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The Devadasis of India always had a hard life. Constant sexual exploitations, with no education or skills, they end up mostly as beggars later in life.
“Rayaru bandaru Maavana manege Ratri Aagithu, Hunnime haraside banina naduve chandira bandittu” -(When the groom reached his father-in-law’s house it was late at night. In the moonlit night, the moon rode high)
We sat on the straw mat listening to this old Kannada melody. The light of the full moon enveloped the entire sky, and I could see its radiance reflect on Sarayu’s face.
I had met her just that morning outside Yellamma Guda temple, at Saundatti village, Karnataka, India. It was the first day of the Yellamma Jatara Festival, where every year over two lakh people take part to worship the deity Yellamma Devi (or also known as Renuka). I spotted a demure Sarayu, with moist eyes, it seemed. Despite the sea of people around, our eyes met for a fraction of a second. “Are you coming to Yellamma Devi Jatara for the first time?” she asked me in chaste Kannada. I nodded. “Come I will show you around,” she said. I went along.
“You may still find people offering their girls, those who come to the temple covered in neem leaves, and performing the customary ritual of being offered to the deity- all in secrecy.”
“You may still find people offering their girls, those who come to the temple covered in neem leaves, and performing the customary ritual of being offered to the deity- all in secrecy. Sarayu added, “That is why I stand outside the temple every Jatara festival trying to stop any parent dedicating their daughter. I inform the NGO I work for immediately. No other girl should suffer the way I did”. I shot back a glance.
“Yes, I was a Devadasi”. As Sarayu uttered these words, I felt an unexplainable shudder deep inside. Breaking the silence, she said, “Why don’t you join me for dinner tonight? I live on the other side of the temple.” I agreed once again.That night after a sumptuous dinner of Majige (butter milk) and Ragi mudde (Steamed Ragi porridge), sitting on the straw mat and listening to old Kannada melodies, Sarayu narrated her part of the story. “I was born the youngest of 9 children. My parents were poor farmers and we could almost never afford our daily bread. So my parents dedicated me to Yellamma at the age of 10. For almost 20 years now, I have satisfied men from across villages. I have had enough now. I am old with no money or job, left to fend for myself. That is why I have joined an NGO, working towards empowering women like me.”
I closed my eyes. I sensed the pain deep within her. I let the beautiful melody from the radio waft through the air. But I asked myself this question that night, “Why is there so much exploitation in the name of tradition?”
Despite a Devadasi Prohibition Act, the practice continues in some parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra till date.
First published here
Cover image via Shutterstock
A blogger who writes on society and culture, hoping to bring about positive impact on
Thanks for bringing this topic Ramya. The only thought that crosses the mind when such crimes happen is – “why are parents giving birth to children if they can’t feed them?” Everywhere in India we see families with lot of children. The families keep giving birth just to get sons who ‘might’ take care of them in the future. For them the sons are ATM and care takers in their old age (do not ask if the sons really fulfil such ‘expected’ roles). They could have stopped with one or two children (irrespective of the gender) and still could plan better so that they could have been better off physically, financially and in their old age. Unless parents of all socio-economic strata vow to take full responsibility to bring up their children into ‘good citizens’, such problems will keep cropping up. Most of us are business minded, sorry to say. We want to get back the money we have spent even on our kids. We do not educate them to make them independent, it is just to make them earn good salary. We teach the girls about ‘culture’ so that she gets us good name elsewhere. On the reverse, we DO NOT teach the boys same set of values, because nobody questions them. Have you ever seen any girls’ parents asking the boy whether he has habits like smoking or drinking. They are more keen on his NRI status or the salary. In fact some girls’ parents persuade the girls to marry him, because he is a very ‘nice’ guy (read earning well). The cycle continues, wherein boys’ parents do not teach them about bad habits and say ‘boys are boys’,etc. Will the same set of parents accept a girl who is drinking or smoking as their daughter-in-law. Reverse the gender and you will find the discrepancies in the cultural practices in India. There is no use blaming the government or complaining that India is a ‘poor country’. There is poverty of knowledge and forethought and not wealth !!
this is a thought provoking subject you have chose to write on ramya… i really dont understand the psychology of people giving birth to so many children when tey dont have the basic remuneration to feed even a single child,,, this is just so wrong.. i have heard many such stories where the girls are offered in name of such senseless tradition… and pray tell me why only girls? gods dnt accept men i guess.. the pathetic life they lead on after tey grow old….. gosh …tooo pitiable,,,,
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