The Venus of Konpara Author:John Masters An ancient Indian statue lies buried in the jungle-girt territory around the Kendrick Dam -- becoming, in time, a powerful talisman for those who dwell in this dry, sun-scorched land of snakes and lizards. For men like Foster, the dam foreman, and Mohan, the Sandhurst-educated Suvala of Deori who enlist his help, the search for the statue ... more »is an obsession that dominates their lives. For Barbara Kendrick, the restless, tigrish wife of the local resident, and Rukmini, the itinerant dancer who sees the statue as an emblem of her own downtrodden race, it becomes a focal point for their own passionate yearnings.
But for the simple, superstitious villagers of Knopara, the discovery of the statue can have only one consequence: the resurgence of the age-old powers of evil, long supppressed by custom and by time ...« less