The village of Devgarh had followed this sacred ritual for more than four hundred years without fail. Every year, on the full moon night after the harvest, Thakur Ranvijay Singh would choose one young woman from the village to offer herself completely to him in the ancient haveli. The villagers called it “Thakur Ki Puja” — a divine ritual to please the gods and ensure the prosperity, good rains, and protection of the entire village for the coming year. No one questioned it. No one refused. It was tradition.