Analysis Of Kamala Markandaya's Novel 'Nectar In A Sieve'

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INTRODUCTION

Kamala Markandaya has international recognition as a novelist. We observe an element of realism in her first novel Nectar in a Sieve which brought great fame to her. She indeed concerned with the problems of rural India before independence. The novel records vividly the poverty-stricken, heart-breaking existence of the peasant tenant farmers of Madras province. There is a universality of love and loyalty in the story of Rukmani’s family that will appeal to the readers all over world. The main purpose of the research is to present the social problems which are closely related to human life. Among the many ailments, Zamindari system was the most torturing and disgusting.

This paper analyzes and discusses the sufferings of Zamindari system in Kamala Markandaya’s novel, Nectar in a Sieve (1954). An attempt has been taken to show that is the novel, there are many problems like inequalities, land crisis, displacement, tenant dues during the calamities and humanism in Zamindari system. These problems are resolved by the female protagonist Rukmani. These crises of identity of the women are discussed through the Zamindari system- Metaphorically and Literally in Nectar in a Sieve .However, Rukmani’s identity is mediated through both her labor and love of the land. Her interaction with the land integrates both production and reproduction, thereby giving a material dimension. This is especially experienced of an identity crisis when she is evicted from her land thus