CHAPTER III
A REVIEW OF THEMES IN KAMALA
MARKANDAYA S NOVELS
3.1 Introduction:
In any research, reviewing of literature is the most important
aspect, since, not only review helps in understanding the writer in a more
effective manner, it also helps in establishing a connection between the
reality and the literature.
In this regard, review of Kamala Markandaya s novels is the most
challenging task and in order to overcome these challenges it is required
to arrange the priorities in a systematic manner. Literature is based on
thematic realities. It has been pointed out:
There is a connection between literariness and
what we think is reality , it is reality plus or fact
plus or ordinary language plus . (1)
This plus is style of presentation of theme.
100
Nina Bawden has noted that:
we know people better in a novel than in real life
because you know what people think
not just what
they say they think. We will have to decide which of
your characters are to reveal their true thoughts the
view point characters
and which will only be
permitted to say what they think. Its an absorbing
problem (2)
Kamala Markandaya has touched all such complex problems while
selecting themes.
3.2. Selection of Theme
Dianne Doubtfire has pointed out:
A novel is a story about people. The novelist creates
imaginary characters and involves them in dramatic
situations of his own choosing. (3)
The writer tries to illustrate that concerned theme, they need to
expose their ideas and to understand feelings, and they need to
communicate.
101
It has been pointed out:
The theme is usually the basis of the book, which is
chosen by author as a striking point (4)
Further it has been observed that:
Theme is often confused with Plot. The theme is the
subject of the novel (e.g. loneliness, revenge, betrayal,
self discovery) and can usually be expressed in one
word, or at least in one sentence. The plot is the
action of the story and would take much longer to
summaries. (5)
Kamala Markandaya has rightly selected different themes suitably
to illustrate her subjects either social or cultural in a creative stance and
she has successfully operated them. Not only the theme of her novels can
be related to real life and real human beings but they also help the readers
in understanding certain basic problems of life in a rather better manner.
The beautiful selection of factual themes enhances the interest of the
readers and cultivates their interest in such literary works. The genius of
Kamala Marakandaya also lies in the fact that she is able to captivate her
readers in a rather comprehensive manner.
102
In this regard, George Steiner has observed :
Literature is studied not for the sake of information,
the message in literature is not verifiable as true or
false (because all literature is fiction) and literature is
not paraphrasable. The language of literature is not
cryptic like the language of science, the language of
literature is Delphic (i.e. obscure, ambiguous, vague
and oracular), which is another way of saying that it is
emotive or special . (6)
Kamala Markandaya in all her novels has used this emotive frame.
It has been observed that:
The real power of Nectar in a Sieve lies in its
realistic portrayal of a village which is symbolic of
rural Indi. The sub title of the novel A Novel of Rural
India gives a clue to the novelist s predominant
occupation in the novel and its inner content. (7)
The language of Kamala Markandaya touches heart of the reader
and unfolds the theme effectively. Kamala Markandaya has evolved her
own style in the annals of modern Indian prose writings. She has flair and
103
her own narrative style. Her reflections in most of her novels are her own.
The grass-root analysis of her work shows that she has a very good grasp
of Indian rural life. She touches all aspects of Indian society and culture.
Her characters have been deeply rooted on traditional society and their
language, style was is very simple, effective as well as communicative at
all levels.
S. Indra has noted :
Kamala Markandaya s major theme has been the
cultural clash between the western and oriental
modes of life. All her novels have the backdrop of east
west encounter and she explores the impact of
change in terms of human psychology. The No
Where Man her seventh novel, underscores in artistic
terms, the need for racial integration and cross
cultural understanding. (8)
The cultural understanding is thus base of Kamala Markandaya s
theme in many of her novels.
Kamala Markandaya selects themes mostly from rural setting and
portrays them in an interesting manner to depict conflicts and constraints.
104
In the opinion of Dianne :
Novel is not a series of incidents, however engaging
nor is it an autobiography, nor a true story
though it
may be based on truth. It is essential to choose a
theme which has concerned a reader for many years.
