Nectar In A Sieve

Nectar in a Sieve Nectar in a Sieve is a story if a Hindu family in a rural village in India. The family members are Rukmani (mother), Nathan (father), Ira (daughter), Arjun (son), Thambi (son), Muragan (son), Raja (son), Selvam (son), and Kuti (son) .The family failed to release itself from poverty caused by hardship of nature and economics. This poverty forced the only daughter, Ira, into prostitution and caused their three sons, Arjun, Thambi, and Muragan, to leave the village to seek for employment. It wasn't easy for Rukmani's family to make a living on the farm because of all the monsoons and drought. There were times where they had to starve because there wasn't enough food. With very little to eat Kuti and Raja died of starvation.

        The most admirable character in this book is Rukmani. She never gave up on anything or anyone. I admired how she would do anything just to keep her and her family alive and together.

For example, she stashed some food away then divided the food into 24 portions so that they would able to eat for 24 more days. Even though they suffered a lot they survived with Rukmani's help, encouragement, and intelligence. If it wasn't for Rukmani, they would have died of starvation.

        I've learned many interesting things from reading this book. I learned that in India, Hinduism is the dominant religion. Hindus have many festivals; one of the festivals is Deepavali or Festival of Lights. In India, the birth of a child is a joyous event, especially if the child is a male because the son can take after the land and receives a dowry on the day of his marriage. Marriages in India are celebrated with ceremonies and rituals. The groom and his parents are presented with a dowry. The dowry is important to the groom and his parents. In India, the females wore saris and the males wore a dhoti. The food in India consist mainly of rice, dhal (lentils), vegetables, occasionally fish, and on rare occasions a little milk or butter.

        I would have to say never give up is the main theme of this book. Rukmani didn't give up on anything or anyone. For instance, towards her journey to find her son, Muragan, Puli showed her and her husband the way around the cities. Even though Puli had leprosy she didn't give up on Puli and took care of him as if he was one of her son.

        I would recommend this book to everyone because of its characters that is why I am giving this book an 8. It leaves the reader with a feeling of guilt because of everything we have and how little the villagers have. Those villagers can use anything that is given to them, when our society takes all things for granted. This book makes you think about what is going on in the world. It is exciting and touching; it keeps the reader in suspense and curiosity. I think this book is well put together, that is why I strongly recommend this book to any reader.        ÂÂ