Bhairavi: The Runaway by ShivaniMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A gripping yarn about beautiful women trying to survive in a patriachal Hindu India, specifically the Kumaon hills and more specifically within the chthonic Brahmin community. Although the male characters – whether an ascetic, a king, or a playboy husband – are flat and wimpy individuals, but as a community exert inordinate power over their women – daughters, sisters, wives or even mothers. However, the females have been powerfully presented. It says a lot for the insecurity of a community that ‘family honour’ is dependent on the purported ‘purity’ of the womenfolk. A premarital dalliance will besmirch the character of a girl and ruin her prospects of getting a ‘good’ groom; however, for the male partner of this romance, there is no penalty.
The translation could have better - some metaphors have been literal in their translation leading to hilarious results!
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