MISPLACED HEADS

by Jayanthi Sankar

my book has two important threads. A contemporary thread and another thread about an ancient system prevalent in Indian Hindu temples. Colonial India is covered as well.

Paperback

First published September 30, 2020

About the author

A lover of fiction, both in writing and reading, Jayanthi Sankar enjoys expanding the scope of her creative space. While living in her fictional world most of the time, she interacts with the characters as they form and shape. So, naturally, writing a novel is more of lively process she truly loves and she’s all into experimenting, especially in her storytelling.
Tabula Rasa her third book, and the second novel was a 2022 NYC Big Book Award ‘Distinguished Favourite’ in the category of Historical Fiction and an ‘honourable mention’ in San Francisco book fest award 2022. She has been in several international panels of literary festivals such as APWT 2018 at Gold coast, Singapore Writers Festival, Seemanchal International Literary festival, Asean- India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Writers Festival. Misplaced Heads, was on the Eyelands Book Awards 2020 final list of historical fiction in Greece, making its mark as an outstanding postmodern historical fiction.
The winner in fiction: short story in 2020 International Book Award -American book fest ‘Dangling Gandhi’ also won the international The Literary Titan award apart from several shortlists and nominations. The title story Dangling Gandhi shortlisted in the 2nd Twist & Twain International Short Story Contest out of the 165 worldwide entries. A watercolour hobbyist, she has been a freelancer for more than two decades, with three years of experience in journalism. Born and brought up in India, she lives in Singapore since 1990.

Reviews

[Khyati Gautam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you like to read lengthy novels?

Misplaced Heads by Jeyanthi Sankar is an expansive text on the origin of the Devadasis spanning different timelines - ancient, medieval and present. Through the stories set in different eras, the book attempts to express the forms of classical dance, societal structure, and anti-feminist patriarchal construct.

The book begins with our introduction to Poorna, a famous classical dancer based in Singapore, who comes in touch with Raghu in India. Raghu is supposed to help her arrange an event in South India and then the two get talking. Their conversations continue to blossom into something over and above professional ties and implore expressions of love out of them. There is another tale of Tanya and Rishi that is set in current times.

Then we have medieval times where we get to see how gradual change in situation throws the devadasis in morbid condition. It effectively traces the emergence of the culture of Devadasis, its evolution, and how things end for them.

At 500 pages, this tome of a book oscillates between different timelines and allows dozens of characters to play their part. It is both exciting and intimidating. The in-depth research put into weaving narratives in this book is applaudable. It shows when you read about Singaporean culture, classical dance forms and mudras, human sentiments, and diversity in human relationships.

The intricate details on the cover of the book perfectly complement the attention to detail paid inside the book. Rich with flavorful writing and a divese milieu, Misplaced Heads has a lot to offer to its readers. The only thing I felt was its pace that went slow at certain places giving it a drag. Besides this, if one could fasten their belts to devour this book, they would enjoy it. If they like thick books, dense storytelling, multiple plotlines, and historical settings.

[Ishan Agrawal · Rating 4 out of 5]

India is a land of various forms of art and culture. Our Sanatan Dharma's rich heritage dates way back to thousands of years ago when different classical dance forms started to emerge and unlike today when dancing has just become a way to keep one on toes and fit, earlier it use to be a divine duty towards the Almighty, surrendering your soul to the ultimate power of GOD.

'Misplaced Heads' is nothing short of a miracle. With more than a dozen characters and around 500 pages, I can't even imagine the amount of research and time it would have taken for crafting a literal encyclopedia in terms of weaving a tale around two beautiful souls, their indestructible bond with a backdrop of often heard but mostly misunderstood Devdasi system. Something that merely began as a usual professional conversation between Poorna And Raghu, how seamlessly it blossoms into an unending force of spectacular relationship, is a delight to experience. The transition between the yesteryears and the present times is so facile that sometimes as a reader, one forgets if actually an analogy is created between the two periods.

Just like the contents inside the historical novel, even the outside cover is breathtaking and designed with utmost care and dedication. The abundance of creativity is evident in each part of the book. The novel teaches us that even though times have changed considerably, the intrinsic sentiments of humans are everlasting. The most noteworthy part of the tale is in its pursuit of highlighting a particular tradition, it doesn't stay back in mentioning it's shortcomings too with the same sense of exuberance. Overall, a spectacular effort from the author in penning down a work which will cast a magical spell on those who are comfortable with this genre

[Gayatri Saikia | per_fictionist · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Misplaced Heads by Jayanthi Sankar, as you can infer from the title is as intriguing as it gets.

The story unfolds itself in parts narrating the untold of Devadasis : a female artist, dedicated to worship and serve a deity or a temple for the entirety of her life. The author commences her account from 100BC (during the reign of the Cholas) where the Pythia, a priestess from Athens is all set to journey east with her fueling ambition of creating temple women. As we move forward, in the pre-medieval times, we are given a brief glimpse of the South Indian temple culture and the celebration of art forms of that period. The salient yet readily discernable downfall of the system after the advent of colonialism was equally remarkable to read about.

It is truly interesting and poignant at the same time to read about the enigmatic dance form evolved through the ages : on one hand as the ancient system celebrates women and their unparalleled devotion, it is also heart-rending to see the sacrifices the devadasis make in course of their lives.

The story is depicted in parts and in different timelines, which makes it even more compelling. Poorna, a trained dancer finds herself often being transported into the lands of her imagination of temple women, in an attempt to know more about her roots. Poorna's character is a mystery that unfolds chapter by chapter as we see her. What I was bothered in the novel, was the abrupt changes in narrations and the introduction of new characters all of a sudden. I was thoroughly immersed in reading about the history rather than Poorna's quest. The amount of research that has gone into the book is commendable as it not only tactfully ties the threads of the past and present with delicate and graceful storytelling.

[Nidhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Staying connected to our roots is important as it describes our identity.
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Though there are so many novels available on Indian History and Culture, this book is different and amazing than all of them.
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This book is devoted to the dancers of South Indian Temples, the imminent musicians, the diligent historians of the ancient and vibrant art, culture, and heritage of different eras. 

The plot of the book has talked about Devdasis in detail, How their life journey used to be, their origins, their struggles, and everything in detail.

