LITMIR.BIZ

      Acknowledgments

      No project of mine can begin without offering a prayer to Ganesh, the god who removes obstacles and grants wishes. So, my initial salute of thanksgiving goes to Him.

      I want to thank my daughter, Maya, my most ardent champion. I couldn’t have done it without you.

      My sincere appreciation goes to my agents, Stephanie Lehmann and Elaine Koster. Thank you for putting your faith in me and patiently guiding me through this exciting yet bewildering process.

      My heartfelt thanks go to my warm and supportive editor and publisher respectively, Audrey LaFehr and Laurie Parkin, for taking a chance on a new author. To the two other lovely ladies, who are so enthusiastic about my book and working hard on my behalf, Magee King and Joan Schulhafer, a special thank-you. The editorial, production, marketing and sales staff at Kensington Publishing richly deserve my gratitude and praise for a job well done.

      Dorothy Garlock and Anjali Banerjee, I cannot even begin to thank you both for your generosity. Despite your bestselling author status and hectic schedules, you gave me such prompt and thoughtful cover blurbs that I will always think of you fondly.

      I am forever indebted to my critique partners, Teri Bozowski and Linda Aldrich, for their incisive and thoughtful feedback.

      To my son-in-law, Sameet, I love you for your constant support. And for my long line of friends, family and well-wishers, too many to list, a big hug of appreciation.

      Last but not least, to the love of my life, husband, partner and best friend, Prakash. I am deeply grateful to the fates that brought you into my life. We are in this together, as always.

      Author’s Note

      Dear Reader,

      India has a rich and diversified culture filled with colorful folklore, gracious people, a delightful profusion of regional cuisines and breathtaking natural wonders. And yet, as shocking as it may seem to the more advanced cultures of the world, the archaic system of dowry is alive and thriving in contemporary India.

      Dowry is a gift of cash, valuables and household items presented by the bride’s family to the groom at the time of marriage. It is considered a contribution toward the household expenses of the groom’s family. Although a dowry is not universal among all Indian castes and classes, there are some that practice it very strictly. To this day, it plays a significant role in many of India’s arranged marriages.

      Despite a highly educated middle class, the glitzy Bollywood movie and fashion industries, the high-tech and call-center boom that is touted as India’s pride and joy, there is a shameful secret that casts a dark shadow on all those brilliant accomplishments. In spite of a federal law, the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, and its amendments in the 1980s, the dowry has continued to proliferate and become more entrenched.

      India’s dowry system is a corrupt and decadent tradition, and yet, its advocates argue that it is merely a method of ensuring equitable distribution of a parent’s estate among daughters and sons. But when one analyzes the crude and inhuman way it is sometimes practiced, it can be viewed as a form of extortion.

      As if that were not enough to qualify as a misdeed, if and when a bride’s family fails to produce the expected dowry or falls short of the promised amount, the bride is often abused or tortured or killed by her husband’s family—and, indeed, may suffer all three, in that order.

      Statistics on bride abuse and bride killings are highly skewed because of a large number of cases that go unreported or undocumented. They are often brushed aside as accidents. Corrupt police officials that condone the perpetration by looking the other way serve to add to the travesty of an already distorted legal system. Allegedly, anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 dowry brides are killed and maimed each year. There is no way to gauge the validity of any of the available statistical data.

      Although The Dowry Bride is entirely fictional, some of its elements are based on facts surrounding the dowry system. In narrating the story of my young protagonist, Megha Ramnath, I often placed myself in her shoes, and as a result I experienced her fears, concerns, joys and tribulations. Notwithstanding the drama, adventure and action essential to a work of fiction, I have tried to paint a realistic portrait of a culture that is simple yet complex in many ways, abundant yet lacking in some areas, progressive yet shockingly primitive.

      I sincerely hope you enjoy reading and sharing with others The Dowry Bride as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

      Best wishes,

      Shobhan Bantwal

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Chapter 27

      Chapter 28

      Chapter 29

      Chapter 30

      Chapter 31

      A Special Chat with Shobhan Bantwal

      Chapter 1

      Her parents named her Megha, which means “cloud” in Sanskrit, perhaps because she cast a gray shadow over their lives at a time when they didn’t expect overcast skies. She was an unexpected, unpleasant surprise—rather late in their lives. Her father was in his forties, her mother in her thirties. When they were desperately hoping it would at least turn out to be a boy after having had two girls, now ages thirteen and eleven, she came along—another screaming infant girl—with all the wants and needs and tribulations of a female, all the burdens of a Hindu Brahmin woman.

      Her father never recovered from the disappointment. Her mother quietly accepted it as her destiny. Together they began to contemplate how they would ever manage to put aside enough money to pay three varadakhshinas. Dowries.

      Some Hindus believe that if you give your child a depressing name, you can keep evil away from it. They often apply a dot of kohl on a baby’s face to mar its perfection, as no one will be tempted to put a hex on a flawed child. Megha was told she was an unusually beautiful baby, bright and full of energy. She often wondered if the name Megha was her spot of kohl, guaranteed to deflect the evil eye. When asked about it, her mother said the only reason they called her Megha was because they happened to like the name.

      Then there was the astrologer, a man known for his accuracy,

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