''What has happened is disgraceful, believe me'' says the narrator. What does he refer to? How does he illustrate his point of view?

There were many people in the village who now knew English, having been sent out of the village for their education. They could be heard talking in English on the streets during the holidays. Shyama thinks this is a disgraceful occurrence. More and more people have taken to speaking in English only compared to how the situation was just ten years ago. This is because people who spoke English had a tendency to look down upon their mother tongue Kannada or they would bring English words into the language. He illustrates his point by giving an instance which concerned Rama Rao's son and the woman who sells firewood. One day, the narrator was in Rama Rao's house when they bought a bundle of firewood. Rama Rao's son came out to pay for it and asked the woman how much he owed her. Four pice she said and the boy told her that he did not have any change, so he asked her to come next morning. The poor woman did not understand what the English word 'change' meant and went away muttering to herself. The narrator admits that even he did not know English was becoming a priceless commodity and those who did not speak the language would soon cease to be looked up as a respectable part of society.