The author has also described the meaning of every mudra in dance, the emotions towards art and so many things about Indian history are there in this book in such a beautiful manner that you can't afford to miss it.
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Also, the personal life stories of the characters touched me a lot.

Especially if I'm talking about it, there is a conversation on depressions and mental health between Poorna and Raghu, and when Tanya decides to cut her hairs...
These scenes were...Oh My God.
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I have become a fan of the author after reading this novel. It's not a piece of cake to write such a Novel. It's a very well researched novel, clearly visible the efforts that the author has invested in.
It seems the years of detailed research has been done before writing this book.
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The language, the cover, the character development, the narration everything is so perfect.
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[Akash Sangwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day was probably the first historical survey of the status Devadasi's in India that I came across.
This book is especially targeted towards the life of Temple dancers.
Quite an interesting and informative work spans almost back to mediaeval period.
After reading Misplaced Heads, I can say this book is known for distinguished work and different approaches to historical research can only be saluted by any reader.
You will find attention to details, evidence & statements made, and above all, an honest academic mindset.
Strongly recommend to every reader.

[Prince Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explore the Book
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BOOK:- Misplaced Heads
AUTHOR:- Jayanthi Sankar
GENRE:- Historical fiction
PAGE:- 489
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Review

The story is full of rich heritage information about the Devadasi and it gives some light on the lives of the Devadasi (Slave to the god) and the history behind it and their untold stories.

Book is an addictive read and overall I enjoyed the book from beginning to the end and somewhere in the middle the book bored me but the book soon made me engrossed and gave me a nice time.

The story in this book, the author has presented after lots of research and analysis is quite intriguing and keeps a reader engrossed and I can say that the story is sometimes in fast-paced and slow-paced too.

The Story travels through the present and the past unveiling the Secret of the story it holds.

The language is lucid and narration is smooth and tells a story which gives a reader a slight knowledge about the Devadasi.

I would recommend this book to those readers who savour the historical fiction then this book is for them and if you are a dancer or dance lover then it will give you an amazing time I hope so.

Happy reading 😊


🌟Glimpse in a blink 🌟

The story starts with a conversation between Raghu and Poorna who is a traditional professional dancer and contacted with Raghu to organise a dance program in Chennai India as she lives in Singapore from birth.

The chats between Poorna and Raghu gradually take a turns from talking about business to about themselves and they became friends virtually and later Raghu proposes Poorna on WhatsApp chats which they were doing since they connected on business talks.

Poorna is very obsessed about in finding her roots from her mother sides and for that, she is doing lots of research to find out and tells Jayanthi to write her story as Jayanthi ( A good friend of Poorna) told her to write about herself but she told she can't do it.

Along with the story of Poorna, Raghu and the research which Poorna is doing to find out her roots from her mother side and the story behind it, the book also tells story of a girl named Tanya who is also a dancer and Poorna's ex student.

When Poorna was born she was named after her paternal grandmother and her grandfather told his father something that made him feel uneasy and also predicted something that Poorna will suffer painfully.

To know more about the story of Poorna, go grab this book and start reading. I hope you love it.

[Aryan Sarath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jayanthi Sankar was born in India and has been living in Singapore since 1990. She has received few awards and also been a panelist in various literature festivals.

To start with, I was thoroughly impressed by the outer cover of this book. This cover would give you a hint about the content that this beautiful book holds within. If you could notice it deeply, you could see an image of a lady dancer among the clouds overlooking Tanjore Brihadeeswarar temple which is also an UNECO Site. The reflection of it in the waters makes it even more appealing. We cannot discount it as just a cover but rather it can be construed as an art.

This is a huge book and the story runs for a good 489 pages. The book is divided into 20 chapters. Some of the main characters in the book includes but not limited to

Poorna(The Protagonist)
Vanaja
Nurul
Raghu
Umesh
Tanya
Varun
Swetha
Nancy
Noopur
Rishi
Grace DeSouza etc.,

The book shows a great variation of the reality by taking us back to the period of 1st Century B.C, Early Medieval Era and bring us again to the present day. There was a detailed mention about the classical dance namely Bharatanatyam and also Odissi(to some extent).

The book also gives us great insights about the plight of "Devadasis" during the Sangam/Medieval Era. The kind of emotions they would have gone through since they devoted their lives only to The Almighty apart from concentrating purely in spreading the Art(read it as Dance) couldn't have been explained any better.

For those who have read the likes of renowned classical authors like Kalki would see some kind of resemblance in this book as well. This is a slow paced fiction novel but would still appeal to you. If you are not the one who likes this genre or appreciate the beauty of essence captured through the magical words, I would not recommend it. I am sure this is the kind of book which an actual book reviewer would have been waiting to lay their hands upon for a while.

I would also be equally delighted if this book is translated into Tamil because this would be really loved by your mom and granny. The book shows the variation of how the lives were back then and in the present where the mindset of the people has widened due to the invention and innovation of science and technology but the femininity has always been kept intact and preserved by the Indian women.

The beauty of love and relationship captured in this book through the life of Poorna, her beautiful interaction with Raghu which turns out to be beautiful relationship more than that of friendship, her love for Art/Culture, her troubled childhood, failed marriage, friendship, love received from her foster mother, determination to promote the art makes this book a real special one.

In simple words, this book is a treasure and needs to find its place in each and every bookshelf.

[Neelam Mungekar · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Misplaced Heads’ by Jayanthi Sankar is a well researched historical fiction which gives us a glimpse of our rich cultural heritage. The book talks about the Devadasi system once highly revered position where parents used to donate girls to the temple who used to serve to the temple deity all their lives. We also get to see the plight of the Devadasis during the medieval era as they were only familiar to one thing and that was their pure dedication and devotion towards their deity. The book moves back and forth through various timelines such as the 100 BC, Early Medieval Era, and to the present day.

We also get to see how unbiased systems used to be followed while appointment of various temple vacancies wherein no preferences were given and appointment used to be done on pure talent of a person. We also get to see the history of the dance and how it was introduced to the masses and renamed as Bharat Natyam and why it was renamed is discussed in detail. This book is a beautiful amalgamation of past and the present to know more read ‘Misplaced Heads’.

