Nectar in a Sieve

“There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.”----Leo TolstoyKamala Purnaiya Taylor, a.k.a, Kamala Markandaya, the late Indian internationally bestselling author, had penned a terrific yet extremely honest tale of a woman's struggling yet endearing life right after India's independence in her book, Nectar in a Sieve which marks as a pioneering book in Indian literature, that outlines the importance of a woman's simplicity, her sacrifices, her unconditional love f [...]

Oh, man, talk about grimsville!! I think I'll just run along now and lay my head on that old railroad track! These characters are just born to suffer and endure and work their tails off and all for what? Nothing, because they get screwed every time they start to get some hope back. Screwed either by Mother Nature or by their fellow human beings. Imagine seeing your child die from starvation and feeling relieved because you won't have to watch him suffer anymore!Grimmest of all is that there are [...]

At its heart, Nectar in a Sieve is a story about suffering and our response to it. The protagonist is an aging Indian woman looking back over her long life and reflecting on her fate as well as her choices. Much that happened to her, she had no say in. She was a child bride of an arranged marriage. In some respects, Providence was kind to her; in many others cruel.But it would spoil the book to tell Rukmani’s tale before you read it. You need to experience it through her own sparse prose narra [...]

Beautiful and touching, Nectar in a Sieve follows a young Rukmani who is married to Nathan, a tenant farmer, when she is only twelve. The marriage, of course, is arranged. The story focuses on the growth of her family and the struggles a tenant farmer and his family must face in a developing India. I had one minor issue with this bookat is that there wasn't more.The story should be depressing because the family has to scrape by to survive. And I mean really scrape bywith very little extra ever c [...]

A tale of utter hopelessness in the face of colonial or capital evil. The only inspiration one could draw from this is to hate to hate economic development, hate outsiders, or become determined to not be like these people, who can't or won't do anything to prevent ruin. Unfortunately in this desperation there is also little sense of love or bonding, such that the reader can only understand that it is terrible for people to be torn apart or turned against each other, rather than feel it as they r [...]

One should go over the epigraph "Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve, And hope without an object cannot live". Each page in this book depicts the sufferings faced by a family (let's say a group of people, a village or surrounding as a whole). Each character in this book suffers a lot. One would have guessed it from the title. The story evolves around Rukmani. Rukmani is portrayed as a simple traditional Indian woman. Nathan, Rukmani's husband is a farmer. The age-old ethics followed by Ind [...]

Meh. Whatever. The husband dies. Who cares. He cheated on her a zillion years ago and I won't forgive him. The End.

I just finished reading the novel,Nectar in a Sievewritten by Kamala Markandaya. The author, born in the highest caste in India but lived mainly in England, writes about the tale of a family's struggles with poverty and globalization. Being Markandaya's first published novel,Nectar in a Sieveis a worldwide best-seller and has been translated into seventy languages. Markandaya takes us to rural India set in mid-1900's, with the reflection of main character, Rukumani, taking the reader from her ea [...]

This book was basically the diary of the main character, Rukmani. From the get go the emotions were raw and real. This is a very realistic story that follows the life of Rukmani and her struggles throughout it. Anyone who likes autobiographies would enjoy reading this book.

This was required reading for me in high school. I just adored it. So well written, powerful and emotional. It is still one of my favorite books after all these years. I consider it a must read.

The back cover honestly doesn't do it justice. It was soooooooo good!

Nectar in a sieve isn't a story but collection of memories of days past and present. Set in a village in southern India, this is story of a woman and the hardships she faces with her family when the country is in the brink of industrialization and stepping out of decades of colonialism. Markandaya times the novel in this time of change in a community that solely thrives on outcome of monsoon season. The dichotomy isn't played to its strength with narration never taking into the contrasting natur [...]

Death, theft, prostitution and tenant farming. How could these elements be woven into a tale that inspires, evokes sadness, and creates pathos? Only one tale, spun so well, could this be made possible; that book is Nectar in a Sieve. Kamala Markandaya, authoress extraordinaire, can create emotions no one knew they could feel for written text and hardback cover. Markandaya lived no hard life herself, so the way she weaves a tale with such authority, such knowledge, and such passion about a family [...]

Nectar in a Sieve, written by Kamala Markandaya, is a wonderful novel that lets the reader peek inside the heart of Indian culture. Markandaya, the author of A Handful of Rice and Some Inner Fury, is actually named Kamala Purnaiya Taylor; she was raised in Mysore, India but she later moved to Britain after India declared its independence. Nectar in a Sieve follows the life of an average lower-class Indian, looking at the effects of globalization and the conflict between traditional and rural Ind [...]

One of the best readings on colonial India. Told from the POV of a village woman from the day of her marriage until late in her life. Students seem to really enjoy the straight forward and simple narrative. I first read this as part of my junior english class in 1995, thanks Mrs. Thomson. It has to be the first female protagonist that I actually like to read about. I read the book in two nights, seven days ahead of schedule. I would also have to say that the relationship between Irrawady and her [...]

