Publisher's Synopsis
Alka comes from an orthodox Brahmin family in a small town in India. In a very short time she loses her heart to John. His attractions are more powerful than her religious beliefs, and she chooses him as her life partner.Alka and John lead a happy and successful life but are unable to have children. While visiting India John is smitten with a low-caste vegetable vendor named Sitabai. John successfully argues that Sitabai would make a good surrogate mother. As soon as Sitabai's pregnancy was confirmed, elaborate religious rituals are conducted to purify her so that she could be temporarily become a high-caste person. From her impoverished origins as an untouchable, Sita Devi finds a new life in America as a free-thinking woman with little regard for Indian traditions. Alka, in contrast is bound by rigid customs and centuries-old traditions and beliefs. While one is presented as though she is bound by the traditional cultures, the other tries to tear away from them.