(9)
In Necter In A Sieve, Kamala Markandaya has been successful for
imprinting character of Rukmani which remains concerned in the minds
of readers for a long time. It is true that Rukmani represents typical
Indian rural woman who is quite crusader. Kamala Markandaya has
portrayed struggle, conflict in changing Indian village. The agricultural
society in India is always indebted and it is always suffering due to
poverty and lack of rains. They lure land, which was base of their life.
For maintaining their lively-hood they have to accept a new profession.
They cannot cope up with urban life and the tragedy begins at all levels.
Hunger, starvation and poverty are three interrelated aspects which
Kamala Markandaya has depicted in her novels. The rootlessness in life is
the case of social tragedy which Kamala Markandaya has immensely
described throughout her writings.
105
In this regard, it is observed :
Some writers focus on individual characters in their
themes, but Kamala Markandaya lays her emphasis
more on the east west confrontation, than the
individual struggle. (10)
Dianne has observed :
Writing a successful novel demands not only talent
and determination but also a high degree of
craftsmanship. No textbook can supply talent or
determination, but craftsmanship is another matter.
(11)
Kamala Markandaya possessed all these qualities of craftsmanship.
Hence she was able to treat social themes effectively. Kamala
Markandaya s success lies not only in the selection of right, appropriate
and befitting themes, but also in smooth handling and treating of three
themes. She described social environment and cultural conditions and its
niche she slowly upholds her characters. Her characters like Rukmani and
Nathan are representatives and they are revealing cross sections of Indian
society, which is sufferer of economic change at the wake of industrial
revolution.
106
3.3 Treatment of the Theme:
Kamala Markandaya has selected themes properly and treated them
effectively. In the craft of novel writing, it has been observed that:
The structure of the novel is based on conflict. The
outcome may be happy, but there must be a basic
problem in order to set the plot in motion. People as
we know only too well, are inclined to create
difficulties for themselves and for others. (12)
Kamala Markandaya selects her characters as social representative
of the people around. In social perspective Kamala Markandaya selects
her themes of complex nature. It is but natural that she has to face many
difficulties in developing these characters and pursuing the themes. It is
true that it is those difficulties, together with their extensions and
solutions, which make the novel a readable entertainment. If the themes
of the finest books were to be expressed in one word, that word would
often be a somber one, but this does not in any way imply that the story
itself need be weighted on the side of gloom, it means that a novel cannot
exist without conflict. In Necter In A Sieve the tannery contributes to the
disintegration of Rukmani s family a good deal. It costs Rukmani and
Nathan, their two eldest sons, and when the family is on the verge of
starvation, her two sons, Arjun and Thambi, join the tannery in spite of
107
strong opposition. They create some trouble in the tannery and are
sacked. So they join a labor group bound for a Tea Plantation in Ceylon
but never return. The tannery is also largely responsible for the moral
degradation of Ira as she sells herself to townsmen in order to save her
brothers. Such conflicting situation plays an important role in
development of theme.
Thus, regarding the treatment of themes, it has been observed:
Everything that has happened to a writer especially
in his/ her childhood will affect his/ her writing today
and perhaps his/ her social sufferings will probe to be
of the greatest value. (13)
Kamala Markandaya has very carefully observed sufferings of rural
women and she has depicted these sufferings in her novels.
Markandaya s novels, while dealing with different relationships, be
it of husband and wife, mother and son, brother and sister, father and
daughter, a male friend and a female friend, brother in law and daughter
in law, daughter in law and the in laws, a woman with another woman or
man is like the merging of two different personalities whose mutual
fulfillment and growth depends upon deep understanding of each other,
108
loving each other, having compassion for each other, a complimentary
process of give and take, of tender nursing of each other s emotions and
aspirations and sharing alike the rhythm of life.
Bhattacharya s theory of the novel could also have been
responsible for the treatment of hunger.
Disregarding purposeless art and ridiculing art for
art s sake, he believed that a novel must have a social
purpose.(14)
Hunger has remained a theme of reality for many Indian English
writers. It has been observed that:
In So Many Hungers, the widespread hunger for
food appears initially due to the famine and becomes
tolerable in the name of God, for peasants consider it
to be their fate , an expiration of sins of past lives.
