Ahalya: The Sati Series

‘Lyrical and poetic … enthralling’ BIBEK DEBROY‘ A magical and thought-provoking adventure, Ahalya will intrigue and mesmerize readers’ CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI‘ An enigmatic tale about purity, chastity, seduction and redemption’ NAMITA GOKHALE‘ Brilliant and intriguing’ ANAND NEELAKANTAN’ Koral Dasgupta gives voice, character, and agency to an enigmatic and fascinating female figure from ancient Hindu lore’ PHILIP LUTGENDORF It is known that Ahalya was cursed by her husband, Gautam, for indulging in a physical relationship with Indra. But is there another story to Ahalya’s truth? Who was Indra anyway? A king? A lover? A philanderer? The first book of the Sati series, Ahalya hinges on these core questions, narrating the course of her life, from innocence to infidelity. In the Sati series, Koral Dasgupta explores the lives of the Pancha Kanyas from Indian mythology, all of whom had partners other than their husbands and yet are revered as the most enlightened women, whose purity of mind precedes over the purity of body. The five books of the Sati series reinvent these women and their men, in the modern context with a feminist consciousness.

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Review

‘Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, Mandodari – each of the Pancha Kanyas is fascinating. Ahalya’s story has been told and retold several times, sometimes with varying accounts across texts. What was her relationship with Gautam and Indra? What was her crime? How was she redeemed? Why is she among the Pancha Kanya? There have been modern retellings and interpretations too. Koral Dasgupta’s wonderful retelling adds to this corpus, with a lyrical and poetic quality. The image that will remain with you is of the Mist. That’s the reason Ahalya, and this rendition, is so enthralling’ BIBEK DEBROY

‘“Go woman, find your world yourself. The joy you seek deserves to be discovered.” Armed with this advice, Ahalya sets off on her life’s journey. The magical and thought-provoking adventure that follows will intrigue and mesmerize readers’ – CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI

‘Koral Dasgupta’s evocation of Ahalya ,the first of the Pancha Kanyas, the five virtuous women from Indian myth, is an enigmatic tale about purity, chastity, seduction, and redemption, told from the perspective of the eternal feminine’ NAMITA GOKHALE

‘This is one unique take on an age old tale. Brilliant and intriguing’ ANAND NEELAKANTAN

‘In this original and spirited interpretation of the tale of Ahalya, Koral Dasgupta gives voice, character, and agency to an enigmatic and fascinating female figure from ancient Hindu lore, while exploring and seeking to resolve the proverbial and vexing tension between asceticism and sensuality’ PHILIP LUTGENDORF

About the Author

Koral Dasgupta is an author, painter, entrepreneur and professor. A compulsive storyteller, she has authored six books, including five works of fiction and one non-fiction. The Sati series is based on Panch Kanya from Indian mythology. After Ahalya, Kunti is the second book in the series, which will be followed by Draupadi, Mandodari and Tara. Koral’s fourth book has been optioned for screen adaptation.
She is the founder of Tell Me Your Story, a cross-culture repository on the global perception of ‘India’.
Koral consults with educational and corporate organizations on content and communication projects, and she was included in the Holmes Report’s Innovator 25 Asia-Pacific list, 2019. Her website is http://www.koraldasgupta.com and she is on Twitter as @koraldasgupta.