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PATNA TAMOLI, INDIA, August 7, 2002: Kuttu Bai, 65, committed sati, the banned practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. Kuttu had been separated from her husband for some time. But so far as the people of this rural hinterland of Bundelkhand are concerned, they have witnessed a sacred act and Kuttu has been deified. The collective psyche of the village, and probably the region, still regards sati as a sacred practice. They are proud that there is a sati incident in the village every 50 years. “Around 52 years back, it was in Janu Chaurasia’s family. Before that, it was in Brahmin Batt Padraha household,” they said. Kuttu’s two sons, daughters-in-law and neighbors say they tried to stop her initially. But Kuttu was like a woman possessed and she simply dressed up and followed her husband’s funeral procession. As word got around, people from surrounding areas began pouring in. By noon, around 5,000 persons were already trying to reach the sati site, says Baddu Chaurasia of the village. Kuttu’s sons Ashok Kumar Sen and Rajkumar Sen were produced in court on Wednesday. “A sati incident involves a lot of rituals. It didn’t happen in this case. I believe the woman acted on emotional impulse,” says Panna Collector Ravindra Pastore. Emotional distress at the death of a spouse is one of the leading causes of suicide among elderly in the US.

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