In India it used to be expected to be married and starting to have kids by age 12 or so. In the novel Nectar in a Sieve, main character Rukmani is worried that

In India it used to be expected to be married and starting to have kids by age 12 or so. In the novel Nectar in a Sieve, main character Rukmani is worried that her daughter will be an old maid forever when she remains unmarried at the ripe old age of... 14.