‘But I have to, don’t you see?’ she asks Ajji. ‘Every time the fever comes on me, I have to see him. And I come here. But I will never go to him.’

Ajji looks at her.

Chikthayi smiles faintly. ‘No. You will never see me again. From now on, I am dead to you.’

Pleadingly, Ajji reaches out to her.

‘Shh,’ says Chikthayi.

Ajji hears sounds of movement inside the temple.

‘Go to him,’ Chikthayi says.

Carrying Annaiah’s dinner, Ajji goes towards the temple. At the entrance, she turns back to look at Chikthayi. There is no sign of her. She puts the food down at the entrance and runs back to the banyan tree. Did she climb the tree and go to the other side? Ajji looks at it. No, she won’t climb the tree again, comes the unbidden thought. She is here, but I cannot see her.

Ajji turns away and goes back to the temple. Annaiah is waiting for his food. She cannot, does not tell him that Chikthayi is outside. She serves the food, waits till he finishes, picks up the empty vessels in her usual silence and goes home.

7

GANGI’S STORY

t is only when Ajji and Sannegowda’s daughter Gangi is a lovely young girl of about fourteen years, making eyes at her cousin Kumaraswamy, that Ajji discovers why her husband keeps going on pilgrimages to the rishi’s hut.

Sannegowda does little else now. Swarajya happened some years ago and though it has made no real difference to their village, they feel proud that they contributed something to it. The village is officially paying chanda now – and the villagers are not happy about that, but Sannegowda says it is better to pay it to our own people rather than to some inglees gummas. He is still talking about ekikarna, but the enthusiasm is gone.

Since he is not longer as politically active, pilgrimage is the excuse that Sannegowda gives Ajji and Doddegowda to account for his increasingly frequent absences. Ajji has often offered to accompany him, but Sannegowda insists that he has to take a sort of semi-sanyas for them and can take neither Ajji nor Gangi along.

Ajji remains in the dark much after the entire village knows. Doddegowda has perhaps known right from the beginning. But he is too involved with his new grandchild, Byregowda and Gowra’s son Puttaswamegowda, to bother about his brother. What is the use anyway? It’s not like Ajji can do anything to stop him.

When Sannegowda develops a swelling of the penis, Ajji realizes something is badly wrong. He walks with great difficulty and all the villagers, naturally, notice this. She often hears people muttering: poor girl, she does not deserve this kind of a husband. And what did the poor child do? How will anyone marry such a man’s daughter?

Ajji’s cousin Bhagyakka, Kumaraswamy’s mother, moves away every time she sees Ajji or Gangi. Ningamma gives her pitying looks but keeps her counsel. She tries asking Sannegowda how the problem started. He only gives her a vicious look.