Markandaya Kamala. Nectar in a Sieve
Description
Writing in the online journal IndoLink, Francis Assisi says: "Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya is a relatively short novel that introduces Western students to life in rural India and the changes that occurred during that country's British colonization. Although easy to read, the novel is lyrical and moving and can be read on a variety of levels. On the most basic level, it is the story of an arranged but loving marriage and rural peasant life. On another level, it is a tale of indomitable human spirit that overcomes poverty and unending misfortune. Finally, it is a novel about the conflicts between a traditional agricultural culture and a burgeoning industrial capitalistic society. The novel touches on several important Social phenomena, the importance of traditional cultural practices, people's reluctance to change, and the impact of economic change."
| Quoted from, "Homage to Indo-British Novelist Kamala Markandaya," May 21, 2004. |
Author Background
"Kamala Purnaiya Taylor, who often wrote under the name Kamala Markandaya, was born in Bangalore, India, in 1924, and died in England in May 2004. Kamala Purnaiya Markandaya was a twentieth century novelist from the south of India. In her early years she traveled widely in India and Europe. She was a journalist in India before migrating to London, England in 1948.Her family was Brahman, the highest caste in Hindu society. While in England she married an Englishman they had one daughter. Markandaya made an effort to know not just the city in which she lived but also the rural areas. She was educated at the University of Madras in Chennai, India, and worked briefly for a weekly newspaper before emigrating to England in 1948. She published her first novel, Nectar In A Sieve, in 1954 which became a best-seller around the world and was translated into seventeen languages. In 1955, it was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association.Some of her other works include, Some Inner Fury (1955), The Coffer Dams (1969), The Nowhere Man (1972), Two Virgins (1973), and Shalimar (1983). Her work, Nectar In A Sieve in particular, received high commendation."
Text, context, history
Further reading
Pictures of Marriage—autobiography by Ved Mehta
Letter to Lord Irwin and About That Letter—letter and commentary by Mahatma Gandhi
Rice—poem by Chemmanam Chacko
Snatched From Death—folktale translated by Dwijendra Nath Neog
In India, Marriages Made by Computer—newspaper article by Sheila Tefft
Work Without Hope—poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge from A Passage to India—excerpt from play by Santha Rama Rau
Bookclub questions
Questions for book clubs or solitary readers
1. What role does culture play in shaping the lives of women in this novel?
2. What techniques does the author use to tell the story?
3. What do you learn about the Indian culture in Chapter 1?
4. Why isnt Ruku's abel to read and write unusual? What is Nathan's attitude toward this?
5. Why is Ruku disappointed at the birth of her first child?
6. What elements of the Indian culture are brought out in the entire book?
7. List the similarities and differences between Rukmani's culture and ours.
8. Identify the ways the tannery affects Rukmani's family and the village.
9. How might Rukmani and the other villagers have tried to improve their lives?
10. How is the steps in the marriage process in India Different From American marriages.
11. What is the overall Message/Theme learned from this Novel
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