Then there is Hema, Balan’s daughter from his first wife, Vijaya- Balan’s mother and Padmasini a dancer eyeing the coveted festivals for a shot at fame and glory and monetary rewards.For many of us devadasi is a term that conjures up images of hereditary female dancers in Hindu temples. Books are also a ticket to a journey into an unknown land, with strange characters that over the course of the journey either become friends or remain strangers. Thankfully I circumvented that obstacle pretty quickly.The Undoing Dance, told from many points of view — Kalyani, Rajayi, Padmasini, Hema, Vijaya, and Balan — is an exquisite piece of embroidery with each stitch a masterpiece by itself. In COTTON SEWING THREAD the mission house Kalyani is taught English and other skills. To keep body and soul together, Rajayi sells jasmine garlands twice a day in the temple. But fate intervenes when Rachel falls ill and leaves the country, Kalyani once again has to return to Kalyanikkarai. As these temples were under the patronage of kings and other rich men, the devadasis enjoyed the patronage of the kings, becoming their mistresses, often siring illegitimate children of their patrons. To safeguard her daughter, Rajayi reluctantly allows Kalyani to be taken by Rachel Carstairs, a missionary who lives in Nallur.The Undoing Dance is the story of a family of devadasis — 13 generations of singers and dancers starting with Annakili Naachiyar in the beginning of the 18th century in Kalyanikkarai. But thankfully her smart aunty Lila takes her along to various dance recitals in Madras where young and beautiful Kalyani catches the eye of widower Balan who proposes to her. But when Padmasini, the middle-aged Bharatanatyam dancer, is offered a chance to film an artist, and she chooses Rajayi as her subject, the pandoras book of secrets threatens to spill open, turning Kalyani’s carefully built world topsy-turvy. In Rajayi, Natarajan has created a memorable character that readers will root for and follow till the end of the story.When my editor emailed me the blurb asking me if I would be interested in reviewing The Undoing Dance, written by Srividya Natarajan, I agreed instantly after reading the blurb.For me the first few pages were daunting, the names of all the devadasis went over my head and I had to keep referring to the first page to check who is who. Would she succumb to her fate and break into pieces? Would she remain resolute against society and peoples’ pathetic treatment of her.