It a chronicle of a teacher-educational inspectorate chief, Ranganna, who is engaged in a self-set and deeply committed mission of school education reform and upgradation at the grassroot level.
The story, with its gripping interest from beginning to the end has its setting in the bygone days more than 50 years ago when the salary of a primary school teacher was Rs. 15 a month or less.
Coupled with his zest for reform, Ranganna was also a stickler for discipline and was deeply committed to raising the social and economic status of the teacher.
As a day of fulfilment, he was the guest of honour at a farewell function got up by a defiant teacher, Ugrappa, who was a law unto himself and was no respecter of persons when it came to nursing his own ego.
Ugrappa, with local political supports, gave himself a decisive spell of atonement and to the shock and amazement of Ranganna, walked to his house to announce his renunciation to don a new avatar, Sanyas. Shantaveeraswamy, the penitent teacher, took over the shrine to lord over. The change of heart and transformation came to Ugrappa when he found that Ranganna was more than a match to him in holding his professional ground and dealing with the departmental and administrative top brass who had brass ears.
The story inspires as it entertains with the author's keen sense of humour, sometimes rib-tickling and rollicking. The characters thrown in are myriad and subserve the portrayal of the spirit of the times.