Slab of Peacock

Book excerpt: The village community in a drought prone region of South India take on their fate in their own way. Fed on a philosophy of their own, they try to resolve their problems guided by their own native wisdom; their bargains with the Nature and God must conform to their traditions and customs, they think. They explain to themselves the reasons for their sad plight and the nature of the remedial measures, both of which they believe are imbedded in their fate, which runs its course on the twin wheels of sin and righteousness; their philosophy contrasts with the New Culture the underpinnings of which, theoretically, are freedom of man and democracy, but, in reality are diverse and different. Perplexed, they pine for what has been lost to them for good. They love the banter and the chitchat, get into tiffs with fellow men and come out to fall back into a familiar groove to live a life agreeable to their Community and their Deities.