Bhairavi - The Runaway

A still, dense, ancient forest. A dark cave deep within. And in it a woman-child whose beauty can move the most pious to sin. Who is she and why did she jump from a moving train to land in the biggest cremation ground teeming with aghori sadhus? in this story spanning generations and redolent with Gothic imagery, Shivani urf gaura Pant tells the story of a woman's life, her moral and mental strength and her resilience. She also examines the choices women have in her beautiful, descriptive prose.

Watch translator Priyanka Sarkar in conversation with Saba Bashir about Bhairavi, Shivani, and the act of translation here.