Kunthi is Rukmani’s beautiful and alluring neighbor. Kunthi is aloof and arrogant because she comes from a wealthy background and considers life in the village beneath her. While Rukmani becomes close with the other village women, like Kali and Janaki, Kunthi is always rude and “insolent” to her. Once, after Rukmani visits Kenny in town, she encounters Kunthi dressed in a sheer sari and made up provocatively; even though it’s obvious that Kunthi is conducting an affair, she implies that Rukmani has been cheating on her husband. Later, Nathan reveals to Rukmani that he slept with Kunthi before and after their marriage; in fact, he fathered both of Kunthi’s two sons. While Rukmani and Irawaddy provide surprisingly positive depictions of sexuality, Kunthi’s sexuality is characterized as an explicit threat to the cohesion of the family.
Kunthi Quotes in Nectar in a Sieve
The Nectar in a Sieve quotes below are all either spoken by Kunthi or refer to Kunthi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Signet edition of Nectar in a Sieve published in 2010.
Chapter 14
Quotes
It seemed to me that a new peace came to us then, freed at last from the necessity for lies and concealment and deceit, with the fear of betrayal lifted from us, and the power we ourselves had given her finally rested from Kunthi.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Kunthi Character Timeline in Nectar in a Sieve
The timeline below shows where the character Kunthi appears in Nectar in a Sieve. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...talkative, always making jokes; Janaki, the shopkeeper’s wife, is tired and careworn from many pregnancies; Kunthi, the youngest, is beautiful and graceful despite being very pregnant. Now, Kali makes raunchy jokes...
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...fruit on the road. Janaki and Kali often drop by to give Rukmani advice, but Kunthi keeps her distance; she’s much quieter than the other woman and no one can make...
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...that in these kinds of marriages, it’s actually the husband who suffers, as she and Kunthi are unfamiliar with basic farming chores. Rukmani has to learn how to milk the goat...
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Chapter 2
Soon, Rukmani is pregnant. Around this time, Kunthi goes into labor on a day when only Rukmani is available to help. Kunthi pushes...
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Chapter 3
...and happy to have a companion, since Kali and Janaki’s children are much older, and Kunthi remains distant. Overjoyed, Nathan invites everyone in the village to celebrate and they prepare an...
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Chapter 4
...village, glad that her house is far from “the smell of their brews and liquors.” Kunthi says she should be glad that the village is becoming a town, and it will...
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Chapter 8
Kunthi’s sons begin to work at the tannery, bringing home high wages to their mother’s delight....
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Chapter 9
Arjun says that Kunthi’s son will procure him a job, but Rukmani counters that she will ask Kenny, since...
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Chapter 11
Walking home from Kenny’s office, Rukmani encounters Kunthi in the path. Kunthi remarks insinuatingly that Rukmani keeps “late hours,” but Rukmani retorts that...
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In close proximity to Kunthi, Rukmani notices that she has tied her sari below her bellybutton, “like a strumpet,” and...
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Chapter 14
On the eighth day of rationing, Kunthi arrives at the cottage. Rukmani has not seen her since their encounter in town, and...
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Kunthi asks for a meal; Rukmani gives her some rice water but explains that she cannot...
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Kunthi threatens to tell Nathan that Rukmani lacks virtue if she doesn’t give her any rice....
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Eventually, Rukmani gives Kunthi seven days worth of rice. In the middle of the night, worried that Kunthi is...
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...into the hut and tells Rukmani not to admonish the children. Sobbing, he admits that Kunthi forced him to give her the rice. He is the father of both of her...
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Finally, Rukmani says tiredly that Kunthi is “evil and powerful” and they should forget about the whole affair. She tells Nathan...
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Chapter 16
...wakes up filled with optimism. Suddenly she hears footsteps entering the hut and fears that Kunthi has returned to steal from them again. She sees a woman’s figure in the dusk...
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Chapter 18
...knows she is close to Kenny and that he has heard of their friendship from Kunthi. Rukmani calls him a “carrion crow,” but soon her anger subsides. She knows Biswas isn’t...
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