“Mayur-gunge” or “Peacock Market”, was a tiny village in a remote part of India in 1870. There was a small market where peacocks and other exotic birds were sold every weekend. “Mayur-gunge” occupied a small area, it was a fishing village, with a small population. This village was not special, and it was somehow overlooked by the Tac Collectors and the soldiers of the British army stationed several miles away. Some would say that the village of “Mayur-gunge”, was shielded from the rest of the world with an invisible shield.
Sita, was a seventeen-year-old daughter of a fisherman. Her parents also had a small farm, that they would take care of, with their four children. Sita’s siblings were all younger than her, so she felt that it was her duty to take care of them.
The young teenager, was hard-working and helped her father with fishing, her mother on the field, farming, cooking, and she also taught the children at the local school. Sita had some education at a missionary station school, outside her village.
Sita enjoyed reading and writing poetry. She loved her life in the village, with her friends, family and her job. This was her paradise and she wanted it to last forever. Then one day everything changed.
It was a warm summer night, when the Moon was shining brightly in the star-studded sky, when Sita saw the silhouettes of soldiers coming over the cliff. This was the end of the tranquillity of “Mayur-gunge”. The soldiers took over the village. The Tax-Collector, Herbert Galvan, was a cruel man and he took his taxes from everyone and Sita’s father was not spared.
One year later, after facing all the hardships in the village, Sita’s father, Ramchandran was forced to make a bold decision, he told his daughter to escape the village for a better life. During the Holi festivities, Sita, escaped on a train that passed a neighbouring village.
Ten years later, Sita returned to the village. The village had been destroyed. Her father was tortured for taxes and killed in prison. Sita’s mother and four siblings were living in a neighbouring village. The paradise of all those villagers of “Mayur-gunge” was smashed beyond recognition. Sita was a barrister in Calcutta and she was a powerful woman in the city. Sita was going to make a difference and save her people from the foreign invaders.