My Thoughts:

The plot is unique and brings us close to our cultural heritage and tries to show us the realities and the struggle that particular sections of the society had to go through for where we are today. The story moves in the form of dialogues which gives it a personal touch to the story. At first when I started reading the book it was a bit confusing when the story went back and forth in different timelines but later it made total sense.

Characters are well developed and relatable. There are many characters in the book each of them have their own story and struggles that they are dealing with and also trying to overcome. Each of these characters gives the story a deep meaning. Author has dealt with various social issues such as patriarchy that came along with colonialism before which women were given equal importance and respected in all aspects.

Language is simple and lucid. I liked how the author has included footnotes for particular words which otherwise the readers will have to go and take time to search. The book cover is beautiful and gives us a brief idea about the plot of the book. The title of the book is also interesting and will surely make the readers eager to know what the story is about.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and would surely recommend it to someone who loves reading historical books.

[Vishakha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theme: women-centric

The plot of misplaced heads is unique.
How well the concept of enticing men and other important people started and why? I admire Author's research about it and fact that she played a small character in the book. Where she was a friend of Poorna. And was writing a book on her. It was good.
And I must say, it is still lingering in the 21st century. Poorna has a quest to find her family history. Questions regarding her and her family are still unanswered.
It is filled with characters with dubious personality and some of the other mystery behind them.
Characters like Tanya and Poorna played well. Where the characters of men's were very relatable. Confused, and cheaters some of them and others were same as male dominant nature.
Rate: 3⭐
The narrative in mid was slow like a snail. It was filled with conversation between Poorna and her toxic relation. At least for me, it was like Raghu was using every female he sees and still was playing victimhood. Appreciating the in-depth knowledge about ancient times but at the same time, unnecessarily conversations were taking a toll in it.

I picked up this book because I have already read her 1st book and I know how well she researches on her plot. Which hooks the reader till the end.
And I would recommend this to all historical readers. It helps in understanding why there are different sets of rule for female and male. Which is the universal debatable topic.
Altogether, it is lengthy almost 500 pages but excellent read.

[Kalyani Ahirrao · Rating 4 out of 5]

~The flames of the lamps should ever be burning to be passed on from generation to generation~

Misplaced Heads by Jayanthi Sankar is a book about Devdasi and their culture. The book mainly focus on their life, the art of dance and how it affects their life. This book is not only focused on the Devdasi, but also how the thinking of people changed over the years and how the culture is changing as the years pass.

This book showed the three eras, how in this Era's the culture of Devdasi changed, With that the book also briefly focused on the relationships, love and mental care. The book was 489 pages long, but with every chapter we learn about their dance forms, culture, thinking and alot more.

There were also alot of discussions in the books about certain topics which were interesting but I didn't like all of them because I couldn't agree with what they were thinking. It was fiction but the way characters were shaped felt so real and the way author has written the book with the minimum description and more conversations between the characters was fun to read.

So this book was good to read but I think, people who have interest in learning the history of culture and traditions of Devdasi will enjoy it more!

[Akhila Saroha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many authors have endeavored to capture the glorious past of India in their writing as times have changed. After “Dangling Gandhi,” the short story collection Sankar takes a plunge into a full-fledged fictional narrative in “Misplaced Heads.” She not only takes the readers on a journey into the bylanes of the past but also shows the lives of people in those times. Simultaneously, she balances the narrative with the presence of people of the present-day world who have their lives caught up in their situations.
While oscillating the narrative between different time zones, the author weaves the lives of all the people on the canvas of the text, making it a dynamic reading for not just the present-day people but also people of the coming generations. Although the book is a fictional account of history showing the lives of people from different backgrounds, it is also a document of the past where the primary focus is the lives of dancers, about which significantly less has been written. This book is most likely to be enjoyed by all those readers who get interested in a narrative that develops at speed and keeps them on toes due to its frequent shifts in time.

[Abhi Gautam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misplaced heads is a debut novel written by Author Jayanti Sankar and it’s the book that will amaze you to the core.

Author Jayanti Sankar has written this book up with creativity and full of uniqueness. It’s a well researched and written in lucid language making it more Interesting and amazing read.

The highlight of this book is the way Author has constructed this in an Amazing way that kept me curious and hooked till the end.
Also the storyline has a smooth flow which I think is both mesmerising and innovative. Every character every element, every aspect of this book is unique and creatively drafted by Author.

Overall a must read and definitely recommended book.

[Amit Prakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have seen Devadasi's in my life but never had any interaction nor gave a thought about them.
The term temple dancer itself was a new term for me.
Also regarding classical dance, there are various forms & people generally know only about Bharatanatyam. .
The Author has collected the facts very carefully before presenting it to readers.
Reading this book not just proved entertaining but also brought me closure towards a part of our history.

[Muralidharan Parthasarathy]

Mesmerizing storytelling

P.Muralidharan


(Review of the novel, MISPLACED HEADS by Jayanthi Sankar)



As the initial Chapters of ‘Misplaced Heads’ unveiled the characters and their plights, I realized I couldn’t confine to the characters or any particular era. The sequence and its importance were vanishing as the canvas widened. How did this magic happen? How was this magical and mesmerizing storytelling possible at all?

I found the temple women in the ancient era were in an enviable position socially and economically, but their status consistently slid downward from supremacy to suffocation and then to struggle for survival in the early 20th century. Parallel to this, a contemporary thread - woman’s status in personal life and society in the eyes of a man was equally disturbing.

When the author was working on the novel the broad idea I got was that the backdrop was the Devaradiyar system of the ancient era. I got eager to read the novel because to my knowledge, there have been a few nonfictions in English and fiction on Devadasis is rare in any language.

This post-modernistic narration seamlessly swaps eras. Therefore, I had to experience for myself the actual picture interwoven so artistically and subtly, both in chapters and the silence of the author.

In the thread on the ancient system, the author has highlighted one important question - 'Why have women always been submissive, never raising their heads?' The title, perhaps, suggests that the misplaced heads are that of women who go misplaced when they need to assert, to clarify, to say no and to spell out their viewpoints.

The chapters titled ‘Men talk’ are satire with subtle humor because we know what to expect there.

