“Like most devadasis, or maharis, as the dancers in Odisha are known, Sashimani came from a poor family and was initiated into service at the temple when she was a small girl – in her case, at the age of 7 or 8, she said. After she reached puberty, she was considered a ‘living wife’ of Lord Jagannath, the god whose timber image is worshiped at the temple, and was not expected to marry.”