Nectar in a Sieve pt 1

The book begins with the narrator, Ruku, talking about her husband, and her marriage.  She describes the process of a marriage in her culture, including the dowry and ceremony. Immediately after her wedding, the newlyweds embark on the journey to their new home. The husband, Nathan, had made a hut for them besides a small field they are to do their cropping in. At first Ruku is not impressed with the home, but she changes her attitude once she discovers that Nathan had made the hut completely on his own for them.  The couple eventually decides to try for children and Ruku becomes pregnant. They are both really excited to have a child and eagerly await its arrival but once the baby finally does arrive they are both a little disappointed because it is a girl. Nathan doesn’t interact much with the child for the first few months of its life, it isn’t until the baby calls him ‘dad’ that he begins to show his daughter any sort of attention at all. They continue to try for children, but Ruku find she can’t get pregnant. For a while they are worried they will only have their daughter. Ruku’s mother falls ill and she goes to see her, on her deathbed she tells Ruku that she will have many sons, and that she had foreseen it happening. The doctor, Kenny, then comes to examine the body and Ruku tells him her worries. Kenny tells Ruku to visit him and he will help her conceive. She eventually goes to see him and then goes on to bear 5 sons. As  parents they are beyond ecstatic to have a full family, but economically it becomes difficult to handle.  Although the family begins to struggle as they have grown in size, Ruku is still putting little things aside each month to be put towards her daughter’s dowry. This small amount of self-sacrifice is supposed to guarantee a future for her daughter and this seems to be Ruku’s responsibility. By the time Ira becomes 14, she is considered ready to be married and her parents must now find her husband. They cannot do this alone and go to the old granny for help, who makes it her job to be Ira’s matchmaker. Within a month Ira has been given a husband and is having a wedding. She moves to far away village with her husband and life continue for the family. At the end of the summer season they are hit with a monsoon that proves to be the greatest struggle as their homes, the rain has destroyed all fields and village. They attempt to go out and buy supplies and food but are turned away due to lack thereof. The first 50 pages of this book have been a roller coaster of events and I’m interested to see what happens next.