Chakra: The Cycle
Book 2
Devadasi Series
Why Satiamma and her daughter, Parvathi, are on the run?
As you read in the book 1: Run Devadasi Run, Satiamma, a devadasi, had been forced in to the decade-old tradition of Goddess Yellamma in Kalasharam, a sleepy little village of district Belgaum situated at the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Devadasi means servants of god or goddess.
In this story, Satiamma had returned from red-light area of Mumbai to Kalasharam, district Belgaum and wanted to live a normal life. A life that doesn't remind herself about her Mumbai days (days of prostitution). But her hut doors were knocked in the early November morning: a man stood there, demanding sexual favours. As per the village rule, he had every right to demand that from a devadasi.
But she wasn't interested. This angered him.
This angered her mother, Jogeshwari, as well. Jogeshwari wanted Satiamma to live as per the devadasi customs else Yellamma will be angry and goddess's wrath would be borne by the entire village. The goddess's anger took the form of floods which had destroyed neighboring districts where devadasis had ditched the practice or spoke against the goddess, Jogeshwari believed.
Even if angering goddess was the creation of her mother's servile fantasy, angering influential Zamindar, the landlord, would have practical implications.
Satiamma resisted the customs of sleeping with other men in Kalasharam as she didn't want others to assume that her daughter, Parvathi, would be a devadasi. Parvathi, however, had different plans for herself: she was enamored with devadasi culture and wanted to be a devadasi.
With almost everyone in the village against her, except her friend Devaki, how, or if, she will be able to convince her daughter that this devadasi practice is against her, or for that matter to all womenkind? Will she be able to save her daughter from falling in Chakra- the cycle of age-old tradition of servitude?
DISCLAIMER: This book contains graphic depiction of sexual acts and violence toward women. This book is for adults only and R-rated.Anand Prakash is researcher by profession and writer by passion. In his fiction and poetry, he writes about relationships and their meanings. He has finished a collection of short stories and a book of poetry on relationships. Some of his experimental fictions have appeared in z-composition, Crack the Spine, Fictitious magazine, the Delinquent issue 20, Miser magazine issue VII. His writing can be found at http: //authoranandprakash.com/
Email him at anandprakash026@gmail.com for comments about the story and questions on writing process. He looks forward to hear back from you.