There is a break up in the relationship between two couples, one a middle-aged, and the other a younger pair. The older woman is unable to come out of the break-up and is psychologically glued to the past and permanently disconnected from her outer world, whereas the younger woman bounces back, stronger. In the former thread, the cynical and chauvinistic older man has been depicted brilliantly well. The readers might be able to trace his face all over in their lives, not only in history.

In this wide canvass, one Mekala is a very strong female character of the historical era. The novel finds no change in the man psyche. It has no space for independent thinking, identity, and outlook of a woman towards life or men. They need to confine to Lakshman Rekas and take up roles already clearly defined and assigned to them. Love of a woman for her man is very much customized to this psyche of men. If a man finds a woman lovable, then she very well fits into his own defined and squared peg and space. The plight of Devadasis was no better because they did not have a family of their own, on the other side of the to-be-emerging patriarchal system. Even in families, the novel subtly captures the other side, that is, the complacent women who use the same system to pursue mundane, materialistic, and image-centric targets.

The confessions of Poorna to her counselor and Tanya to her interviewer are scripts of the unheard voices or ignored murmurs. Both the women are devoted to their art and their respective men, of course, in their own ways. An artist or a career woman is far lonelier than a complacent 'family' woman who enjoys or accepts being a bonsai with patterned bliss, pride, bonding, and affluence her system claims to bestow. Like a spine, this thread holds the novel, and all the branches have thought-provoking leads for a reader to ponder.

The life of the descendants of Devadasis, as well as that of dancers at any time in history or even contemporary artists, as in this novel, opens our eyes to the indifference of the society to their struggles for survival and dignified life. Nevertheless, their devotion to art is ardent as ever, despite those indifferences. There are innumerable questions around these women who were never understood or focused for generations and Misplaced Heads fills that void wonderfully.

Were the kings of the Chola and the previous eras able to understand that the dignity of the temple women depended on making them financially self-reliant? Why over centuries, the rulers had to slowly discard them, failing to care for their dignified life? How the moral standards of the Europeans and British were cruelly imposed on this unique lineage of temple women? How did their status change? They were able to decide who would be their partner or whether there will be a partner or whether to bear a child or not. But this part of history so far has mostly been highlighted only in the books of research and non-fiction. An empathetic initiative of social reformers very ironically ended up in most cruel laws against devadasis.

‘Misplaced Heads’ opens several windows on the deviations from the patronage to the artiste devadasis in the 19thand 20thcenturies and the disturbing decline of the service to arts and the temples by temple women. And, what were the freedom and plight of Apsaras in the mythical Indralok? The chapters can be eye-openers or challenges those who celebrate blindly as all pure and grand mythologies.

The theme of Misplaced Heads, one of the best works by female authors, is beyond the scope of any male writer. The pains and sensitivities of a woman and an artist are unique and whole new as we see in this novel. It has minute details of many rituals and systems such as the inception of a new person into the devadasi system. Besides, the ballot in a pot prevalent in the Chola era, and how it was conducted to review temple administration are depicted elaborately. The hard work, research, and creativity of the author are visible, only her views are not. I was simply mesmerized.

***


 
Title: Misplaced Heads
Author: Jayanthi Sankar
Genre: (Literary/historical) fiction/Novel
Published by:
Year of publication:
ISBN:
Pages:

The Reviewer

P.Muralidharan, effectively bilingual, lives in Chennai, India. His short story Shoulder written in English has been chosen by HydRaW for their annual Anthology 2020. He has been awarded the Bharathidasan Award for senior writers. He won the second prize in 2019 for a short story based on the third gender. He stands out in the Modern Tamil literature for more than a decade. His works have been published in renowned literary magazines. Besides the collection of poetry ‘kaippaikkuL kamaNdalam’, ‘kuthirai erum kaathal’, ‘Veliye veedu’, short story collections ThaadaNgam and Thol pai, his novels Mul veli, Bhodi Maram, and Vigraham have been published. He has also translated into Tamil 2 books, inlucuding Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Why I am Hindu'.

The Author
Jayanthi Sankar, born and brought up in India, living in Singapore since 1990, has been creatively active since 1995. This is her first novel after her critically acclaimed short stories collection – Dangling Gandhi, that won the Literary Titan Award from the US, shortlisted and/or nominated by NE8x 2020, The Indian Awaz-Guwahati2020, Voice of words-Dehradun. She’s been published in several magazines and ezines like the indianruminations, museindia, The Wagon, inOpinion. Her short stories have found places in various anthologies, including 'the other.' She has been invited to participate in the panels of literary festivals such as (Asia Pacific Writers & Translators) APWT 2018 at Gold coast, Singapore Writers Festival, Seemanchal International Literary festival, Asean- India PravasiBharatiya Divas Writers Festival. Also a watercolour artist, she has been a freelancer for more than a decade and a half, with a three years of experience in journalism. tr_mh_dg@yahoo.com

[Arti Manekar · Rating 4 out of 5]

With containing all the significant elements from the book, the cover is preciously beautiful and the title 'MISPLACED HEADS' is enough to catch your attention and to make you read the book.
This is a full fledged novel with 500 pages. Cities of India and Singapore are in the background of the story.
Poorna is the protagonist. She's a passionate Indian classical dancer, a human full of emotions, a dedicated lover and a curios person who wants to know her roots and doing research for the same.
There are so many characters in the book, as many as the requirement of the story. Tanya is another Indian classical dancer, she too is very passionate about her work. Nothing stands for her in front of work. I found her character emotionally stronger than Poorna's.
Raghu is a house husband, who tried to find love outside of his home, because he felt himself to be inferior at his home. And when he came into relationship with Poorna he was behaving dominant, which was obvious for a man like him.
What I loved the most about author's writing style is that she wrote each and every scene in such detailed manner that readers can actually visualise things as they are. That detailed description eventually helped in increasing the length of the book.
Another special thing is author's command on language and words. Since the story is written in two time periods, author had to make a balance between language used now and then. It's clearly visible that the author did a great research about history and the vocabulary used there is very rich.
Things like Chola dynasty kings writing emails in that era is beyond imagination.
Love stories are must in every life story, there were love stories in this book too, but I was kind of irritated by the chats of Raghu and Poorna, there could be less of them.
In between I found the protagonist writing mails to the author herself, that's an amazing idea to write in a book. The short poems written there are beautiful and meaning.
Author talked on the very important topic of menstruations through her characters, writing this in a novel was something much needed.
Dialogues from the novel are very important, most of the story is conveyed through the conversation among the characters only. Hence they played an important part here. I somewhat felt like the story should not have ended there. I wanted more of it even after I completed it. I felt sorry for Poorna, who was in the search of her roots, but couldn't get them, but her friend Jayanthi helped her to know her roots by writing her story into a novel. A well researched book like this must have gone through a lot of editing and proofreading, but when I found a word misused there, which completely changed the fact, that was really unexpected in a book like this, hope this shall be taken care of.
We got to know the conditions of women from then to now, which is what the author wanted to show through her novel.
Somewhere in the story when the history portion was going on and I read about 2 misplaced heads, that's where I found the title coming to life.
This book must be read by them who want to enjoy rich literature.

