Vol. 6, Issue 10, Part F (2020)

Abstract
Kamala Markandaya is one of the eminent Indo-Anglian novelists. Her works focus basically on the life and culture of the rural India. ‘Nectar in a Sieve’ and ‘A Handful of Rice’ present an authentic picture of the same. The main themes of the novel are hunger, poverty and exodus from the villages to towns in search of employment with a dream to satiate hunger, wipe out poverty and carve out a distinct identity in the society. The tragic predicament of rural India has been depicted with moving realism. It envelopes lack of family planning, tradition, want for a son, crime, unemployment, class conflict, lethargic attitude as dominant factors of the Indian rural society. The novel presents Markandaya’s tragic vision of life with the genuine concern for the miserable lot through the characters like Ravi, Nalini, Jayamma et.c. The tradition of the joint family system with its merits and demerits is reflected through the family of Ravi. There is also a cultural clash between rural culture represented by Ravi, a poor and hungry boy and urban culture through the life of Damodar, a notorious criminal. The novel portrays how desire for a luxurious life also forces one to follow anti-social activities. Ravi is drawn towards Damodar, a criminal to comfort himself from economic strain. Despite Kamala Markandaya’s rich experience of the west, rural Indian forms the basis of her creative urge.