An Unrestored Woman

A mangal sutra (mangalsutra) means auspicious (mangal), and thread (sutra) and is tied around the bride’s neck during the wedding. She’s kept this in a bag of rice which when she puts her hand in it feels “as if hundreds of butterfly wings had brushed against them”. Rao mingles life, death, value, and food into one image. However, Neela is to be sent away because she is “useless”.