Margayya's son Balu, character explanation?

Balu is Margayya and Meena's son. At the start of the novel, he is only a few years old. By the novel's end, he is more than eighteen years old, married, and has a child of his own.

Balu is described as rambunctious and rebellious. As a child, he throws his father’s account book into the gutter. As a young man, he refuses to take his university entrance exams, essentually throwing his grades and papers into the gutter. Balu's father believes he lacks self-direction and motivation.

Near the end of the book, Balu’s father arranges his marriage. Having failed in his attempts to develop either a professional or academic life for his son, Balu decides to make him a homeowner and husband. This idea also fails, and Balu ultimately returns home.