About the Author
Kamala Markandaya (Kamala Purnaiya Taylor) was born in 1924 in Chimakurti, India. She is a Brahman, which is the highest caste of Hindu, yet she […]
Nectar in a Sieve
Setting
The novel is set in an unnamed farming village in south India, most likely in the 1950s, just after India gained independence from Britain. Rukmani […]
Themes and Characters
Markandaya is known for pitting Western realism against Eastern spiritualism and for contrasting the views of white people with the views of nonwhite people. She […]
Literary Qualities
Nectar in a Sieve is told in first person, in flashback, as Rukmani reminisces about the truths and trials of her life. The first-person narrative […]
Social Sensitivity
Markandaya has succeeded in exposing the conflicts that often prevent us from accepting other cultures. The ability to get along with people who have different […]
Topics for Discussion
1. Do you think that Arjun and Thambi made the correct decision when they decided not to become farmers like their father and instead went […]
Ideas for Reports and Papers
1. When Rukmani’s son Arjun wants to work in the tannery, she tells him that he is not of the caste of tanners. Explain the […]
Related Titles
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1959) depicts the village life of the Ibo clan of Nigeria before and after colonization. Like Nectar in a Sieve, […]