aadhi cannot take her eyes off him. Standing on the heady flowers that she was weaving into garlands, she goes slack in Rajegowda’s arms. Rajegowda, coming out of his mad passion, looks into his brother’s eyes. Sundru frantically signals him to silence. They hear Karia coming back into the camp, singing snatches of a song and guzzling saraayi from his goatskin pouch. Sundru looks at Maadhi with an anxious unspoken message. She nods. As Karia nears the tent, she pulls out of Rajegowda’s hold and goes out with her water pitcher. Calling Karia, she requests him to bring her some clear water from the well.

Karia grumbles, but is too fond of Maadhi to refuse her a favour. He chucks her under the chin, takes the pitcher, tells her to watch the camp and goes away, drinking again. Maadhi returns and mutely looks at Sundru, who helps his brother up, nods a thank you and a goodbye to Maadhi and leaves. Sundru’s head is strangely light due to the odd new smell of the flowers and he turns to look at Maadhi. She stands at the entrance to her tent. He wrenches himself away and goes back to his own world.

Rajegowda becomes brutish after this incident. Sundru puts aside all his other work to keep a watch on his brother. He does not permit Rajegowda to go near the wall at all. Honni, Puttaswamegowda, Krishnegowda, Bhaskaraiah, Sundru and Parvati are all subject to Rajegowda’s temper tantrums. Ajji never goes near him anymore.

Soon, Rajegowda is confined to the house and reacts violently to this. He refuses to eat, mutters to himself all the time and shortly grows delirious with fever. Honni learns to make several concoctions from Ajji, the fever expert in the family. Bhaskaraiah intones that the doctor from the market town should be brought in. Puttaswamegowda and Ajji, even Krishnegowda, brush off this suggestion. Honni takes several tablets that Bhaskaraiah offers her and tries to get Rajegowda to swallow them, but he throws them at her face and demands to see Maadhi.

One day, Honni asks Sundru to hold Rajegowda down as she gives him some milk. To Sundru, it smells just like saraayi. Rajegowda calms down after the drink and says that he wants to sleep. Those are his last words. The next morning, the entire village gathers around the Ooramma temple to silently bear witness to Rajegowda’s body lying near the temple entrance.

Honni is beating her chest and crying out loud. Ajji shakes her head. What unnecessary drama. Does Honni have to make such a spectacle of herself? Can’t she behave with the dignity a daughter-in-law of the headman’s house ought to have?