A woman, attended by two midwives, is giving birth in a small village in India. When the child's cry rings, the father bangs on a steel plate to attract the attention of all the villagers, who assemble, eager to hear the good news. But when the midwife announces that the child is a daughter, the banging stops, followed by a stunned silence. Shortly thereafter the father takes the baby and drowns it in a Calderon of milk. This practice continues on and as a result, many years later there are men and boys everywhere and no women. A widowed man, Ramsharan, ponders his plight and that of his two grown son, who he is unable to get married. No marriage has taken in this village for 15 years, save for one, which was annulled as the young 14-year old bride turned out to be a 14 year old boy. But there is hope when a friend informs Ramsharan that he has located a bride for his eldest, a beautiful young woman named Kalki, who lives nearby, sheltered by her father. Ramsharan pays a substantial dowry for Kalki and gets her married to his eldest - or so he hopes - for every male in the village, including his younger son, Sooraj, and he himself wants a piece of Kalki - for himself - and are willing to do anything to satiate their non-existent sex-life. Written by rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com) Over a basin of milk used ceremoniously to drown a newborn girl, a narrator says, "Thousands of baby girls are either aborted or drowned at birth every day in India. Dowry is the cause. Where will this crime lead us to?" In an imagined near future where there are virtually no women, a high-caste village man pays dearly for a wife for his five adult sons. It's the first wedding in the village in 15 years. The bride is Kalki, who puts her faith in the youngest son (the only family member who is not a brute), then in her father, and then in a servant lad. Her desperation worsens as family and village turn against her. Caste tensions rise. Is there any hope for her?
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