Kamala Markandaya, b. 1924, Indo-English novelist.

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.

Contributed essays.

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.

Study of the dominant themes in Kamala Markandaya's fiction.

The Papers Collected In This Anthology Represent A Wide Spectrum Of Critical Interests Of Scholars Specialising In Indian Fiction In English Which Has Of Late Established A Powerful And Pervasive Presence On The World Literary Scene.The Widely Divergent Themes Of The Third Generation Indian Novelists Including Especially Immigrant Experience, Feminist Concerns And Gender Issues, Familial, Social, Psychological And Philosophical Problems Characterising Contemporary Indian Life And The Major Debates Centred Round Indian Fiction In English, Besides The Innovative Techniques, Have All Been Discussed In This Volume From Refreshingly New Perspectives.Among The Contributors To This Volume Are Some Of The Most Respected Scholars: John Thieme (England), Sandra Ponzanesi (Netherlands), Shaul Bassi (Italy), Basavaraj Naikar (India), Uma Parameswaran (Canada), Mary Conde (England), Christopher Rollason (France), Chandra Holm (Switzerland), Joel Kuortti (Finland) And Alessandra Contenti (Italy). Among The Novelists Discussed Are: Salman Rushdie, Shashi Deshpande, Bharati Mukherjee, Vikram Seth, Amitav Ghosh And Arundhati Roy.