The feast after the coming-of-age ceremony took place near Lord Karupu's temple. The food was served on plantain leaves instead of plates, as this was a special occasion. The villagers did not give Aachman or his family members any more trouble, but they did occasionally throw glances and mutter to themselves. Aachman was cursing his dad for the small opening in the pot, which made it difficult to eat the feast.

Lord Karupu was the god of the lower caste. He was not as finicky as the higher-caste gods, so people offered him country liquor and live sacrifices like goats and chickens. After the offering, the remaining meat was cooked and provided to the villagers as a feast. However, due to Aachman's interference, an extra black sheep (goat) had to be sacrificed. This meant that there was more meat for the feast, which made everyone happy.

Aachman's hole in the pot mysteriously widened, and he was now holding a leg piece. As the feast was a great place for people to gather and talk, Sudalai, a potter and close friend of Kari, came along with his daughter Mala. Mala was fifteen years old, and her hair was wrapped in a way to indicate that she was a woman and no longer a child. Mala was a good-looking girl, but Aachman's eyes were fixed on her breasts, which were possibly the biggest in the village.

"Hey, Kari. Today, Aabha became a man. You should be proud of him for the way he has grown up," Sudalai said. His appreciation made Aabha flush with embarrassment, and he too shyly peeked at the girl, Mala, while she openly appraised the Aabha with her big black eyes.

"Yeah. He grew strong and became a fine man because of me," Kari boasted about his influence on Aabha to Sudalai.

"Mala has grown up to be a fine woman too," Bhumi praised Mala.

Aachman had not seen Mala in years, since he usually went every day to the village chief's house. Mala was not a farmer, but a potter. She and her father made and sold mud pots in the village.

Aachman's parents were talking to Sudalai, while Mala and Aabha eyed each other. Aachman ogled Mala's bosom, but still felt left out.

"What happened to your younger son? Why was he wearing a pot on his head?" Sudalai looked curiously at Aachman.

"His head was stuck on the pot while meditating. We left him like that because today was Aabha's special day, and we didn't want to break the pot as it might bring bad luck."

Only now Mala noticed Aachman and she laughed while hiding her mouth.

Aachman felt Mala’s laugh as sweet as a cuckoo's call. He felt she looked as beautiful as Rati, the goddess of love. Her big eyes glinted with mischievousness and while she laughed her bosom trembled ever so slightly. Aachman was transfixed at the beauty of Mala, he felt the whole world fade out.

Aachman noticed his parents and Mala's dad gossiping about a villager's strange habits. Aabha alternated between watching Mala and looking away, perhaps because Aabha pretended not to look at her whenever they made eye contact. Mala, on the other hand, boldly appraised Aabavanan with a twinkle in her eye and a mischievous smile.

Aachman felt a new emotion rising from the pit of his stomach. He had always believed in his intelligence and handsomeness, and he never thought the day would come when he would be ignored.

“Mala”

“MALA!” Aachman repeatedly called the buxom girl to gain her attention.

ooo0ooo

Mala, broken from her reverie, looked at the pot boy. She had seen Aabha a few times in the village, but rarely saw Aachman, except for strange stories about him. Like how he would meditate in odd places or speak as if he were an adult even though he was just a child. But she had also seen his inventions, like a stove, which Bhoomi bragged about.

Aachman took a bodybuilder pose, which looked pretty funny because he was slender with a little paunch in his belly. He looked like he had never done a manual job in his life. And don't forget the pot stuck to his head. He looked very funny to Maya. She tried to hide her grin by covering her mouth with her hands.

Aachman didn't stop there. He did various poses with sound effects.

"Aaah!"

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"Oooh!"

"Yaaah!"

Maya, who tried to control her laughter, lost her battle and laughed while holding her hand to her stomach. She laughed so much that tears started to come from her eyes.

Aabha was at first trying to act in a gentlemanly manner, even though this beautiful girl was looking at him. He only looked at her by giving side glances, but Aacha suddenly called her and started posing. He looked weird, like a ghost with the pot stuck to its head, but it seems Maya enjoyed the vulgar posings, and he couldn't lose.

"Maya, look at me too." Aabha started posing too. The competition heated up. Aachman and Aabhavanan tried several difficult poses, but Aachman was born with a weak body further weakened by meditating and not doing manual work, while Aabhavanan worked alongside Kari in the fields from sunup to sunset.