[Bhagyashree Bagchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misplaced Heads is a celebration of womanhood and at the same time a protest against patriarchy. The author goes deep in the annals of South Indian history to bring to life the Devdasis. The lives of the ancient dancing women as depicted has striking parallels with the novel's twenty first century protagonist Poorna.

This historical fiction is a riot of exotic landscapes and cityscapes. There is breaking of the fourth wall through employment of post modernist meta narratives like direct addresses to the Author by the characters and Chola kings conversing with Poorna, in defiance of time and space, and even a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai from one of the characters. From the delightfully elaborate descriptions of dance forms and its mudras, and the rituals performed for South Indian temple deities to the deep insights of Chola era administration and the mythological stories and folklores; this book with its impressive research is a History lover’s delight.

It’s not a book for mindless pleasure instead requires active involvement of the brain, if one is to grasp all the intricate nuances of this artwork that Jayanthi Sankar has created.  

The story is written partly in chat fiction through tech talks. These conversations bring to life the stories multiple present day characters namely the protagonist Poorna, Raghu, Tarun, Tanya, Swetha and Rishi. The delightful layers of the story are hidden within these exchanges between the characters which keeps the readers guessing.

There is stark portrayal of the plight of Devdasis during the Medieval era. The effects of colonialism on the Indian culture, the universal pains and sensitivities of an artist; and that of independent “single” women, in general, living in a patriarchal society are themes inherent in the novel.  Another common theme is the celebration of dance as an art form which ties most of the storylines together. Quotes and beautiful poems are interspersed throughout the book amplifying its aesthetic quality of the whole work. 

A fellow reviewer writes about the artful  book cover, “If you could notice it deeply, you could see an image of a lady dancer among the clouds overlooking Tanjore Brihadeeswarar temple which is also an UNECO Site. The reflection of it in the waters makes it even more appealing. We cannot discount it as just a cover but rather it can be construed as an art.”

 The book moves back and forth through various timelines of the 100 BC, Early Medieval Era, and the the present day, which heightens the harmonious puzzlement created by the different storylines. 

Misplaced Heads is a wonderfully chaotic bildungsroman resolving in a bunch of loose ends. Through most of the story, one wonders how these multiple storylines with different time and space backdrop connect with each other –'feminist heroes', for lack of better word, acts as the great link. Perhaps, the true beauty of the story may be grasped only when the reader stops desperately looking for the overarching narrative  and begins to the  appreciate the sublime moments in the story independently. 

[RITU MAHESHWARI · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devadasis, or female servants of God, once revered in ancient India and held a high social status, were degraded to prostitution later on under the Muslim rule and colonization.


This system found more prevalence in the southern part of India and Odisha. Little girls were donated to temples by their parents, who then spent their entire life in the service of God. They were married to the immortal god and were trained as classical dancers to appease the almighty.


There is a whole history of their evolution, prosperity, and decline. The author Jayanthi Sankar attempted to depict the history of Devadasi in the novel Misplaced Heads.

In the book, the story travels back and forth between medieval times and the present. Medieval time concentrates on Devadasi's part and how gradual change in situation throws the devadasis in morbid condition. The present time was about two proficient Bharatnatyam dancers and their lives.


The novel has less narration and more dialogues. Apart from face to face conversation, the author has used various other mediums of conversation like chats on WhatsApp, exchange of emails, telephonic calls between the characters to take the story forward. Though I missed narration, it was a new style of storytelling for me. So it intrigued me and is relevant to our present technology-dominated era.


Not all the information has been provided by the author while narrating the story. Through the conversation between various characters, you have to infer and put pieces in the puzzle. Struggle, conflicts, heartbreaks, pain, anger, sadness, plenty of emotions were repleted in the conversations for the readers to feel and come to conclusions. An attentive reader would enjoy doing so.


The historical part of the book and the present time, both were interesting to read. But what kept nagging me as I failed to connect various loops. There are several threads in the story, many characters, but they all seem to be like two ends of a river. Individually they were all complete but not together. Tying all the loops, a connection, ironing out all the complex greases would have done wonders to the book.


Misplaced Heads is an intelligent book and the author's writing style kept me engrossed in it. A little more refinement in the plot, some dots which connect everything would have been great. You might find it slow-paced, but I didn’t mind as the story required absorption and time to process and draw conclusions.

[Habiba Kafeel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story revolves around our protagonist Poorna who's the daughter of Indian classical dancers , Umesh and Vanaja.
Story starts with a scene in a hospital where the birth of Poorna takes place. But her grandfather has spotted something about her birth and he told his son about that and then left this world. The plot of the story then changes and we got to see the things and mindsets of people of 8th century. There were information about medieval times in between. Along with it the story of Poorna continues to grow. She met Raghu on a business call. And later, he fell in love with her even he was in his fifties and married! At that time Poorna was also a divorcee as she told Raghu. Poorna was obsessed with her research on her roots. She wants to know her family background from yesteryears. As she is also a devotee dancer, she was very fond of temples and India's culture. So will she be able to find what she was looking for ? To know more , just read this book !!
I was astonished by the words written in the book during the early years. I mean how can someone research to such an extent. Every name was mentioned there, be it any religious book, dancing mudras, temples, props, anything. I was mesmerised by the explanation of the devdasis and their works. The book also highlighted some very important topics specially related to women. I'm happy to see them in between. And the poems between the pages of the book took my heart away. They were beautiful as well as meaningful. Characterisation was perfect. Other characters from the story were Tanya, Tarun, Swetha, even author Jayanthi herself, etc. Book also contained a lot of WhatsApp chats between Poorna and Raghu. Though I find them unnecessary sometimes, I enjoyed reading them most of the times. I am impressed by the detailed narration of each and every emotion felt by the characters. I feel connected to them. Merging the two times never looked so easy. I must appreciate the author for showing the difference between the two times, how people's mindset changes, how life takes another form with passing time. Book also beautified the culture and heritage of old India,  it's temples , devotees ,connection with god and dance forms.