(15)
109
It is observed that:
The theme may not be uppermost in author s mind
when he first begins to conceive the idea for the story
of the novel, but he should cherish and nurture it as
the work progresses. (16)
Literature is mirror of society and novel is a medium of social
reflection. The selection and treatment of social themes of Indian village
by Kamala Markandaya show that her social realism is based on her close
observations. Like sociologist she analyzes these problems through her
writings. Her novels touch core of the social problems like hunger and
poverty. She had a very good grasp of traditional socio-economic system
of the Gavgada . Kamala Markandaya has also developed her themes
steadily as her fiction developed. The example can be quoted from No
Where Man . While developing the theme, Kamala Markandaya has
narrated :
During his years with Vasanta
exiles both- he had
longed like her for palm trees and oleander, sighed
with her for the rivers of their vanished youth, for the
ramifications of family they had sustained and been
sustained by. (17)
110
The effective style of Kamala Markandaya thus develops
characters web plots and construct the story. Her creative style is a good
example of her talent.
3.4 Creative Reflections of Style:
Lawrence has rightly observed that the theme of art is the theme of
life. Literature is a cross section of social dynamics. The success or future
of a writer or novelist depends on how the style of presentation has been
developed by him/her. Kamala Markandaya has evolved her own style
through her writings. As a reporter she had a good grasp of social
reflections. She shows meaning, ideas and social institutions around her
life, on which she developed these themes.
Style is known as finger prints of an author which grows naturally
from the practice of own craft. It cannot and must not be deliberate or
artificial. Kamala Markandaya has developed her own creative style. She
has developed her own style based loved paragraph with simplicity and
clarity. Whatever she writes, she expresses spontaneously, intensely and
with good pleasure. There is similarity between words, symbols and
images in the writings of Kamala Markandaya. Language matters a great
deal, because it is a rhythmic expression.
111
According to Abrhams and others:
Rhythm is structured into a recurrence of regular
that is approximately equivalent units of stress
pattern. (18)
Kamala Markandaya has also used rhythmic sentences to reflect
stress in her narrations effectively. This style of hers is quite similar to
that of Arundhati Roy whose use of rhythmic sentences along with an
extensive usage of figures of speech such as simile, metaphor and
personification in hers Booker Prize winner novel God of Small Things.
Further Kamala Markandaya has also developed a symbolic
language. A symbol is a focus of relationship. She is consistent
throughout the novel and the style she has developed is essentially her
own. She never imitated anybody of her age. Her style keeps engaged
throughout the narration. Not only that, the narration captivates the
readers completely and mesmerizes them in such a manner that it leaves
behind a nostalgia which stays with them for a long time and at the same
time, develops a liking in them for the writer.
112
Margaret Joseph has, in her novel The Nowhere Man has
observed:
There are certain instances and phrases like bloody
Jew and ghetto in her novel in support of her
paragraphs. (19)
In the novel Nowhere Man, G. Thakur has observed:
It is very objective, balanced and truthful account of
Indo British relations past and present filtered
through the genuine artist s imagination, pointing to
the final view echoed half a century later, after the
Kipling vogue has come and gone. (20)
Kamala Markandaya has the advantage of knowing many Indian
languages and also English as a language of communication. Knowledge
of several languages not only helped her in making correct translations of
certain regional words which are used in the local language by the rural
people, in her novels but also helped her in understanding the culture of
different states, religions and communities.
113
Regarding this, B. Rajan has noted:
The Indian writer has the mixed allegiances and
mixed sensibility. It is the facility with the English
language that enables them to write in English. (21)
Kamala Markandaya is realistic in her style. Many a times she uses
delightful expressions with flexibility. She uses irony for reflection of
truth.
Aristotle in his famous magazine pointed:
To write well express yourself like the common
people but think like wise man. (22)
Kamala Markandaya also uses language of common man and she
thinks like a wise philosopher, who is behind her expression in the novel.
In all her novels she has maintained her own narrative style revealing
social realism at the core of her expressions. Her creative style is a
vehicle of her feelings and she transmits these feelings effectively from
one heart to another.
3.5 Thematic Continuity:
Planning the theme is a very important step in novel writing. There
should be thematic continuity.
