People have been trying to figure out what to do with their evenings, now that Annaiah no longer tells his tale. If Dasegowda steps in, nothing like it. Everyone gathers at the Ooramma temple that evening. The priest clears his throat and feels his hands tremble. He has never tried his hand at storytelling before. Ooramma, he prays, help me tell the tale. The villagers wait patiently, gossiping among themselves, as he tries to control his nerves and begin.

This is the story of a king called Mayisa who lives on the other side of the wall, Dasegowda begins, resorting to Annaiah’s time-tested style. Mayisa has dark, shining skin, and is the son of a she-buffalo and a man, very strong, with the mind of a bull. He wants immortality, like such bestial people do. On the advice of a guru, he prays to Bramma, the creator.

Mayisa sets up a sacrificial fire and sends out his slave women, the kolli devvas. They bring virile boys to be thrown into Mayisa’s fire as fuel. He sets up a pot on this fire and brews a sharey. When he drinks that sharey, colours burst all around him and he is more powerful than anything around.

The villagers nod. They have all heard these gumma stories in various forms, including Annaiah’s version. Dasegowda continues: during one of his drunken dances around the fire, Bramma finally appears. The people of the land have been begging Bramma to step in and somehow stop the fire and sharey. So Bramma asks Mayisa what he wants in return for stopping his fire. Mayisa takes a swig from his goatskin pouch and bellows, immortality!

Bramma tells him that is not possible. Mayisa dances and laughs. At last, Bramma tells Mayisa that no man can kill him. He will be all-powerful. Only a woman can destroy him. The kolli devvas look happy at that. But Mayisa only laughs. What woman can overpower him?

Buoyed by Bramma’s boon, Mayisa rules with arrogance, capturing lands at will. He mocks the devas, the powerful gods of the upper castes, showing them how powerless they are against him. ‘I will take over the whole world and everyone will worship me,’ he tells them. The devas, in a panic, run to Visnu, the Protector, and Siva, the Destroyer, asking them for help. Indra, the head of the devas, tells Visnu and Siva, I will be destroyed, nature as we know it will be destroyed, if Mayisa is not stopped.

Visnu and Siva give in to Indra’s plea. And they create Ooramma, bestowing on her all their powers. The devas Indra, Vayu, Agni and Varuna also give her their strengths and weapons. As you can see, Ooramma has many weapons and many arms to carry them. She mounts a lion and comes to fight Mayisa.

Mayisa laughs when he sees her and asks, ‘Have the gods sent a woman to fight me? Cowards.’

Ooramma is angered by his mockery. Come, Mayisa, fight me, she says.