At midnight, the tahsildar of our town, Muthamperumal, sat in front of the Suchindram Palace, wide awake and holding his head in his hands. Preparations for the king’s visit were the responsibility of the town tahsildar, and this visit could not have gone more wrong. Everyone was of the opinion that Muthamperumal’s prospects now looked rather bleak. He had hired a bullock cart and hurried to the palace as fast as he could, hoping that he could meet the maharaja right after his dinner and before he went to bed; he would fall at the king’s feet and beg his mercy. But when he arrived there, he only met Sthanunatha Iyer. He held Iyer’s hands and beseeched, “Please save me!” The general belief was that Sthanunatha Iyer’s words carried great influence in the palace. The maharaja happened to be a bit of a pleasure-seeker—and everybody said that Sthanunatha Iyer’s wife was an incredibly beautiful woman, the kind of beauty that deserved to be captured in a painting.

After his excellent dinner, the king was seated on the swing. His silk shawl had slid down from his shoulder and lay draped over his hand and his thigh. Lounging on the swing, he pushed it with the big toe of his left foot touching the marble floor, doing so with such delicateness that it seemed he was anxious to hurt neither his toe nor the floor.

Sthanunatha Iyer entered the room, followed by Muthamperumal, who was half hidden behind Iyer. As soon as the maharaja glanced at him, Muthamperumal quickly took off the towel from his shoulder and tied it around his waist. Then he prostrated at the maharaja’s feet, making sure that his big toes, abdomen, and forehead were all pressed against the floor. When he stood up, the king’s feet as well as Muthamperumal’s cheeks were both soaking wet with tears.

The tahsildar tried to speak, but he found he could not say a single word. His mouth had gone completely dry. He was drenched in sweat so thoroughly that he looked like he had taken a dip in the pool with all his clothes on.

Sthanunatha Iyer began: “Muthamperumal says it was all a mistake . . .”