Kamala Purnaiya Taylor, who often writes under the name Kamala Markandaya, was born in Bangalore, India, in 1924. It is a story about the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of values. Some of the struggles that the main character, Rukmani, faces are the result of the changing times, but they are the kinds of struggles (poverty, death, loss of tradition) that are experienced by many people for many reasons.įar beyond its political context, the novel is appealing to modern readers for its sensitive and moving portrayal of the strength of a woman struggling with forces beyond her control. Markandaya never mentions a specific time or place, however, which gives the story universality. Nectar in a Sieve is clearly influenced by this event, portraying some of the problems encountered by the Indian people as they dealt with the changing times.

The novel was published in 1954, less than a decade after India won its independence from Britain. In 1955, it was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association. It became a best-seller around the world and was translated into seventeen languages. This was followed by other fiction that dramatized the Quit India movement in 1942, the clash between East and West and the tragedy that resulted from it, or the problems facing ordinary middle-class Indians-making a living, finding inner peace, coping with modern technology and its effects on the poor.Nectar in a Sieve is Kamala Markandaya's first novel to be published although it is actually the third novel she wrote. Nectar in a Sieve was her first published work, and its depiction of rural India and the suffering of farmers made it popular in the West. Kamala Markandaya belonged to that pioneering group of Indian women writers who made their mark not just through their subject matter, but also through their fluid, polished literary style. Other novels include Some Inner Fury (1955), A Silence of Desire (1960), Possession (1963), A Handful of Rice (1966), The Nowhere Man (1972), Two Virgins (1973), The Golden Honeycomb (1977), and Pleasure City (1982/1983). Known for writing about culture clash between Indian urban and rural societies, Markandaya's first published novel, Nectar in a Sieve, was a bestseller and cited as an American Library Association Notable Book in 1955. After India declared its independence, Markandaya moved to Britain, though she still labeled herself an Indian expatriate long afterward. A native of Mysore, India, Markandaya was a graduate of Madras University, and afterward published several short stories in Indian newspapers.

Pseudonym used by Kamala Purnaiya Taylor, an Indian novelist and journalist.

Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya