Question

In at least 150 words, explain Rukmani's opinion about what effect the tannery has on the village?

Answer 1

Answer:

Rukmani did not like the tannery coming into their village. She despised it for changing the way their village is turned into after these white men came.

Explanation:

In the story Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, the village life of rural India is presented neatly as a representation of the difficult life it entails. The narrator and protagonist of the story is Rukmani, a literate woman married to a lower class, Nathan who is a migrant worker.

When at first the white men workers arrived, everyone seemed enthralled with the prospect of having a tannery in the village. But for Rukmani, she wasn't supportive of the idea of these men coming into the village. She may have also liked them coming at first but when they left, she was unimpressed with what they had done to them. They also changed the whole village life, Rukmani stating that "They had invaded our village with clatter and din, had taken from us the maidan where our children played, and had made the bazaar prices too high for us". She also claims they "lay their hands upon us and we are all turned from tilling to barter, and hoard our silver since we cannot spend it, and see our children go without the food that their children gorge". In short, the tannery is the villain in their lives, which will turn tragic for almost all of her family members.

Answer 2

Construction begins on a tannery (where animal hides are cured for other uses) in Rukmani’s village. The building of the tannery is quite a spectacle. Lots of men from the outside world come in with carts and bricks. The colonial structure is in place here, too: there is an Indian boss oversees the builders; a white man oversees the entire operation.
The tannery changes how people work in the village: the building workmen are paid well, and the village people are occupied in supplying their mounting needs, from rope and bricks to fruit and sweetmeats. The workmen bring in their families and live in little huts with them, mostly isolated from villagers.
In two months, the tannery is completed, and the workmen suddenly disappear. Everything is quiet in the village for a while, which gives people time to reflect on the influence of the workmen. While Rukmani resented the noise brought with them, she, like many others, benefited economically from being able to sell to the workers.
Rukmani regrets that the tannery has come to her village. Nathan assures her that they will be back, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. Sure enough, Nathan is right: new men replace the men who left. They bring their wives and families, but they also bring pollution, the stink of liquor brewing, their noisy habits, and all-around calamity.
The tannery also results in new parental restrictions for Ira. Up until this time, Ira had been allowed to roam freely, but neighbors notice that suddenly the men are paying attention to the young girl. She is beautiful, if only thirteen. Rukmani and Nathan suddenly curtail her freedom to protect her from the workmen, and to protect the family from gossip. Though Ira resents the new limitations, she is obedient.