I recommend this book to the ones who are involved in research of old medieval periods.

[Esha Muley · Rating 4 out of 5]

MISPLACED HEADS
AUTHOR : JAYANTI SANKAR


The book is a mix of contemporary and ancient and medieval cultural history.
The book widely refers to the lives of Devidasis and their art and way of life in the medieval times.
The author has done tremendous research and the amount of information about the dance form 'Bharat Natyam' is more beautifully told than one would expect. Expect zero mediocrity as the author talks about the societal ways back then regarding the temple women, art, artisans. The dance form and it's mudras will be introduced to you. If you're familiar with the certain Indian traditional dance forms , you'll find it very easy to read this book.

Now moving on to the contemporary part of the book, this part consists of two different stories of Poorna and Raghu and another one of Tanya and Rishi.
This part of the story takes time to make sense but nearing the end it gets interesting. The emotional ups and downs and the serious topis like depression, obsession, abandonment and severe shock also PTSD were molded into a story which definitely makes you be glued to the book somehow. As human emotions are more relatable I guess we tend to emphasize with them which makes it more interesting.
Jayanthi Sankar gave us a heavily researched book.
Although detailed , the book goes through hot and dry moments as in between it feels like the story is dragging on.
Well a book cant have all the pros.

Many issues regarding the principle of patriarchy that the colonials started preaching about the anti feminist mindset they wanted to spread were also seen in the book.
Reading this book was a delight but it picked up pace only in the later part. A foundationis always good but the details can also drown the purpose sometimes. Not to worry you won't be disappointed with the end.
I'm sure the author has worked hard for this book and I can assure you this book is a good read.
Jump into the stories of modern art and the burden that comes with it , struggles and the rich cultural history of medieval India.
You'll find it worth your time.

Literature: 4/5
Characters:3/5
Story:4/5
Ending:4/5

[Tanmeen Kaur AS · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was not only the picture of the Nataraja Temples and historical figures but also the title that got my attentions to buy this book. I mean MISPLACED HEADS, is by far amazing title chosen by author Jayanthi Shankar and I am abslutely mesmerized by it. The second factor was the description of the book on amazon.in where i saw some fabulous and classy feedbacks about the content of this book and the much deserved and righteous appreciation for the fabulously distinctive style with which it has been written by the author. I am not much of a story teller while writing a review as i sincerely believe it diminishes the hard sweat unique talented effort of the author to mesmerize its audience readers with his/her writing style. I must say that this book is a bliss to all history, culture, heritage lovers who enjoy reading about the ancient , culturally, rich India in the medieval ages of which we as masses have only known briefly about in our history classes. Starting from the book cover, the theme, color combination , the amazing distinctive title along with transpicuous writing langauge is a surely not to be missed for all avid readers as well as new beginners of the reading hobby. The book is simply an amazing encomium to the ancient, culturaly rich, India in its medieval ,pre medieval era and its amazing temple dancing devotee tribe (The Devadasi's) along the origination of the world famous Bharatnatyam and multitudes of miscellaneous dancing mudras. It is a masterpiece with very rich powerful new words and intense emotions which are rare but surely a bliss to increase your vocabulary rather it also descibes the ancient temple dancers community. MISPLACED HEADS is surely a delectable read and offcourse a collector's item for avid readers as well new readers. Myself with a collection of over 500 books, this is surely going to my top 50's of all time favourites. Author Jayanthi has ensured indepth detailing in perfection with apalling incisiveness towards the protagonists of this book. Grab your copy today and have a wonderful insightful journey to our ancient India and the era of Temple dancing communities.

[delhihitereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book contains an extremely amazing story that takes the reader through the various centuries, from past to present. The storyline is quite unique and interesting too. The plot of the story is also amazing. The "Misplaced Heads' written Jayanthi Sankar is not an ordinary book. The story is all bout the journey of art and dance from the ancient ages till today.
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The author has described the meaning of all movements used in classcial Indian dances. She has also described the plight of the devdasi's during the Medieval era like their origin, their life and the hardships, the struggles they face, and the astonishing positions of dance. The book also shows the human emotions towards art and how it has remain unchanged throughout the eras.
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The book has covered all unique facts which are not so controversial and popular in this generation. Although the book is a fictional account of history showing the lives of people from different backgrounds. This book is most likely to be enjoyed by all those readers who get interested in a narrative that develops at speed and keeps them on toes due to its frequent shifts in time. The author has done an elaborate reasearch which is clearly visible through the information provided in this book.
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Misplaced heads is the best pick for those who wants the culture to be alive throughout and want to have its knowledge. It transfers the knowledge in most alive way as it is just not tect on culture but it comveys the message through a story of two people who are in dance and all.
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The book takes you a rollercoaster ride ripped with information, research, an absolute treat. Overall it's an amazing read. Do read to feel the magic of dance and to feel the emotions of devdasi's life.
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My thoughts :-
I really enjoyed reading this book.
The cover of the book goes so well with the story.
I definitely recommend this book to all my fellow bookstagrammer's.
Happy Reading!
..
Ratings:
Overall - 5/5
Title - 5/5
Cover - 5/5
Storytelling - 5/5
Language - 5/5

[Debabrata Mishra · Rating 4 out of 5]