Aabha did one-finger push-ups and handstands, and Maya even clapped her hands in joy at looking at Aabha in that pose while Aachman stuck to touching the ground without bending his legs. The problem was that he didn't want to cheat, even after inconspicuously bending his legs and still being unable to touch the damn ground.

Maya seemed to enjoy the attention, and some young adults started gathering to see what the commotion was. Maya got up after she fell down laughing. She looked at the two brothers, who were frozen at the pose, and their eyes looked expectantly at her, waiting for her judgement. She enjoyed their attention and genuinely felt both were funny in their own way, Aabha in his innocence and Aacha in his slyness.

ooo0ooo

Aachman felt he couldn't allow his elder brother to win; after all, in war and love, there was no fairness, so he risked everything for the new idea that suddenly struck him. Aachman, in his heart, was a modern Indian who had watched movies from Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood, etc. He knew the easiest way to enter a woman's heart was with a gift. Aachman looked at all sides and saw a coconut tree. He thought today was a sunny day and that Maya might be thirsty.

Whatever Aachman's fault was, he was a risk-taker and believed himself to the point of stupidity. So he bravely shouted, "Maya, you might be tired. Make judgement after drinking the coconut water."

He didn't wait for a response; after all, time was of the essence for victory or loss at this moment, and Aachman wasn't the one for hesitation; he ran as fast as he could towards the coconut tree.

Aabha was confident because he did various difficult poses, and not only that, he tried to give a vibe that was effortless, even though when he felt no one was looking, he secretly massaged his hands. He was shocked when Aacha suddenly shouted something at Maya and ran towards the coconut tree.

How could Aabha not know about his younger brother? He didn't think for a second that his brother would quit. Also, Aacha was a sore loser, and his mind worked differently from others, and he was on the receiving end several times. So he, too, didn't want to give up and chased after his younger brother.

Aachman saw his older brother chasing him and the distance shrinking rapidly; he tried to appeal to his gullible nature.

"Aabha, quit your effort. Didn't you see when I twerked , how Maya laughed?" Aachman boasted and tried to give mind attacks to his brother.

Aachman quickly climbed the coconut tree without even trying to hear his older brother's response. Aabha shrugged off the mental attack and started to climb. At this juncture, he understood the aim of Aachman. Aabha admired his younger brother's ingenuity for giving a bribe to the girl. He would never have thought of that on his own.

But Aacha was born with a weak body, weakened further by meditating and not doing manual work. Aabha, on the other hand, was stronger and bigger. So he made up his mind to snatch the coconut from Aacha and offer it to Maya.

Aachman saw Aabha rapidly climbing the tree. "Brother, is it not sinful to lust for your younger brother's woman?" he asked.

"When did you become husband and wife? Don't talk nonsense," Aabha replied.

"This coconut is mine," Aabha said, trying to snatch it from Aachman.

"There are so many coconuts in the tree," Aachman said. "Why are you trying to snatch what is mine?"

Aachman tried to aim a well-timed elbow strike at Aabha, but Aabha grabbed the pot stuck to Aachman's head and pulled him. Because of the push and pull, both brothers lost their balance and fell.

Onlookers rushed at them in panic, but fortunately neither of them was injured. Miraculously, Bhumi appeared on the scene as well.

Aachman, who was always fleet-footed, observed even through the haze of pain. "Aiyo, mother, Aabha pushed me from the tree," he complained.

"Mom, he is lying," Aabha said. "He is the one who pushed me down from the tree."

Bhumi was always concerned about her children's health, but today she had different things on her mind. She was also superstitious and always followed and believed priestly sermons. She placed her hands on her hips and asked, "Aacha, why did you break the pot?"

"But I fell from the tree. Aabha pushed me," Aachman whined.

But his words fell on deaf ears; her mom spanked him for jeopardising Aabha's special day by breaking the pot.

Aachman noticed that on his fifth, no, sixth spanking, the coconut that fell down during the ruckus was at the hand of Maya, and she was drinking from it. Aachman regretted the wasted bribe, but ever the optimist, he felt he had shown his handsome face to Maya, even though it was covered in mucus because of a small predicament. Such small things do not deter Aachman.