THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Phoolan Devi was a national legend.  Songs had been written about her exploits, although she did not know that at the time.  Clay statues of her, dressed in a police uniform carrying a gun, sold in the markets of Kanpur at sixteen rupees apiece, next to statues of “gods, goddesses, and other national leaders of the year”, as one report put it.  Women had begun praying to her, whispering in confidence that she was the reincarnation of Kali, the warrior goddess worshipped throughout the Chambal Valley.

Sen/Bandit