Summary

In Chapter 8, Kali and Ponna continue offering prayers for a child to various deities, including Pillayar. Kali remembers going to the same place on the hill with Muthu, where many others were afraid to go because of the dangerous rocks. Up at the top there was a cave in which they would lie and talk about things Kali cannot now remember. At the next peak was the Dandeeswarar temple topped with a human-sized stone, called the maladikkal, or barren rock. Though many people have died climbing up to the rock, a woman tells Kali and Ponna the gods will grant them a child if they pray to the maladikkal. On their way up, desire for Ponna fills Kali. He is always more satisfied if they make love in public, even in front of the animals in their barn. Ponna does not let him...