Nectar in a Sieve

A monsoon that strikes Rukmani’s village rages for many days, and when it finally abates, the fields are ruined, and most houses are damaged or gone. She and Nathan go to the village to use some of their savings to buy supplies, but the town is too damaged, and all the merchants are closed. They survive a few more days until the waters go down more and try again; this time, they are more successful. Their regular merchants have no rice to sell them, and Biswas, a merchant and moneylender, overcharges them for the rice he provides. As they return home to feast, they encounter Kenny, who shouts that there will be no redemption from this devastation for months. Soon, the waters recede, the villagers gather fish, and life returns to normal.

The tannery opens and expands, taking more land from the village. Kali adores the changes, but Rukmani hates them—she prefers quiet to bustling town life. Janaki and her husband soon lose business and leave to find somewhere else to live and work. Meanwhile, Rukmani has her first encounter with one of the Muslim women whom she sees around town.