Discuss the owl's words. What does this novel have to say about willpower versus fate or coincidence?

Savitha tells Poornima about encountering an owl on the road in Indravalli. The owl tells Savitha, "If two people want to be together, they'll find a way. They'll forge a way. It may seem ludicrous, even stupid, to work so hard at something that is, truly, a matter of chance, completely arbitrary, such as staying with someone—as if 'with' and 'apart' have meaning in and of themselves—but, the owl said ... but that's the thing with you humans. You think too much, don't you?" Discuss the owl's words. What does this novel have to say about willpower versus fate or coincidence?

The dying owl who was run over by a passing lorry spoke to Savitha about the primacy of fate in determining outcomes. Humans think too much rather than trusting in fate to accomplish their goals. In this case, she was referring to them always being together despite the odds of that happening.

What are the chances that the only two girls in the village, who refused to accept what others had determined their lives to be, found each other? Yes, it may have been fate. However, faith without works is dead. Faith is an action. The girls recognized the gift of one another they had been given. Rather than say, "oh if it is meant to be, it will be" or "it's all in God's hands now", the two of them never let their horrific circumstances prevent them from forging their way back together. Poornima's actions were more obvious, and I think, to some extent, her injuries served to protect her from further abuse and damage; thus making this possible. But as long as Savitha had a piece of the sari, she was reminded of the good in her life and that it was worth fighting for.

The book seems to stress that life is a matter of fate rather than coincidence. In one place it even said that we can't change a thing that is already fated.

Perhaps the acceptance of fate is showcased as a cultural value. India as reflected in this novel has several restrictions based on birth that become restrictive on the life a person can live. All cultures have these so ingrained that many people born into the culture do not challenge them, but accept them ad fate. Savitha and Poornima raged against the fate based restrictions they lived with and at the end there is hope for them.