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her affl iction in terms of subtly distinct levels of consciousness and a change
in the self.
As our conversation continued, we learned more about the dōsham that
caused Lakshmi’s troubles:
Biju: What do you think is the cause of your problem? You have some problems
and all, “okay”? You had a problem earlier, right? What do you think is the rea-
son for that problem?Lakshmi: Sarppadōsham [snake dōsham/sign].Biju: Sarppadōsham? How did you learn about sarppadōsham?Lakshmi: How I learned it was when we were getting possessed. At that time, it
comes to us. We will know it clearly.Sarppadōsham is an inauspicious sign, and someone born with this dōsham is
expected to encounter adversity. Western academic and popular representations
of karma and Indian astrology give the impression of a belief in an irreversible
fate that must be passively accepted. Karma and astrological signs, however,
are merely part of a complex interplay of divine and human forces that shape
action and destiny. Divine and human actions can change the impact of astro-
logical signs, and it appears that for Lakshmi the eff ects of sarppadōsham have
been superseded with help from Devi.
Finally, we learned that Lakshmi married seven years ago, and for the last fi ve
years her husband has been working in the Persian Gulf and is able to visit home
only sporadically. Such “Gulf marriages,” as they are known in Kerala, was the
topic of the Master’s thesis in psychology that my assistant Kavitha completed at
the University of Kerala. Kavitha examined mental health among women in Gulf
marriages and found that Gulf wives were more depressed and had more “mal-
adjustment traits” than women whose husbands were living in Kerala. Yet the two
groups showed no diff erence in “stress” and “mental health status.” Additionally,
Gulf wives who were not working suff ered greater stress than those who were
employed (Kavitha 1996).^17 Th ese “Gulf marriage” adversities must weigh heavily
on Lakshmi who remains unemployed despite having good educational qualifi -
cations. Still, she sounds confi dent that Devi will help her keep her problems at
bay and maintain the auspicious state she feels she has achieved.
Six months after this interview, we sent follow-up questions by mail to
learn of any changes in Lakshmi’s condition and therapy-seeking practices.
We conducted in-person, follow-up interviews with informants who lived
near Trivandrum District, where Kavitha, Biju and I resided, but informants