Young Ritu is destined for a life that Western eyes would call bleak.
(from Zone 3, Vol. XXI, No. 1)
And then she gets that life. There are no twists, and the culture clashes occur quietly, internally. Neelam and Roberta, who observe the lives of the North Indian village people with different degrees understanding, just come in to check out the scene. Like the reader, they can’t help Ritu. So we’re all just, like, trapped where we are, then? Well played, author. This is a bitter story. I need to brush my teeth of it.
I Googled “Ritu’s Marriage” and found these wedding photos.
I looked up “Phil Harvey” and found out he’s a reproductive rights advocate. Check out this article from The Economist.
Here’s Zone 3. It’s a simple, pretty journal. Cheap too ($5).
The Mountain Goats, “Seed Song”