The Woman's Voice in Saint Literature: From Bahenabai to Akkamahadevi

The woman's voice was always present in the tradition of the saints; it was simply heard late. In writing novels on the lives of Sant Bahenabai and of Akkamahadevi, the twelfth-century Shiva-sharana, my longing was to carry that voice to the reader of today.

Devalasi Sant Bahenabai received seven state-level awards in a single year, and Mahayogini Akkamahadevi six. But the true award is this — that the lives of these women saints have reached a new generation.