Nectar in a Sieve Essay—Caste System

By examining the characters and actions in Nectar in a Sieve, it is clear that the caste system plays an important part in influencing the people’s lives and decisions that they make.

In the book Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, every character belongs to a certain caste. When Rukmani was a child, her father was the head of her village, which made them part of the Kshatriya caste. Nathan was part of the Vaishya caste because he was a tenant farmer, so when Rukmani married him she became a Vaishya, too. Also, near the end of the book, two priests conducted a service in the temple where Nathan and Rukmani took shelter their first night in the city. Those two priests were part of the Brahmins, the highest caste. The fact that everyone belongs to a certain caste is proof that the caste system exists and is relevant in this story. Everyone has their specific duties designated to their caste and sub-caste, which drives the plot in Nectar in a Sieve.

Also, marriages were greatly influenced by the caste system in Nectar in a Sieve. Even though Rukmani married “beneath” her, or to someone in a lower caste, it was still embarrassing for her, because it wasn’t very common. Also, people had said that Kunthi had married beneath her, and Rukmani wondered if they said the same about her. All of the gossip and the fact that Rukmani was embarrassed about marrying a Vaishya are proof that, normally, people stuck to the caste system, and when someone didn’t, it was rare, and actually cause for gossip. Ira was able to marry “up” a little, because she was pretty and had a decent dowry. Her husband was still part of Nathan’s caste, but was in a higher sub-caste because Ira’s husband would one day inherit land; it was not likely that Nathan ever would. This leads to another point: the caste system and the characters’ work lives in Nectar in a Sieve.

Basically, whatever caste a person belongs to depends on what job they have. In the beginning of this book, this is pretty true. Nathan and Rukmani were Vaishyas because they were farmers, and that wasn’t going to change. Later when Rukmani’s sons got jobs at the tannery, Rukmani was skeptical because it was a different caste than what they were born into. The caste system influenced her to feel this way, although her eldest sons didn’t at all seem to be affected by this. Later, Murugan left his caste when he went to work as a servant. Also, Selvam wanted to work as Kenny’s assistant and train with him, which brought him out of the caste system that he was born into as well. So, although the caste system didn’t affect their decisions in this part, the lines of the caste system were still noticeable throughout Markandaya’s writing—the reader gets a sense that there’s something strange about them changing castes. They feel this way because the reader actually gets influenced by the ideas of the caste system from reading up to that point in the book.

The book Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya tells the story of a woman who struggles everyday to survive in a changing India. However, one thing that remains pretty constant right up towards the end of the novel is the relevance of the caste system. Each of the characters belong to a certain caste, marriages were affected by the caste system, and the characters’ work lives were influenced by the caste system as well. Therefore, the caste system is an important part of book Nectar in a Sieve.