I found this to be beautifully written, with characters that were believable and admirable. I always appreciate the opportunity to see life from the honest viewpoint of another culture. This book was a firm reminder of how impossibly difficult life is for so many people.

The best book I have ever read, hands down, and I have read many 1000s of books. I have no connection to this author whatsoever, I just happened to love her writing. I also read Handful of Rice, which was also very good, but this one was the best!

I really disliked this book.

If it wasn't for my English Honors syllabus, I don't think I would ever come across this novel, and would have read it in one sitting.Kamala Markandaya remarkably, in much simple language draws a beautiful, bitter-sweet and tragic portrait of the people who struggle to just live and evade hunger in their day to day life, in her novelNectar in a Sieve and the way she paints their fortunes trodden in misery, that lasts longer and longer than the joyous memories they had once lived through- only gr [...]

A beautiful and painful book. I truly feel it is important to walk in another's shoes for a little while, and what a better way to do that than in a book? I do not think or react in the way the protagonist does, and I learned much from the book. I also was that much more grateful for my life and for the natural quest in me to do something "else"---something different---something more. By book two, I was so grateful to see her do this too, though on a smaller scale. Definitely a classica classic [...]

I thought I had finished my freshman year reading list earlier this year until this work surfaced at a library sale. While it was an award winning book in 1955, it didn't do much for me in 1971, and it didn't do all that much now. This is described as one woman's struggle for survival in India. To me it is one woman's struggle with misfortune some inflicted by her parents, some by her children, some by her husband and yet more by the world around her. Not an overwhelming work in my mind.

Read during my #lostinthewoodsreadathon! Course required reading.

readingformysanitySet in rural India at the dawning of a new age, Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve tells the story of one woman's quest for happiness and peace amidst heartache and hardship. Despite attempts to ignore comparisons, one is indelibly reminded of Pearl S. Buck's classic The Good Earth. The heroine, Rukmani, is a sort of female Wang Lung, who narrates the rise and fall of her family as India grows and changes around them.The story begins with Rukmani remembering her past, alread [...]

I originally had no idea what this book was about before reading it, so I had zero expectation aside from the line on the cover saying, "very moving." After 50 pages, I still was not quite sure; I gathered it follows a struggling Indian family during British colonization. To be more specific, it seemed a routine of raising crops and keeping a family together while also trying to do the best for your children's futures (proper weddings and dowries, for example). But as the book continues, the pur [...]

'To those who live by the land there must always come times of hardship, of fear, and of hunger, even as there are years of plenty We live by our labours from one harvest to the next, there is no certain telling whether we shall be able to feed ourselves and our children, and if bad times are prolonged we know we must see the weak surrender their lives, and this fact, too is within our experience. In our lives there is no margin for misfortune.'Nectar in a Sieve portrays a poignant picture of ru [...]

Español / EnglishEn esta historia seguimos a Rukmami, una chica de la India que se casa a los 12 años, y la acompañamos hasta su edad adulta casi entrando a la madurez. Vemos como se enfrenta a los retos de criar hijos, lidiar con vecinas y, sobre todo, sobrevivir como una campesina rural ante la modernización del pueblo mas cercano.Como la mayoria de los libros que escojo de la biblioteca tan solo porque el título me llama la atención y la sinopsis no suena mal, este me encantó. Una nove [...]

Nectar In a Sieve by Kamala MarkandayaKamala Markandaya really brings to life the struggles of life in a small village in India. Published in 1954, Nectar In a Sieve really elaborates on the daily life of an Indian woman.In Nectar In a Sieve, the main character, Rukmani marries a tenant farmer, Nathan. The book follows their life together as a married couple. Rukmani and Nathan soon start a family and as the family grows, there are many challenges the family must overcome; poverty, drought, and [...]

I recently concluded my reading of Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve. Markandaya has written many books such as Two Virgins, Shalimar, and The Nowhere Man. Nectar in a Sieve tells the tale of a woman who is married to an Indian man at a very young age, and of their life together as she matures. One thing I found very intriguing about Nectar in a Sieve was the insight into Indian culture. It was thrown in almost casually, as if common. In fact, that is what made it stand out to me. It was as [...]

4.5 Stars.Some books are going stay forever with us. This is one of such books. The story of Rukmani and Nathan. A tale of endurance and poverty. Apart from Rukmani and Nathan - well formed characters like Ira and Kenny are so realistic that in the end one will start missing reading about them and how they fared. I especially missed reading more about Kenny and Selvam and their hospital. In my view this book should be recommended to be studied as part of syllabus for schools in India, to make ch [...]

Kamala Markandaya wrote Nectar in a Sieve in 1954; the Signet Classic edition was printed in 2002 with a forward by Indira Ganesan. Ganesan considers the book "a seminal work in Anglo-Indian fiction."Rukmani is Markandaya's narrator and heroine. Although neither beautiful nor wealthy, Rukmani is married to a man whose love for her remains constant. This is a true blessing, as Rukmani and her husband, Nathan, suffer poor harvests and other misfortunes, eventually losing everything. Even their bea [...]