In India, After Independence, A Change Felt By Women Was That Many Of The Established Norms Of The Society Were Intended To Check Or Clip Their Growth As Person And Not As Possession . Many Literary Writers Raised Their Voices Against This Old Tradition.In Indian English Literature, Kamala Markandaya An Outstanding Novelist On The Contemporary Commonwealth Literary Scene And Ranks With Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan And Raja Rao Has Initiated The Lead Of Women S Transformation From Possession To Person Through Her Writings. She Has Shown The New Face Of Her Women Who Seek Self-Fulfillment Through Self-Expression In A Milieu Where There Is A Mutuality, Understanding And Tenderness. Although Her Women Do Not Rebel, They Make The Society Realize Of Their Presence As Persons And Not Mere Possession . The New Woman, Clinging To Her Basic Values And Changing Herself According To The Changing Circumstances, Goes Ahead On The Way Seeking For Her Own Identity With New Depth And Getting Recognition. Kamala Markandaya Has Realistically Presented Emotional, Moral And Spiritual Problems Of New Woman. The New Woman In Her Novels Is Not In Proper But In Making . Acquainting The Readers With Kamala Markandaya, The Present Book Seeks To Explore The Unexplored Aspects Of Her Women, To Present The Change In Their Identity, To Highlight The New Image Through A Probe Into Her Novels, And Finally To Show Her Feminist Moral Concern Through An In Depth Investigation Into Sexual And Familial Relationship. It Is Hoped That The Book Will Prove Useful To The Students And Teachers Of Indian English Literature. Since It Focuses On Images Of Women, Even The General Readers Will Find It Interesting And Feel Encouraged To Read The Masterpiece Works Of Kamala Markandaya.

“This Is a Novel to Retain in Your Heart and Library” —Milwaukee Journal In the sun-baked fields of rural India, Rukmani and Nathan toil side by side, their love woven into the very fabric of the land. Their days are marked by the rhythm of seasons—the planting of rice saplings, the monsoon rains that breathe life into parched soil, and the harvest that sustains their family. But life is not idyllic. Famine stalks the village, and hunger gnaws at their bellies. Rukmani clings to hope, her spirit unyielding even as the world shifts around her. She witnesses the encroachment of modernity—the distant hum of factories, the allure of city lights—and wonders if progress will bring salvation or destruction. As Rukmani’s children grow, so do their dreams. Selvam, the eldest, seeks education beyond the village; Irawaddy, the daughter, yearns for love and security. Through it all, Rukmani remains the heart of their home, her hands stained with the colors of life—earth, blood, and sweat. Nectar in a Sieve is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Kamala Markandaya’s prose weaves a tapestry of love, loss, and endurance. Amidst the harsh realities of poverty and change, Rukmani’s unwavering love for Nathan becomes a beacon—a nectar that sustains them through hardship. “An elemental book. It has something better than power, the truth of distilled experience.” —New York Herald Tribune “Unique in poetic beauty, in classically restrained and controlled tragedy.”—Dorothy Canfield Fisher, noted author and critic “Will wring your hearts.”—Associated Press “A superb job in telling her story.”—Christian Science Monitor

Why are you still alive-why didn't you die?' Years on, Sarita still remembers her mother's bitter words uttered when as a little girl she was unable to save her younger brother from drowning. Now, her mother is dead and Sarita returns to the family home, ostensibly to take care of her father, but in reality to escape the nightmarish brutality her husband inflicts on her every night. In the quiet of her old father's company Sarita reflects on the events of her life: her stultifying small town childhood, her domineering mother, her marriage to the charismatic young poet Mahohar.

Indian English Literature Has Established Its Credentials All Over The World. Still Litterateurs In This Stream Have To Be Continuously Appraised And Evaluated And Key Issues Like The Impact Of Multiculturality And The Role Assigned To Women Have To Be Confronted And Analysed Threadbare Not Merely In Theory But Also Through The Elucidation Of Key Texts From This Perspective. The Present Volume Scrutinizes Kamala Markandaya S Corpus As Part Of This General Critical Endeavour.The Volume Comprises Scholarly Studies Of Nectar In A Sieve, Possession, A Handful Of Rice, A Silence Of Desire And Pleasure City, Besides Examining In Depth Kamala Markandaya S Rural Sensibility, The Silent Saga Of Suffering Chronicled In Her Novels, Her Philosophic Vision Of Life, Her Portrayal Of Social Tensions And Her Feminist Poetics, Taking A Holistic View Of Her Writings.An Indispensable Source Of Fresh And Innovative Insight Into The Making Of Markandaya S Craft Of Fiction. A Useful Supplement To The Existing Studies Of Her Novels. An Original Perspective On Life, Society, Values, Gender-Issues And Related Areas For Students, Teachers, Researchers Working In The Fields Of Literary Theory, Fiction Studies, Aesthetics, Culture, Philosophy And The Sociology Of Literature.

It is said that literature is a reflection of society, the author as well as his/her literature is the product of it. It is also said that literature is the product of a given milieu and individual sensibility which constitute together a culture entity rooted in the changing traditional value system of people. The writer, as a human being, is a part and parcel of the society and so, naturally he gets influenced by the atmosphere around him. Therefore the literature coming out through him becomes the manifestation of the cultural, social, spiritual and political scenario in the society. Kamala Markandaya is one of the leading women novelists of India. She has projected the theme of cultural clashes in different dimensions. She has produced several novels to her credit. Her novels find forceful expression of cultural clashes such as conflict between Tradition and modernity, clash between the rural and urban, East-West conflict and conflict between the two different attitudes of life from two diverse races. Kamala Markandaya has brought to the centre her protagonists who are invariably women, and therefore conflicts raised by the novelist relate to women. All the characters in her novels experience troubles and turmoil's in life but they rise above their desperation triumphantly because of their aspiration. It is a fact that Markandaya commands a wide reputation as a creator of readable novels; she has received a wide-ranging recognition and applause both in India and abroad. She has been a subject of serious discussion. But it is very surprising to note that an Indian woman novelist who has got a prominent position in India writing in English has not been able ii to draw the attention of critics and researchers to the extent she deserves. The articles in books and journals by their very nature remain confined to studying her novels as individual works. Book-length studies of Markandaya's novels are only a few. The proposed book will focus its attention on the conflict of nature in the novels of Kamala Markandaya through the discussion of the central characters. It will do its level best to fill in the gap and will attempt to study Markandaya's novels. Shashi Deshpande is one of the prominent writers who in the past two and a half decades established herself as a serious writer. She is undoubtedly an outstanding Indian English novelist who has boldly voiced the issues and sufferings of women in her works. She has projected this aspect of Indian women with more sensitivity and understanding as she was born and brought up in this soil. This work is to analyze about the works of Shasi Deshpandae and sense her to be a Feminist or Humanist. The themes of sexuality and man-woman relationship initially introduced in her stories are discussed which became the subject of full length novels. But they are found not merely the raw material for her novels. Her versatile treatment of women's issues reveals her sensitive nature as a woman writer, and this quality affirms her works as an outstanding contribution to Indian literature in English proving her to be a humanist. Sanjana Antil

The ethos and essence of every culture is seen, marked and reflected in all the forms of literature practicsed during the period in the society. The issues and elements related to human life which affect and shape human life are of a great importance. They include society, social issues like faith, superstition, religion, intra-personal, interpersonal and man-woman relationships, war, peace, love, hatred, cruelty, design, cultural conflict, hunger, survival, assertion of suppressed classes, etc. have been focused and interpreted in the creative literary works.