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MAYBE IT WAS BECAUSE PEOPLE had to walk every time they went visiting or because everyone you knew lived in faraway towns, or simply because of force of habit, guests in those days would stay on for at least a month when they dropped in. Their hosts would not let them go earlier either. Of course any visitor to the Kottaiyar house would settle in for a couple of months at least.

In the kitchen, on one of the three stoves, there was a huge zinc-plated vessel, in which there was always water boiling. The stove was lit at least thrice a day, so the water was forever tepid. This was so a visitor had hot water ready for a bath, and could then eat the food served.

There was a perennial flow of smoke from the chimney in the Kottaiyar house. The womenfolk were always busy, chopping vegetables, drawing water from the well, pickling or grinding millet. There were always old women, with huge dangling ear ornaments, grinding millet in the flat grind stones. Next to them were several other grind stones.

At the northern end was the cowshed where cows, buffaloes and bulls stood chewing their cud and jiggling their copper bells. Their water tanks were large enough for a full-grown man to sleep in. Next to them were the huge grind stones to pound the cotton seed.

The Kottaiyars had always lived as a joint family. Every activity in the house was supervised by Akkayya. Wherever one looked, there was Akkayya overseeing. The women teased him saying he had wheels on his feet.

The youngest in the house was Kannappa Nayakkar. He was the darling of the Kottaiyar household.

His daily routine was:

Burning coal in an iron ladle and wielding a nipper, to remove the ticks from the cattle and char them to death.

Watching the two pedigree dogs slurp up their measure of milk from their special plate.

Feeding the turkeys with their exclusive greens and fried eggs.

Breeding musk cats and gathering their musk.

Feeding the roosters, especially bred for cock fights, with soaked oats.

Making fans from palm leaves and bestowing them upon loved ones.

There were several other pastimes also available to him. The darling of the house sang well too. His voice was like a conch. He would hum a raga to himself, or sing aloud erotic Telugu padams. All the women, especially the younger ones, had their eye on him.

Older than him was Sundarappa Nayakkar. His attention was directed at buffaloes. Rearing them from calves and then watching them mate with grown buffaloes was his recreation. Akkayya referred to him as Viswamithra. The reason he gave was this: When Brahma created the world first, he only created cows. It was Viswamithra who created an alternate world, made buffaloes instead of cows, palm trees instead of coconut trees and bandicoots instead of mice. Akkayya would name an instead for each thing around him and laugh.

The Kottaiyars were seven brothers in all. They were all sons of Narayanappa Nayakkar’s first wife, Kondamma. The second wife, Rengamma, had only a daughter, Mangamma.