DRAKHINI (BENGALI)

About the BookFROM THE MOST READ AUTHOR ON PRATILIPIS BANGLA APP.The worship of Devi Drakhani involves a bloody sacrifice. On the night of Kaushiki amavasya every year, the temple drenches itself in the blood of 365 goats, and one woman. No ordinary woman, but one who has been marked to be the Rajmahishi, the wife of Raja Chakrabarti Indrashish. The festivities go on for seven days, and on the seventh day, on the auspicious occasion of ashtamangala, King Indrashish chooses a virginal woman as his consort. The chosen woman enjoys a charmed life as the queen of Rajchakrabarti. Till the next puja, when she is made ready for the goddess. She is then beheaded at the gold-cast altar. While her head is offered to the goddess, her body is washed away by the currents of the Lurni river.The virgin handpicked for the Devi Drakhani ritual this year is the daughter of a farmer. Urmis mother Mugdha cries at the rotten luck of her daughter. Will Urmi be able to break the cycle of this macabre tradition?About the AuthorRima Goswami Das was born in Durgapur in 1989. A teacher by profession, she started her career as a writer by writing for radio and then moved on to blogs and online magazines. Close to 40,000 readers follow her on Pratilipis app currently. She has also won awards at the various writing competitions held by Pratilipi.