Sieve By Kamala

In Kamala Markandaya’s novel, Nectar in a Sieve, she tells the story of a misfortunate girl, Ruku and her family. The novel takes place in a small village where Ruku settles with her arranged husband, Nathan, on a farm where they grow mainly rice. Their first child of 7, Ira, grows to become a beautiful, caring, and strong woman. As she faces the struggles of poverty, arranged marriage, and a drought, these conflicts shape her into a brave, selfless woman. To start off, since Ira was the first child of Nathan and Ruku she was rich in milk and rice for the first seven years of her life. Once, Ruku began to conceive more children there was less food for the family to consume. Ira always ate less than her brothers so they would have a bigger portion. This helped develop Ira’s selfless character. Also, during this time Ira learns how to cook with a sparse amount of food. This is a quality her mother taught her and it helps develop Ira’s motherly and caring traits. As most know, Ira is strikingly beautiful with her “dimples and soft gleaming hair” (Markandaya, 20). This helps her

During this period of time the older children can get through it more easily. Ira’s beloved, Kuti, has the toughest time since he is still only an infant. The others can munch on herbs while Kuti refuses to do so. Watching Kuti deteriorate rapidly and hearing his cries was too much for Ira to bear. “Ira was gentlest with him, and tirelessly patient, nursing him in her skinny arms and giving him most of what came to her.”, describes Ruku (Markandaya, 92). Further, Ira begins to prostitute herself in order to buy Kuti food. Despite her efforts, Kuti passes away peacefully looking at Ira. This shows that he felt the motherly love Ira showed towards him. The drought influenced the development of Ira’s character by showing that she is selfless, motherly, and brave enough to prostitute herself for her