The Covenant of Water

The novel revolves around three generations of a family of Orthodox Saint Thomas Christians living in the fictional town of Parambil, in the southwest Indian state of Kerala.^[2] The narrative begins in 1900 with a 12-year-old girl named Mariamma who moves to Parambil to marry a 40-year-old widower—variously called Big Appachen and the Thamb'ran—in an arranged marriage. Mariamma soon learns of a problem in the family, which they call "the Condition": in each generation, at least one member of the Thamb'ran's extended family dies from drowning under suspicious circumstances. The issue is documented with symbols in a family tree called "the Water Tree".

Mariamma's marriage blossoms into a loving one. She is close to her stepson, JoJo, who calls her Big Ammachi (Malayalam: അമ്മച്ചി, lit. 'Big Mother'). Just after Big Ammachi gives birth to her first child, a girl, with Big Appachen in 1908, JoJo drowns in a nearby irrigation ditch. The baby girl, who has developmental disabilities, is called Baby Mol ('daughter'); Big Ammachi and Big Appachen later have a boy, whom they name Philipose. Big Ammachi eventually becomes the overseer of the 500-acre (2.0 km²) family estate and the matriarch of the family.

Meanwhile, Digby Kilgour, a physician who was unable to get the training he needed in Scotland due to institutional anti-Catholic bias and his lower-class background, joins the Indian Medical Service in Madras. He has an affair with Celeste Arnold, his boss's wife. She dies in a fire, and Digby's hands are damaged when he tries to save her. He eventually meets Dr. Rune Orqvist, a Swedish surgeon who operates a leprosarium in the region, for help. Dr. Orqvist attempts to repair Digby's hands and enlists Elsie, a friend's young daughter, to assist with his rehabilitation by teaching him how to draw.

Philipose, who is deaf, grows up to be a celebrated writer and marries Elsie, who has become an artist. They have a son named Ninan—who dies—and a daughter named Mariamma after Big Ammachi. When Elsie disappears and is believed dead, Big Ammachi helps Philipose rear Mariamma, thinking her to be her son's daughter. Mariamma trains as a physician and, after Philipose drowns, starts reading her father's journals. The information she uncovers helps her solve the mystery of "the Condition", which is revealed to be neurofibromatosis type II—a genetic disease that causes benign tumors throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems, including nerves connected to the vestibular system—and also reveals that her biological father is actually Digby Kilgour.

Digby, who has taken over managing the leprosarium after Dr. Orqvist's death, tells Mariamma that her mother is still alive but has leprosy and is blind. She left Mariamma with Philipose and Big Ammachi and faked her death when she learned she had the disease, not wanting to pass it to her daughter. She went to the leprosarium, where Digby has been caring for her. Mariamma is able to visit her mother and learn about her art, which she continues to create but cannot show, not wanting to be found.

• Big Ammachi (Mariamma) - lead character, 12-year-old bride who becomes the matriarch of the family
• Big Appachen - widower, husband of Big Ammachi
• JoJo - son of Big Appachen and his first wife; step-son of Big Ammachi
• Baby Mol - daughter of Big Ammachi and Big Appachen
• Philipose - son of Big Ammachi and Big Appachen; writer
• Elsie - wife of Philipose; artist
• Ninan - son of Elsie and Philipose
• Digby Kilgour - Scottish doctor who immigrates to India to get training in surgery
• Claude Arnold - British-educated surgeon; Digby's boss
• Celeste Arnold - Claude's wife; Digby's first love
• Mariamma - daughter of Philipose and Elsie; Big Ammachi's namesake and supposed granddaughter; doctor
• Rune Orqvist - Swedish surgeon who runs the Saint Bridget's leper colony
• Shamuel - a member of the pulayar caste; foreman of Parambil and Big Appachen's friend
• Joppan - son of Shamuel and his wife Sara; Philipose's best friend

• The caste system in India and the class system in the United Kingdom^[3][4]
• Social upheavals, the British colonial presence in India, and the move toward socialism^[3][4][5]
• Family structure in India^[3]
• Faith and doubt^[3][4]
• Love and loss^[4][5]