The villagers have also noticed a new abstraction in Chenni. She laughs to herself, talks to the animals in the shed, the crows in the trees and the hens in the coop. When she gets down to cooking, she stirs the ragi mudde too fast or lays out in the sun her famous rice and sabbaki sandiges in weird, unwieldy shapes that cannot be fried.

When she hears about Chenni’s strange behaviour, it gives Thimmakka much food for thought. She has not forgotten or forgiven the intimacy between Chenni and Annaiah that she overheard at the Kamadeva temple on that full-moon night. She has been biding her time to act. Her anger is as strong as the love she had for Annaiah. Every word she heard that night is still a poisoned dart festering in her broken heart.

Thimmakka thinks that her sister-in-law has got the boon she herself had wanted: Annaiah’s child. Her brother has been preaching family planning to all and even told her about its methods, in the belief that she has a sex life and might want to know. But she has neither the man nor his child, nor anything else, while Chenni has it all.

Nowadays, for Thimmakka, it is a toss-up between Bangari and Chenni regarding whom she hates the most. Bangari is virtually the mistress of her house, though officially Thimmakka is in charge. Ramappa, Chandru, why, even the servants defer to Bangari and carry out all her wishes without a murmur. They all behave as if carrying out Thimmakka’s wishes is a yoke they have to bear.

However, Bangari herself is always deferential and affectionate towards her. Thimmakka makes her do menial tasks to prove that she and not Bangari is the mistress of the house. She also makes sure that Ramappa and the servants see Bangari do tasks like washing her dirty clothes or cleaning the dirty kitchen floor for her. People talk and all the village has sympathy for Bangari, but Thimmakka doesn’t care.

Bangari continues to visit the headman’s house and Thimmakka learns all the household gossip from her. How Ajji is not eating well, how Marakka’s excessive piety and insistence on installing and worshipping Rama and Krishna idols in the house is causing untold problems. Thimmakka learns how the little Krishnegowda is so good at studies, though bad at everything else, and a sneaky, sly brat to boot. Rajegowda and Sundru are just not interested in studies.