Notes on Damini
In the beginning, xxx the mother and xxx the father were one, they were xxx the potter. They created the earth and with it cast the trees and the animals and eventually man, cast from the clay of the earth they created. A curious monkey caused an accident and their kiln exploded, tearing them apart. Thus xxx became xxx and xxx.
Damini wants to have children, but she fears the changes that causes. Who was the greatest hunter before her? It was xxx, a tiger of a woman. But then a monkey stole her heart and she was wed. Then she had children. And now, even though her children are old enough to be taught and spend all day with the baba, her husband does not let her return to the hunt. He keeps her caged like the legionnaires and the animals they capture from the jungle.
One is not struck by cupid's arrow. A monkey steals one's heart and it is up to the one who loves them to get it back. (Metaphorically of course.) When Damini and Garja finally make love for the first time, Damini has strong reservations since it goes against everything she's ever been taught, every custom of her people. Garja tells her a monkey has stolen her heart and she is hiding it. Damini goes to get it, they make love, and afterward she tells her that she did not find her own heart, but that of her lover's. Now they've traded.
At the end when Damini's relationship with Garja has been exposed, the village matriarch tells her to drink from a small vial. It will prove whether their love is true and meant to be. If it is not, she will forget the girl. If it is, nothing will happen. The matriarch is lying and in truth she gives the girl poison. Damini dies. Garja comes to her bier and kills herself. Her spirit merges with Damini's and Damini wakens, born anew as Mausam.
Damini wants to have children, but she fears the changes that causes. Who was the greatest hunter before her? It was xxx, a tiger of a woman. But then a monkey stole her heart and she was wed. Then she had children. And now, even though her children are old enough to be taught and spend all day with the baba, her husband does not let her return to the hunt. He keeps her caged like the legionnaires and the animals they capture from the jungle.
One is not struck by cupid's arrow. A monkey steals one's heart and it is up to the one who loves them to get it back. (Metaphorically of course.) When Damini and Garja finally make love for the first time, Damini has strong reservations since it goes against everything she's ever been taught, every custom of her people. Garja tells her a monkey has stolen her heart and she is hiding it. Damini goes to get it, they make love, and afterward she tells her that she did not find her own heart, but that of her lover's. Now they've traded.
At the end when Damini's relationship with Garja has been exposed, the village matriarch tells her to drink from a small vial. It will prove whether their love is true and meant to be. If it is not, she will forget the girl. If it is, nothing will happen. The matriarch is lying and in truth she gives the girl poison. Damini dies. Garja comes to her bier and kills herself. Her spirit merges with Damini's and Damini wakens, born anew as Mausam.