Mathamma has been ``dedicated'' to the presiding deity of the village, Mathamma (or Mariyamma, as the Tamilians call her). She lost her vision when she was six months old and her parents (her mother is no more) prayed to Goddess Mathamma that they will ``give'' the child to the Goddess when she grows up. Six months later, her vision returned, she was christened Mathamma and Venkatesh is now waiting to keep his word to the Goddess.

When Mathamma turns 10, she will be taken to the temple by elderly women in the village who will tie a thali round her neck, which will stay there till she dies. Marriage is not for her, at least not marriage in the conventional sense.``If she so desires to live with some man she can inform the elders in the village and we will ensure that they can live together,'' says a village elder.

What however is left unsaid is that the Mathammas enjoy a ``privileged status''. While moral codes are strict in these villages, the Mathammas seem to be exempt from them. They can take on any number of partners without fear of social ostracism.

``But that is a thing of the past,'' says Renuka, 25, erstwhile Mathamma living in Ramalingapuram. When barely two years old she had a huge boil on her neck which would not go away. Her parents prayed to Goddess Mathamma after which the boil disappeared miraculously.

When she turned 16 years, she fell in love with a villager. They were united in ``marriage'' and she has a daughter today, though her ``husband'' is no more. ``She is free to live with any man she wants,'' say villager elders, but Renuka's priority is her daughter Reena, who is 7. She ekes out her living working as a coolie.

Mathammas abound inthe villages dotting the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border. Across the border, they are the women who dance and perform during temple festivals. Even today they visit these villages during the annual temple festivals.

But the youth of Cauveryrajapuram assert that they are a dying breed. Just recovering from a spate of bad press they got when some ``city-bred'' journalists came to watch their temple festival, they say, ``Of course, there are Mathammas in the village. But they are elderly women happily living with their husbands and children. You won't find anyone below the age of 40 years.''

Perhaps a vestige of the Devadasi system of yore, any reference to the system has them bristling with indignation. They adhere scrupulously to the customs and rituals handed down by generations while celebrating the annual temple festival. And that is how a girl of 10-12 years is chosen to bring the holy karagam to the sanctum sanctorum. But the ``abhorrent'' practice of women being permitted to live with any number ofmen have been done away with.

The sanctum sanctorum is a thatched shed in Cauveryrajapuram and in the place of idols are some stone slabs smeared with vermillion. The members of around 150 families in the village have contributed and built a new temple to house a proper Mathamma but they are short of money to buy the idol.