‘You know, Korok,’ said Jadob, although he was talking to himself. ‘I don’t understand how they did it. Behera and Patnaik, I mean. They are important people in Deogan, but nobodies in the rest of Odisha, and less than nobody in the whole country. There is somebody else behind this, somebody who knows Deogan very well, but also knows powerful people in other places. Maybe the Company is involved. I’m sure of it.’

They parted ways where Korok’s lane began, and he went home wondering what was going to happen.

Jadob went home and thought a lot about what had happened. But no matter how he looked at it, the Gonds were in a difficult spot, and there was no solution. How could Jadob or his friends in Cuttack rescue the Gonds’ reputation as honest, hardworking villagers in the eyes of the whole country?

Jadob went to bed very late that night, and did not sleep well at all. The next day, his friends called him, and he held several discussions with them, but everybody seemed to have run out of ideas.

The Gonds continued sitting in protest at the usual spot on the days that followed, and one or two reporters turned up once more, this time to ask the leaders if they knew any Maoists. The mahji very patiently explained that they were innocent people happy to live by themselves, and had no interest in politics or violence. He spoke like a wise man, but the reporters were looking for a different story.

Some of the remaining young people, the tourists, also realised Deogan and its neighbouring villages were not as popular as they used to be, and left for other parts.

Korok went back to his garden, and kept an eye out for the weeds, although they had not returned lately.

Some days later, he got aboard Bishto’s bus and travelled to Balangir. This was another big ritual for him, and usually the only other time he left the village, apart from the time he went to meet his father in jail.

Before his father was arrested, Korok knew almost nothing about the law or courts or any other part of the legal system. He knew about the police, and had been told enough to stay away from them. Some of his neighbours had been arrested at different times, and policemen had come to their homes and searched for things which were never found, but that had been different.