👉𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊:-
📚ⓉⒾⓉⓁⒺ:- Misplaced Heads
🖋️ⒶⓊⓉⒽⓄⓇ:- Jayanthi Sankar
👉𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:-
Where to begin where to end! I am astonished!
Author tried to put forward two timelines in front of the readers one is medieval time where author explained about the life of devadasi the traditions dance forms , life style , costume of that time & another one is contemporary time where the beauty of classical dance is getting hidden somewhere. Author focused on Bharatnatyam dance form basically with some of its mudras ( I am totally unaware of it😔).
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Sounds confusing ??
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Let's go with character to characters. I think it will be easy to give a spoiler free synopsis.
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Poorna , a classical dancer who is very much dedicated for it & a sincere lover for whom love is life & she worshiped it. She is living in Singapore from birth & wanted to organise a dance show in Chennai. So she contacted Raghu to help her in organising a show. Poorna also have a darker side of past as she is in a search of the history of her parents.
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You must wonder who is Raghu.
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Raghu is like a house husband who don't have any value in front of her wife. He is just like a puppet of her hands. He wanted to get rid of this life.
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Another one is Tanya who is just like her. For Tanya dance is like oxygen who is the ex student of Poorna.
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Gradually Raghu & Poorna are getting closer to each other with each passing days & finally they expressed their feelings.Soon after he is getting very much dominating towards her just to prove himself.
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To know more about Poorna's life grab the book & read it.
👉𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒:-
🙂 Beautiful illustrating cover
🙂 A lengthy 500 pages long plot with so many emotions.
🙂 Absolutely mind refreshing writing style defining each n every aspect in a crystal clear manner.
🙂Well researched book
🙂Well organised narration
🙂 Glimpses of Indian civilization
🙂 Evolution of Classical dance form
👉𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒:-
😒Very long & bulky book
😒Very slow storyline
😒Too much detailing
😒Unnecessarily stretched
😒Too many characters which creates confusion sometimes
👉𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆:- 🌟🌟🌟🌠

[Shiny Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

🍁Misplaced Heads is such a wonderful masterpiece by Jayanthi Sankar that you should not miss to read. Starting with the cover, if you have noticed, there is an image of a lady dancer among the clouds. The cover of the book is very beautiful and deep and it is the first thing that caught my interest.

🍁Most of us have already read so many books based on history but honestly this book will take you to the different world because this book is dedicated to the devoted dancers of South Indian Temples, the imminent musicians, the diligent historians of the ancient and vibrant art, culture and heritage. The book shows a great variation of the reality by taking us back to the period of 1st Century B.C, Early Medieval Era and will take us back to the present day too. This is basically a novel based on Devdasis , their origin , their life and the struggles they face. This book will show you the living style of those people, their personal life and emotions, their way of dancing, astonishing positions of dance, there is so much about south Indian history in this book. The author has also described the meaning behind every mudra's used in classical Indian dancing. The book also captured the human emotions towards art and how it has remain unchanged throughout the eras. The author even described the irony of the story very elegantly. The character unfolding is done amazingly that will keep you interested in the book till the end.

🍁I must say, its not easy to write a book which is well researched and the facts and the content are really correct because the research work is commendable. The author did a fantastic job by transporting the readers to a new world. Though, its a lengthy book but if you are interested in knowing the history, its a worth read. The writing style is really good and language is simple and easy to understand. Highly recommended to those who are looking for something different to read.

[Shreyasi Basu · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌙"MISPLACED HEADS" by Author Jayanthi Sankar is a genuine supreme creation with multiple layers of our ancient culture, and phases of Medieval or early medieval period (1st to 5th early Medieval, 6th to 16th centuries medieval in Indian history). I always had an interest in this specific actuality to know about their lifestyle, livelihood, and so on. So, undoubtedly this book has grabbed my complete interest and attention towards the story, and I am satisfied with my expectations from "MISPLACED HEADS". The book has covered and focused on all unique facts which are not so controversial and popular in this generation. It's awestruck the way the Author has managed the ledge of the story and how beautifully she has mentioned the divine elegance of devadasis' and their life. Being a Bharatnatyam dancer, I never miss devouring the essence of this particular dance. Author Jayanthi with her exert oneself, has researched thoroughly, She has penned down and represented our traditional dance Bharatnatyam and miscellaneous mudras with her words.

🌙The author has magnificent power to blend both eras together and how smoothly she has jumbled from ancient Indian culture to our present-day with very perfection is really appreciating. Character development is visible and their diversity too. Author's writing style has class to appreciate. Many words are new to me, but they have devloped my vocabulary skill. I will recommend this book to those who have the patience and interest to read about ancient Indian culture cause only patience and love can do justice to this amazing book. This book was not so fast-paced book of course but the time it took to complete is valuable and worthy enough. It's a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 read and I have nothing in this book to dislike here. All I can do that is nothing but more appreciation, more exploration, and huge respect for the author. Thanks for reading till the end. I hope you will love this book as much as I did.

[Mounika Borra · Rating 5 out of 5]

▪️ Misplaced Heads - Jayanthi Sankar
▪️Pages - 489
▪️Genre - Literary Fiction
▪️🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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📿To be precise, this book is like a necklace of pearls. With the progressive story like a gold string, while the pearls are like imperative little stories that makes the entire story meaningful just like the pearls which adds beauty to the necklace.

📜In the beginning, you will be quite curious about the story and gradually you'll be confused as you can't understand what's going on in the book. Trust me, keep going..then you can understand the crux of the story and will be quite amazed seeing the transformation of art(traditional dance) right from 100 BC to 21th century and the lives of Devaradiyars and a glimpse of atmosphere during that period. I'm pretty much astonished while reading and this book has escalated the respect I have for traditional dance and the women. Also few conversations in the middle of the book are witty😂 and I loved few because they have a deep sense. This book has changed my perspectives regarding the practices of ancient India. I came to know of the various names of dance and people. Do google them to have a peek, so that, you might as well know what it really means❕

🔱 Loved the cover page and it pretty much relates to the story, also, you'll come to know of the reason for title, once you read the book. Few typos need to be taken care of. And you won't be disappointed for choosing this book as you will be knowing something that you aren't aware of.

⚜️Excerpts~

𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠����. 𝐀𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞,𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

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[Polomy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read if you want to have insights into ancient Bharata especially Tamil Nadu, social values & finess, role of devadasi, their personality and their downfall. The more you read, the more you realize that it was a progressive society which regressive cultures invaded.
To get a true picture of the Devadasi community and their exalted and dignified role in Indian polytheist culture, read this book.