114
Kamala Markandaya has :
developed a continuous theme based on local facts
and local characters. Continuing of effects is a core of
success. The effect of the style depends on creative
ability which is developed by writers exclusively. (23)
Kamala Markandaya has planned her themes on strategic points
joining different episodes and parks tight and rightly. Most of her themes
are social themes and those were sources of inspiration differ yet they
preserve some realistic ideas. Perhaps there is really continuity in her
themes, both on the basis of content, values and message loaded in them.
In the character like Rukmani, who occupies a most prominent place in
Nectar the Sieve represents rootlessness in her devastated rural life. She
webs social relationship around some realistic themes of the age of her
time and she opens story with certain shocks and trimmers. We should
know the socio cultural context of the narration to understand main
character and the side roles played by other characters.
One should be able to gauge that the theme
should reply the questions posed by author. (24)
115
Kamala Markandaya has exactly interpreted various facts in her
themes which are full of meaning and content. The deep understanding of
Indian society and culture is the key factor of Kamala Markandaya s
writings. She has rightly penetreted the nexus of changing Indian village.
The poverty, hunger and starvations are basic issues in Indian village,
which Kamala Markandaya has rightly traced. Unity and continuity of
theme is an important aspect of the success of Kamala Markandaya,
which goes in her favour completely.
The specialty of Kamala Markandaya is that she doesn t make any
hurry in portraying her theme. Rather, she slowly begins the theme,
develops it later on, enters into constant and slowly injects social
messages in an interesting manner, taking it to an arresting end,
ultimately.
The success of Kamala Markandaya truly can be observed in her
thematic continuity.
In Nectar in a Sieve Markandaya has described
starvation, authentically and realistically. (25)
116
Look at the word painting of hunger and starvation portrayed by
Markandaya:
For hunger is a curious thing , at first it is
With you all the time, waking and sleeping
And in your dreams, and your belly cries out
Insistently and there is a gnawing and pain
as if your very vitals were being devoured,
and you must stop it at any cost and you
buy a movement s respite even while you
now fear the sequel. Then the pain
is no
longer sharp, but dull, and this too is with
you always, so that you think of food
many
times a
day and each
time a
terrible sickness assails you. (26)
The other example of her thematic presentation is quite interesting.
Evil forces of nature play a significant role in destroying the crops of
Rukmani and Nathan as they recall how their paddy crops were ruined by
the heavy rains. On such occasion, Rukmani makes an interesting
observation.
117
She says:
It rained so hard, so long and so incessantly that the
thought of a period of no rain provoked a mild
wonder. It was as if nothing had ever been but rain
but Nathan and I watched with heavy hearts while
the water rose and rose and the tender green of the
paddy field sank under and was lost The rains have
destroyed much of our work. There will be little eating
this year. (27)
This passage is a very good example of miseries of Indian farmer.
The vicious circle of Indian agricultural life is very well depicted by
Kamala Markandaya in her novels. The worries of Rukmani and Nathan
are representative stories of Indian life. One can understand miseries
faced by the up rooted Indian rural families which are often depended on
nature at one hand and depend on money lenders and their exploitation on
the other hand.
Social themes are very well explored by Kamala Markandaya. In
A Handful of Rice the protagonist, Ravi goes to the extent of theft due to
poverty and starvation. A Handful of Rice is a journey of a poor young
protagonist through different vices of life. All the talents of Ravi dry up
118
in the scorching heat of poverty and starvation. He struggles but fails to
get even a handful of rice:
He struggled to reach the grain, this time
at least, and he clenched his empty hands
and watching with frantic eyes as the rich
heap dwindled and the empty sacks
flopped and sagged and were snatched
up and filled or jump away full on
shoulders that could bear them. (28)
In A Handful of Rice Markandaya has given a real and vivid
account of the degradation and immorality of its protagonist who often
beats his wife and does not hesitate in raping his own mother-in-law.
While describing the rootlessness in her themes Markandaya has pointed:
His mother was dead. His brothers and sisters
who with their progeny would have provided
the cohorts were gone, forced out by the
relentless pressure of their existence, in the
upsurge of revolt that had begun to dismantle
the old pattern of family life first in one
village, then in other. (29)
119
In Some Inner Fury also there are good deals of examples which
reflect thematic continuity. Kamala Markandaya writes that:
your people and my people..? For us there
was no other way, the forces that pulled us
apart were too strong. (30)
These illustrations are self reflections and they depict the social
realities in Indian life. Kamala Markandaya not only touches core of the
socio economic problems of Indian life, but she also draws attention
towards the up rooted cultural environment in the Indian rural society.
