Chapter 1 begins with the narration of an old woman, Achakka, as she describes her village of Kanthapura. Located in the province of Kara, high in the mountains, the village is at the end of a long road of trading villages and larger cities. The village is busy, with the cardamom spice and coffee being shipped abroad to Britain and the Crown’s trading partners. During the night, the residents can hear the sound of carts taking away their wares for sale. The village worships a local goddess, Kenchamma, and they have a rich mythology surrounding her, believing that the hill near the village is red from the blood of the demon she once killed. The village believes that their lack of misfortune comes from Kenchamma’s will, and every recovery from illness or rainfall during a drought is of her doing. The village is small, with 24 houses in the Brahmin quarter. Some are big, and some are small. The biggest house belongs to Rangamma, the childless widow of a rich man, and this causes no small amount of resentment in the village, especially from her sister-in-law,