Nectar in a Sieve and Related Readings: Instructors Guide (The Glencoe Literature Library)

Pseudonym used by Kamala Purnaiya Taylor, an Indian novelist and journalist A native of Mysore, India, Markandaya was a graduate of Madras University, and afterwards published several short stories in Indian newspapers After India declared its independence, Markandaya moved to Britain, though she still labeled herself an Indian expatriate long afterwards.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 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.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 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 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.