Rukmani

Rukmani is the main character and narrator of the story. She is the wife of a farmer and the daughter of a formerly prominent village headman.

Nathan

Nathan is Rukmani’s husband, a farmer who has never owned his own land.

Kenny

Kenny is the doctor who can’t stay away from rural India. He cares for Rukmani’s mother in her dying days and serves as a consistent source of help for Rukmani and her struggling family.

Irawaddy

Irawaddy is Rukmani and Nathan’s first child, a daughter, who becomes a prostitute to try to help the family survive.

Arjun and Thambi

Arjun and Thambi are Nathan and Rukmani’s eldest sons who try to make changes in the tannery, only to be shot down, and who finally leave for work in a far off place.

Murugan

Murugan is the third eldest son whom Rukmani and Nathan...