The heat was unbearable, the temperature hovering in the region of 44 degrees; there was no breeze, none at all. The heat shimmered in the air, hitting the hard-baked ground, only to rise again in a new heat wave, encircling the entire surroundings.
The
villagers of Azalea Village had gathered outside in the open field,
as the heat in the open field was a bit bearable compared to inside their
houses, which had turned into furnaces, where one couldn't sit still unless one
started to sweat like pigs, as their bodies turned hot and damp when the heat
increased.
The women
were standing with their heads covered by their sari pallus, some of them
carrying toddlers in their arms and small children standing closer to their
mothers, looking bored, while men kept wiping their sweating faces constantly
with the long scarves hanging around their necks.
The field
was bare, except for one lone forlorn tree, standing right in the centre of the
field and on one of its higher branches sat a black Raven eyeing the assembled crowd
below. Then, suddenly, it gave a shrill cry, flapped its wings and took to the
sky, sensing something sinister was going to take place.
A murmur
went among the villagers as they saw a horse carriage with a red flag heading
towards the open field. Behind the carriage rode four equestrians dragging an
iron cage. The procession stopped near the old, gnarled tree.
The four
equestrians got off their horses, and then one of them hurriedly opened the
passenger's door and stood at one side; meanwhile, the other three stood near
the iron cage.
Patil
Kashirao Gaikwade, the headman of Azalea Village, exited the horse
carriage and following him were his two bodyguards, who carried a huge chair and
a large fan made out of peacock feathers between them.
The
villagers remained standing with their heads bowed down.
Patil
Kashirao Gaikwade smiled and then raised both his hands in the air, and the
villagers looked up again.
The two
bodyguards placed the chair an inch away from the old, gnarled tree, and one
then stood on either side of the chair. Patil Kashirao Gaikwade sat down on the
high chair, under the shade of the umbrella and for a few minutes, he just sat
there observing the villagers and then clapped twice.
The four
equestrians unlocked the iron cage and then dragged out an old woman.
A loud murmur went among the villagers as soon as they saw Yellamma, the oldest woman in the village, and now she stood naked, beaten, and bathed in her blood, her long white hair cut to a short pixie.
👿
To read the full book, click on these links:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1647833221
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647833221
https://www.amazon.in/dp/1647833221
https://www.flipkart.com/yellamma/p/itm999f605942af2?pid=9781647833220
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