Dasegowda is furious. ‘How dare you come here and contradict what has been passed on for generations by my family?’ he asks.

Annaiah shrugs. ‘You can believe what you want. I am just telling them what I know. Ooramma is not destructive or violent by nature. She is a great goddess, the power of the female. She is strong because she is a woman, not because gods gave her their powers. They actually bow to her. But instead of telling them her real strength, you have told them the story cooked up by the upper castes.’

Dasegowda does not know how to respond. And such is Annaiah’s power and eloquence that the villagers see more merit in his version. Annaiah is a man of wisdom and experience. Dasegowda is just one of them and they are all perfectly aware of how much he knows. And if Mayisa is the king of this land, he is ours. It is just like the upper castes to call us and our king buffaloes, say the villagers. As discussions heat up and Dasegowda gets angrier, Doddegowda, who is almost nodding off, is nudged awake by Byregowda. He quickly puts an end to the dispute by getting up and taking Annaiah away with him. The gathering slowly disperses, leaving Dasegowda seething. Doddegowda goes back with Annaiah to the Kamadeva temple and leaves him there with a word of advice. Begin your stories again and don’t go to the Ooramma temple to contradict Dasegowda. Let us not have a dispute here.

From the next day, Annaiah tells tales of how Kamadeva intervened in the lives of various gods and kings for the welfare of humanity. No one goes near Dasegowda for a while. The weekly kanike to Ooramma is given as always and the old priest calms down. Life goes on. Doddegowda and Ningamma go over the wall within months of each other. Ajji, Byregowda and Gowra light lamps for them and slowly learn to live without them.

Byregowda takes over as the village headman and wants to make a real difference. The ekikarna has happened under Chief Minister Nijalingappa and Byregowda keeps abreast of evolving government policies. There is some talk of a new form of light that comes through wires and he has been keeping track of that too. After much cajoling and repeated visits to government offices in the market town seventeen kilometres away, the staff there tell him that they can extend a line to Byregowda’s village only if the neighbouring villages are also ready for it. Byregowda goes to every village around for about ten kilometres, introduces himself to those who have never heard of his village and speaks with enthusiasm about the need for electricity. He manages to convert some village elders to his cause. After paying through the nose for the privilege, Byregowda manages to get a line drawn to their village.

His own village is sceptical, not least because sparks keep coming from that line. They think that the gumma has taken a new form and try to persuade Byregowda, through Gowra and Ajji, that this new fad will only cause death and destruction. But Byregowda insists that current is the force of the future and should be welcomed with open arms.