NITYASUMANGALI
: DEVADASI TRADITION IN SOUTH
INDIA
by
SASKIA. C. KERSENBOOM
[Publisher:
Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Delhi, 1998 Reprint, pp. 226, price: Rs 295]
This was a book reviewed by me ages ago.
INTRODUCTION
Who was the Nityasumangali
(ever-auspicious woman) the author was dealing with? The Devadasi.
How can the devadasi, one of the most despised women, be an
ever-auspicious person? Is it just another foreigner’s attempt to love Indian
culture so much as to admire the seemingly anachronistic tradition? Does she justify it? These are the questions which strike any
reader’s mind when she comes across this book and this reviewer is no
exception. A study of the book answers
them.
