Kamala Markandaya occupies a prominent place among Indian English novelists. She won international fame and recognition with a publication offer very first novel, Nectar in a sieve in 1954. When she started writing novels, the themes hunger and degradation, human relationships, east – west encounter had already been dealt with by a number of Indian/English novelists. But Kamala Markandaya provides variety and vividness to these themes. In her all the novels these themes are reflected in the life in villages, cities, husband/wife relations, racial conflicts and lure for modernism. Kamala Markandaya is gifted with a fine faculty of artistic perception. The realistic presentation of life in all the novels impresses one and all. She travelled vividly
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They are Hunger and Degradation, East-West Encounter, Fatalism, Rootlessness, Politics and Human Relationships. No doubt, a number of Indian English writers , R.k. Narayan Mulkraj Anand , Bhabhani Bhattacharya have also dealt with the themes of Hunger and Degrdation, East-West encounter, Fatalism, Rootlessness, but Markanadaya occupies a unique position in this regard . She is different from these novelist in her own remarkable way of depiction of a large variety of the realities of Indian life. True , she does not stick to a particular theme in her novels . In her novels she ceaselessly strives to present the Changing colors of the Indian Environment significantly. She never repeats herself. The theme of her first novel, Nectar in a sieve is Hunger and Degrdation. In this novel this theme is presened in the context of rural India, where as in her fifth novel A Handful of Rice, this theme is depicted in urban setting. In the first novel, the theme of fatalism , rootlessness and human relations are boldly presented through the life of the poor Indian farmers who believe firmly in fate and accept every misery as their lot. The novel is not the story of Nathan and Rukmani alone. They represnt thousand of innocent poor farmers living amidst the reign of terror and uncertinities let loose by thought, rapid industrialization and unemployment.In her second novel, Some Inner Fury, Markandaya dramatises the East-West Encounter. The …show more content…
Madhusdan Prasad writes: ‘a symbolic novel, it again concerns the tug-of-war between the contradistinctive values of east and the west’. In this novel the novelist depicts how the western culture has the tendency to exploit the innocent and the poor for their selfish gains. Caroline bell, an English lady, tries to possess a poor Indian village boy, ball, but all in vain. Caroline is a representative of the rich westernised society which thrives on the talents of the poor section of the society. Val’s return to India and his refusal to go Caroline bal symbolizes the struggle of Indians independence and consequent freedom from the clutches of the british.Markandaya’s fifth novel, A Handful of Rice, is a story of Hunger and Degradation in the metropolitan town of madras. It is a realistic presentation of life in big cities where unemployment and frustration create havoc an innocent young persons fall in the traps of the criminals as is the case with Ravi, the hero of the novel. The novelist has aptly handled the theme of human relationships in this novel. Through the attitude of Ravi towards his wife and mother- in law, Markandaya has reviewed the perversion of human beings caused by adverse effects of Poverty and Hunger. Ravi’s mind is a battle ground for honesty versus dishonesty. These circumstances make him a bad man, though he
They are Hunger and Degradation, East-West Encounter, Fatalism, Rootlessness, Politics and Human Relationships. No doubt, a number of Indian English writers , R.k. Narayan Mulkraj Anand , Bhabhani Bhattacharya have also dealt with the themes of Hunger and Degrdation, East-West encounter, Fatalism, Rootlessness, but Markanadaya occupies a unique position in this regard . She is different from these novelist in her own remarkable way of depiction of a large variety of the realities of Indian life. True , she does not stick to a particular theme in her novels . In her novels she ceaselessly strives to present the Changing colors of the Indian Environment significantly. She never repeats herself. The theme of her first novel, Nectar in a sieve is Hunger and Degrdation. In this novel this theme is presened in the context of rural India, where as in her fifth novel A Handful of Rice, this theme is depicted in urban setting. In the first novel, the theme of fatalism , rootlessness and human relations are boldly presented through the life of the poor Indian farmers who believe firmly in fate and accept every misery as their lot. The novel is not the story of Nathan and Rukmani alone. They represnt thousand of innocent poor farmers living amidst the reign of terror and uncertinities let loose by thought, rapid industrialization and unemployment.In her second novel, Some Inner Fury, Markandaya dramatises the East-West Encounter. The …show more content…
Madhusdan Prasad writes: ‘a symbolic novel, it again concerns the tug-of-war between the contradistinctive values of east and the west’. In this novel the novelist depicts how the western culture has the tendency to exploit the innocent and the poor for their selfish gains. Caroline bell, an English lady, tries to possess a poor Indian village boy, ball, but all in vain. Caroline is a representative of the rich westernised society which thrives on the talents of the poor section of the society. Val’s return to India and his refusal to go Caroline bal symbolizes the struggle of Indians independence and consequent freedom from the clutches of the british.Markandaya’s fifth novel, A Handful of Rice, is a story of Hunger and Degradation in the metropolitan town of madras. It is a realistic presentation of life in big cities where unemployment and frustration create havoc an innocent young persons fall in the traps of the criminals as is the case with Ravi, the hero of the novel. The novelist has aptly handled the theme of human relationships in this novel. Through the attitude of Ravi towards his wife and mother- in law, Markandaya has reviewed the perversion of human beings caused by adverse effects of Poverty and Hunger. Ravi’s mind is a battle ground for honesty versus dishonesty. These circumstances make him a bad man, though he