Nectar in a Sieve

1
Nectar in a Sieve

• by
• Kamala Markandaya

2
What is a sieve?

• A sieve is like a strainer.
• Its used to separate materials.
• It has many holes, often of a variety of sizes.
• Ask yourself
• How does the title relate to the book?

3
About Kamala Markandaya

• Born in Mysore in 1924 as Kamala Purnaiya
• University of Madras in 1940, studying history
• Through most of the forties, she worked as a
  journalist and published several short stories.

4

• Married and moved to Britain in 1948
• Married Bertrand Taylor
• Kamalya Purnaiya Taylor wrote under the name
  Markandaya
• They had one daughter
• Little is known of her life, though Some Inner
  Fury is semi-autobiographical

5

• Common themes
• Poverty --Urbanization
• Class --Interracial relationships
• Gender --Sexuality
• Colonialism --Medicine
• Tradition vs. Modernization (Western)
• Capitalisms and materialism
• Faith and rationalization

Markandaya died in 2004. She was a Brahmin
6
Nectar in a Sieve

• Markandayas first published book in 1954

• Lets read the first page or two.
• Rukmani daughter of the head of the village,
  married below her place at age 12.
• Nathan poor tenant farmer who grows rice

7

• Six sons followed quickly. None took to the
  fields.
• Arjun and Thambi work at the controversial
  tannery until fired because of worker disputes,
  then off to a large, far away city
• Murugan goes to work as a servant
• Selvam works with Kenny, thanks to Rukmanis
  teaching

• Rukmani helped in the rice patties and around the
  house, also starting up a small, thriving garden.
  
• After the first duaghter, Irawaddy, Rukmani had
  trouble having kids and sought the help of Kenny,
  a white doctor

8
The Tannery!

• A tannery comes to town. Brings jobs, but not
  many also brings Muslim workers
• There is a small boon, as Ruku can sell her
  veggies to the new workers
• Tannery brings some problems.

Ira, the eldest child, returns home because she
has no children with her husband! Devastated,
she takes a liking to Kuti, youngest son
Tannery in Fes Medina, Morocco
9
Drought and Deluge!

• Floods and droughts destroy crops
• Rajaweakened with malnutrition, beaten to death
  by tannery guards as he rummaged for food near
  the complex.

• Kuti begins to starve to death
• Ira resorts to prostitution in order to feed the
  child, but he dies despite the sacrifice
• Though frugal, they have to sell nearly
  everything to pay the landlord because they had
  no crop.

10
Things get weird and worse.

• Ira has a child from her time as a prostitute
• Sacrabani is albino and scorned by the
  people of the village.

And the landlord sells the land to the tannery
and gives them two weeks to get out!
http//www.shunya.net/Pictures/Highlights/People-I
ndia-SouthIndia.htm
11
What to do?

• Ira and Sacrabani stay in the village with Selvam
• Rukmani and Nathan go far away in search of
  Murugan. Theyll stay with him.

Widow in Calcutta http//www.shunya.net/Pictures/N
orthIndia/Calcutta/People08.jpg
12
What to look for and think about

• What caste is Rukmani?
• Look for religion. What religion? What do you
  notice about it?
• Look for the tensions of modern vs. tradition as
  well as rural vs. urban.
• How do they deal with grief and troubles?
• What messages are contained in this book?
• Look for cultural images.