Sacred Sins

WINNER OF THE KERALA SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD

In 2008, journalist Arun Ezhuthachan decided to investigate whether the banned dance bars of Mangaluru would continue illegally. What he stumbled upon, however, was an intricate web of old beliefs and new-age oppression - the modern devadasi. Young girls were dedicated to temples, only to end up as mistresses of upper-caste men and abandoned once they were...