Tamil masterpiece to an entirely new readership.

Plunges the reader into the varied and turbulent world of devadasis, bringing the complexities of their history to life -- GITANJALI KOLANAD

A powerful story, told with clarity and insight, about some of the young girls who suffered and the few who fought back -- KAVERY NAMBISAN

VAASANTHI is a renowned author and journalist who writes in English and Tamil. She has been writing in Tamil for more than forty years and has published thirty novels, six short-story collections and four travelogues. Her books in English include Cut-outs, Caste and Cine Stars: The World of Tamil Politics, Amma: Jayalalithaa's Journey from Movie Star to Political Queen, The Lone Empress: A Portrait of Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi: A Definitive Biography, and Rajinikanth: A Life. Her works in Tamil have been translated into Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, English, Norwegian, Czech and Dutch. Two of her novels have been made into films in Malayalam. She is the recipient of several awards in Tamil Nadu including the Best Short Story Writer award, Best Novel award for Ammani, and the Gyana Bharathi award. She has received the UP Sahitya Sansthan award and the Punjab Sahitya Akademi award for the Hindi and English translations of her novels, respectively. She was the editor of the Tamil edition of India Today for nearly ten years in Chennai. Now a freelance writer and journalist, she lives in Delhi. N. KALYAN RAMAN is a translator of contemporary Tamil fiction and poetry into English. Over the past twenty-five years, he has published thirteen volumes of Tamil fiction in translation, by important writers such as Ashokamitran, Devibharati, Poomani, Perumal Murugan, Vaasanthi and Salma. His translations of contemporary Tamil poets have been published widely in journals and anthologies in India and abroad. His translation of Perumal Murugan's Poonachi was shortlisted for the inaugural JCB Prize in 2019 and nominated for the National Book Foundation Award in the US in 2020. In 2017, he received the prestigious Pudumaipithan award for his contribution to the cause of Tamil literature through his translations. He lives and works in Chennai.