Karma 101 PDF Download

Kumari's Karma takes place in Srilanka, then called Ceylon, in the 1960s, just twelve years after the country gained independence from Britain. A place in transition, Srilanka was torn between Western values, and Christian and traditional beliefs. The little fishing village of Malhena mirrors this transition, and is the background for a tender and tragic love affair between a young school girl, Kumari, and the Catholic parish priest. Their love transcends reincarnation, warnings given in dreams, and forbidden Christian beliefs. The novel gathers momentum when an exorcism misfires, and the devil takes possession of Yakka, Kumari's tyrannical father, making him fatally shoot his oldest daughter's suitor. While Yakka is in prison, the richest man in the village tries to seduce his wife, as the middle-aged police inspector woos Kumari. In distress, Kumari turns to the parish priest. One morning, the two disappear, as the novel comes to its astonishing conclusion. Doreen Perera was born in Srilanka, and grew up in a small village that had many colourful characters. The people there fascinated her so much that some inhabit her novel. Brought up Catholic, she also accepts traditional beliefs. Her father worked for an English company, so she was also brought up with an English influence. Perera earned a master's in social work from the University of Washington, and married a fellow student. She moved with him to Germany, where the couple had three children. Now widowed, she still lives in Germany and is a part-time English teacher. She dedicates this book to her partner.