Rituals for the goddess were in full swing in front of the tamarind tree. A giant heap of oleander, jasmine, and lotus had been piled at the base of the tree. Just above this heap of flowers, a perfect circle of bark had been peeled from the tree and a silver face of the goddess had been set in it. A thick splotch of vermilion had been applied on her forehead, and green stones sparkled in her eyes. Sunlight fell on this image of the goddess and scattered out in thick sparkling bands of light. The air was heavy with the fragrance of incense sticks. Everyone wore a vertical stripe of sandalwood paste on their foreheads. Every pious face in town seemed to have assembled there. There were also several well-known bearded swamis who often headed groups of Ayyappan devotees—after they had taken the vows and worn the beaded garlands—to the temple up in the mountains. Ganapati Iyer from Asiramam was there too, looking majestic, like a Vedic sage. There were many who believed he was the very incarnation of Lord Ganesha himself, the elephant-headed god of beginnings. I have had many devotees tell me that when herds of wild elephants came upon the pilgrims on the way to the Ayyappan temple in the mountains, they would kneel the moment they saw Iyer’s face, raise their trunks in reverence, and head back into the woods. Now he stood in front of the tree, with his eyes closed, overcome with devotion.

The crowd overflowed onto the cement road from both sides. No vehicle could pass by. The traffic from Vadaseri had to turn left at the clock tower and take a detour through Meenakshipuram to get to Kottar. People were laughing about how the contractor hired to cut down the tree had headed back to his town after writing to the municipality that there was no way he could complete his task now.

Later that evening, a meeting was held under the tamarind tree on the theme of “Protection of the Hindu dharma.” Several scholars spoke, as did a few swamis. In that meeting—headed by Kambaramayanam Ananthan Pillai—Dhamu proclaimed that he was going to build an army of brave young men who would protect Hindu religion and Hindu gods from Muslims and Christians. He told the crowd that it was in the best interests of Muslims and Christians to refrain from hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. But if they didn’t, he said, all Hindus knew where the churches and mosques in town were, so they shouldn’t force peace-loving Hindus to resort to violence.

People started saying that Dhamu had emerged victorious once again. Khader couldn’t bear to hear everyone praising Dhamu’s cunning and brilliance. He was distressed less by his defeat than by Dhamu’s victory.