Nectar in a Sieve: Chapter 16 Summary & Analysis

Rukmani wonders how they will manage the reaping, given that they are so weak from hunger. Nathan says that “one look at the swelling grain” will give them strength. Three weeks remain until the harvest. Rukmani knows that she and the older children will endure, but Kuti is in constant danger; he’s developed a large rash, and sores form when he scratches it. Whenever he falls asleep, Rukmani fears that he has died.

Some days later, Rukmani notices that Kuti has taken a turn for the better. She fears that the small improvement is the signal of impending death, but he continues to sleep peacefully and Rukmani thanks the Gods for their beneficence. Alongside her mother, Irawaddy watches the little boy sleep.

At daybreak, Rukmani wakes up filled with optimism. Suddenly she hears footsteps entering the hut and fears that Kunthi has returned to steal from them again. She sees a woman’s figure in the dusk and throws herself at it, hitting her furiously until she hears a voice screaming, “Mother!” Suddenly, Nathan is dragging Rukmani away and yelling, and Rukmani realizes that she has been violently beating Irawaddy, her own daughter.

Nathan and Selvam carry Irawaddy inside and Rukmani tends to the wounds she has just caused. Seeing long cuts on Irawaddy’s arms, Rukmani realizes she has been wearing bangles, which broke against her body. She’s mystified, given that no one has enough money to buy jewelry right now. Rukmani brings Irawaddy’s dirty sari to the river; as she washes it, a rupee falls from the folds into the water. As she finishes her chores, Rukmani wonders how Irawaddy got the money and if she has been stealing.

Rukmani returns to the hut, where Irawaddy and Kuti are lying. Irawaddy tells Rukmani to use the rupee in her sari and buy him some food. Now, Rukmani knows that Irawaddy has been responsible for the baby’s improvement. Rukmani says that she will, not admitting that the rupee fell into the river.

When Irawaddy’s wounds heal, she gets ready to leave the house again despite Rukmani’s injunctions to rest. She refuses to tell Rukmani where she goes, but arranges her hair carefully. Rukmani imagines her walking into the town, followed by the eyes of jeering men. Irawaddy says that “the truth is unpalatable,” and Rukmani remembers that the tannery official said the same thing.

When Nathan returns from the fields, he too demands to know where Irawaddy is going. She refuses to tell him, even though she’s normally an obedient daughter. Nathan tries to forbid her from going out and accuses her of turning into “a common strumpet,” but Irawaddy says that she will do so as long as there is hunger in the house. Rukmani knows that they cannot stop her; she is no longer a child but “a grown woman with a definite purpose and an invincible determination.”

By working as a prostitute, Irawaddy buys milk for Kuti and rice for the family. Rukmani is grateful, but Nathan refuses to eat the food his daughter brings home. At first, Kuti seems to improve, but soon it becomes clear he is dying. One night, he calls out for Rukmani, telling her he can no longer see. Rukmani tells him to go to sleep, promising he will soon be better again. He seems content, and when he opens his eyes again Rukmani sees that he is already dead. With Nathan, Rukmani croons and cries over her son; however, although she’s mourning, she’s also relieved that Kuti no longer has to struggle and suffer.