Character sketch of Rukmani- Nectar in a Sieve

Rukmani is a protagonist of highly acclaimed the novel "Nectar in a Sieve" published in 1954. The novel is authored by Kamla Markandey (1924 to 2004), who is known for her realistic portrayal of Indian society. The title of this Nobel is taken from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's short poem “Work Without Hope” (1825). As the heroine of this novel, Rukmani narrates her own life experiences, transformation, unfulfilled desires, and people whom she meets and her relationship with those people.

        Rukmini is the younger daughter of the village headman. She is the wife of Nathan and mother of eight children named- Irrawaddy, Arjun Thambi, Murugan, Raja, Selvan, Kuti and adopted child Pully. She is a friend of Kali, Janki, Kunti, Old Granny and Doctor Canny as well as a mother-in-law of Murugan's wife.

        Psychologically, she is a strong woman and has an optimistic disposition. When her desire for a Grand marriage like her sisters' remains unfulfilled, because of her father's financial condition, and she is bound to marry a poor farmer who has nothing but a small thatched hut. She accepts it quietly. When she reaches Nathan's house, after seeing her home she wants to cry and feels-

                  

                     "my knees, first the crime to one,

                      then, the other, and I sent down". 

but the glimpses of hope in his eyes give her an inner strength which holds her. She without complaining anything to him tries to be a good companion. In the ternary, when one of her children dies, she, rather than expressing her dissatisfaction, accepts it as a natural incident. In such a situation where movements of happiness are transitory, her positive and humble disposition develops internal courage that gives her the strength to work hard and stand with her family.

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        Rukmani's temperament is both traditional as well as progressive. When her daughter Irrawaddy turns 14, then Rukmani becomes anxious about her marriage which reveals her traditional temper, another instance of the same temper is unveiled when she forbades her son to work in a tannery because she has the prejudice notion that she does not belong to that class who works in tannery. On the contrary, her progressive temper is portrayed when she remarks on Muslim women. When she, at first, encounters a Muslim woman, fully covering her body she feels that this woman cannot enjoy the liberty and beauty of life, they are far from the warmth of the Sun and the touch of a cold breeze.

        Markandey, Through Rukmini, exemplifies the feminist rights and ability of a woman. being a woman, she helps her husband in the field. Like Nathan, she grows vegetables and sells them to support her family. Sometimes she earns more than Nathan and saves money for her daughter's wedding without acknowledgement of her husband. After marriage, She has no boy child which is why she goes to Doctor Kenny, a white man, for her treatment and when her daughter faces the same problem, Rukmani encourages her and helps her to go to Kenny. However, she takes these stapes without her husband's consent and also hesitates to disclose it because meeting a woman to an outsider in the absence of her husband and without his consent is considered indecorous. However, these stapes are examples of east-wast encounters where Rukmani, despite knowing the fact that if she is caught she will lose her place in her husband's eyes, tries to break the traditional restriction which has been put on women by society.