The phenomenon of the devadasi has suffered greatly from faulty, culture-bound evaluations.
The present monograph does not aim at judging these earlier evaluations, nor does it claim to give a 'truly objective' description of what the devadasi tradition was; it rather tries to follow the inherent mode of thought, namely, what the devadasi tradition meant within the frame of Hinduism, and its transformation into a living cultural phenomenon functioning significantly in the context of the Hindu tradition.
In this attempt the author has first investigated the concept of the devadasi as found in the cultural history of South India.

It goes to the credit of the author that she has supplemented and correlated the material on the devadasi tradition culled from literary sources with information collected from the living tradition.
The book is thus a valuable addition in the field of temple worship in South India and also a contribution to sociological studies allied to this tradition.

Some of my favourite parts/moments in the book which makes me say this Book is a masterpiece ;
1. The Poorna's personality.
2. Tanya's bold approach towards life.
3. The heart touching storyline that says a lot about present relationships.
4. The conversation of Tanya and Sweta especially about feeling feminine.
5. The immense research of the Author that has collectively presented a clear picture on the Devadasi's and Dance forms.

This is a must read for all.
This book is a treat for Book lovers.
If you are fan of Literary Classics, then grab this book.

[Shaoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is woven with spirited art and culture. And I loved how the fabric is intricately woven with attentive details. Since the book is slow-paced, one needs to venture into the world of ancient culture and wait for its engrossing power.
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The storyline oscillates to-and-fro between two timelines,medieval and modern time period. And it is commendable how the author managed to hold onto the oscillation at times. Sometimes, it combobulated me to keep track of the same.
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I am not aware of the different dance forms, but this book inculcated in me a pathway leading to an arena of dance and culture. This book gives an insight of devadasis' lifestyle in particular. The mere sight of the book cover hints at the enigmatic foundation of cultural diversity. But the colours could have been more vibrant, just the way the underlying information is--the massive proportion of information hints at the vast research behind the same. This book got me reminded of the detailing power,often found in Dahl's and that's why the bulkiness(here). One would be astonished while visualising how the author took care of little details. Does it not sound beautiful when you find each and every action carefully put into words? It seems that the words are not only trying to portray the characters, but also let us have the upper hand over the same in general, and control the storyline in particular.
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This took me a month to complete the novel and at times, I felt the far-stretched information failed to absorb me, even with all its richness. Talking about the richness, I may call it an encyclopedia of new words,because I got to know a variety of them.
So,read the book and let the richness gulp you down.

[Solitude and books · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Therefore, to please me during daily worship and ritual, arrangements may be made for Sudha nritya bhaiya devadasi. Five acharyas are the accompaniments to her performance. And, the daily dance is performed only by those born out of the temple dancing women clan."
-Lord Siva Says Kamikagama
___________________
As the story starts we get introduced to Poorna the protagonist who contacts Raghu of an agency who organise events. Poorna lives in Singapore and she requires a dance performance organized in Chennai.
From there the story glides.
It's a women centric fiction that is decorated with relatable characters. Obviously author always does her best research being for the history or the depicting behaviours of humans.
The book talks about different timelines, ancient, medeival and present through which she talks about the origin and life of devadasis. Through these she also lets us understand the classic forms of cultural dance and the mudra meanings and purpose in art. Within these she also has taken time to describe the patriarchal nature of our society which is many a times anti feminist from the mediaeval times. I liked the character of many but also appreciate how author incorporated herself in a short part she played in the novel. Do check out the beautiful videos made by the author in the next sludes. Also some inside pictures are shared in the blog with full review. The titles meaning that is misplaced heads is used in a witty way whose mystery slowly unveils in the end. I loved how the story ended with the poem Kaal. So meaningful. Though the novel is lengthy but the narration is reach with research. The characters chosen are thoughtful. Altogether a thought provoking read.
I recommend it to people who like reading deeper than shallow reads.

[Sneha Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Misplaced Heads
Author: Jayanthi Sankar

The origin, life and struggles of Devadasi community is traced neatly apart from their passion for dancing and emotions etc which is magnificent. There is so much details about them in the South Indian history which runs long back. This is my first historical fiction in Indian Literature and had found a gem indeed . The way the writer has sprinkled facts, history, storyline is amazing. Could see the research done by the author before penning this work of art. I loved the way there is parallel running of archaic text and the contemporary story as well. The narration dangles between the past and the present but it is done in an organic way

The mythical tales of the past has captivated me and makes me want to search more about those narratives. The usage of high sounding words has suited the plot and genre opted. The characters are amazing and their thoughts appears to be progressive and inspiring most of the times. Personally could connect with Tanya ☺️ And her interview session depicts nothing but the thoughts of the postmodern woman exactly. The issues in the postmodern world is also echoed out loud which can be used well by research scholars as secondary resources.

The protagonist Poorna's detail is noteworthy and her emotions are portrayed in a raw manner. Her sad childhood , unhappy marriage, virtual friendship, relationship, therapy sessions (with Anabelle) appears to be that of a bildungsroman technique. The last chapters was shocking and revealing but gives a sense of hope and has inspired me without any doubt.

Recommended to researchers of Indian Writing in English !

[Mister Meanin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Misplaced Heads
Author: Jayanthi Sankar
Format: Paperback
My rating: 4.2/5


The first ever feel after receiving this book was wow such a huge book, how on the earth did the writer get so much time to work on this book as it would take years to complete the storyline with dedicating time to research it.
Thanks to the author for that effort alone and coming to the cover it felt like my 10th std history text book as I anticipated something traditional and historical while the cloudy effect still have me a hint as the book will consist more than that inside.

Like the anticipation the book indeed astonishing me in every aspect right from the writing method and the transition methods all have been handled so beautiful and energetic. Reading this book definitely holds a great value in terms of information while I learnt alot from the book especially the types of historical scheme which were present those days and now.
It was a perfect read for me as it kept me indulged throughout due to the interest in period stories and the only thing I felt little disturbing is the fact of being such a huge book.
The fact of being necessary to explain everything and connect is fine but could have little trimmed the book a little bit as I nearly got exhausted before I could finish the book but not to forget the book is quite engaging until the very end.
Potential historical lovers this book is definitely a right one for you guys and worth each penny.


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