Rukmani possesses the skill to read and write she tries to use for earning money in the city. She decides to read and write letters for people in the city.
Explanation:
Rukmani is the sole narrator and protagonist of the novel "Nectar in a Sieve" (published in 1955) and written by Kamala Markandaya.
Rukmani is the daughter of village's headman. She is married at age twelve to a very poor farmer Nathan. Since Rukmani has the unique skill of reading and writing (taught to her by his father), she initially plans to earn some money by reading villager's letters which their relatives mail from other parts of the country. But then she decides to do the same in the city. She thinks that she could earn reasonable amount of money in the city because of its large population. But she does not consider that in cities most or the people are already literate.
I believe the tone is somewhat dramatic based on the dialogue such as "shot his hand out in front of him", it makes the story seem a lot more interesting than what it really is; a normal encounter.