She not only describes the problems, but she penetrates into the basic
problems of village life such as food, shelter and cloth.
Thus, there is thematic continuity in Kamala Markandaya s
narrations. In another novel A Silence of Desire, she has exhibited
husband-wife relationship with natural and real fervor.
Possession is the portrayal of the exploitation
of the have nots at the hands of haves. (31)
Thus the changing counters of human relationship are the core of
Kamala Markandaya s novels. She has depicted these relationships in
different arena along with considering the complexities of these
120
relationships
and
has
also
analyzed
their
intricacies
rather
comprehensively.
3.6 Conflict and Resolution:
Kamala Markandaya has tried to reflect many issues in her novels.
Her themes may be described as an allegory of the direction the
independent India has to follow in its onward march to its progress. It
poses a question:
as to whether India has to cut itself off
from its roots and shape itself in the image
of materialistic West or seek its growth
from the life giving springs of its own
culture. (32)
Kamala Markandaya has ably handled different themes of social
reality in a correct focus. She poses a problem and make the readers alert
to solve the problem. In Nectar in a Sieve there is a vivid record of
hunger of the poverty stricken, heart breaking existence of the rural
peasantry.
121
What is more:
It is a worthy indicament of an irrational,
inhumane industrialization which exploits
the poor and which destroys time
honored peasant codes without replacing
them with adequate substitutes. (33)
Markandaya takes the issue on the climax point and tries to solve it
with soul searching sincerity. It has been observed:
in Nectar in a Sieve
the story of the faceless
peasant who stands silhouetted in the unending
twilight of Indian agrarian bankruptcy, the horizon
showing through the silent trees now with crimson
gashes, now with soul exerting splendor, always
holding out the promise that the setting sun will rise
again after the night, the night ever approaching yet
never encompassing. (34)
122
Nectar in a Sieve deals with not only the major themes of hunger
but also the concomitant theme of human degradation and debasement
that hunger brings. It is not for nothing that Kamala Markandaya calls
hunger a curious thing.
K. Nicholson rightly points out :
In India the countryside too has been polluted, but
not by the encroachment of industry In the village
the
pollution
comes
from
within,
through
starvation. (35)
Thus many a times this internal struggle is very well described by
Kamala Markandaya in her novels. There are three types of struggle. One
is internal struggle, on the other side struggle is for social customs and the
third aspect is culture. Sometimes it takes shape of east west cultural
encounter, which was a part of the period.
In any novel conflict is a significant part in depiction of human life.
The author is not a propagandist but in any straight novel he tries to
present the time span to cover different issues through plots, characters,
and the themes. Kamala Markandaya has tried to plan strong backbone of
social reality every time presenting it towards a powerful climax. She
does not directly present answers to every problem but quite differently
she suggests answers to the society in general and the policy makers in
123
particular. Her planning of chapters takes the theme to bridge gap
between time or space or to change view point to launch the story in new
direction.
It s a well known fact that novel, as a form of literature, is the most
latest form which came quite late into this country, comparing to other
forms. A novel is that part of literature which essentially contains the
basic essence of fiction. It contains a story which is bound by a string of
relativity till the end. It cannot break in between else every broken bit will
become a short story. Thus, it could be said that an ideal novel should be
continuity from a start
voyage of discovery, full of surprises up to the
end. Therefore, it is vital that the theme of the novel should be able to
catch the attention of the readers right at the beginning so as to bind them
till the end. At the same time, it is also very important that the writer
should be able to maintain the concord of the theme till the end so that the
effect should remain continuous without in any way, decreasing the
attention of the reader.
In this regard, the contribution of Kamala Markandaya is quite
significant since she, with her progressive themes shocks the reader and
touches many a time the heart of the audience.
124
3.7 The Message :
The setting of novel is a very important phenomenon. It has been
noted :
The author must know his countryside, whether real
or imaginary, like his hand
(36)
Kamala Markandaya has depicted countryside India with a great
vividness. Her rural India is the real India. It s not fake but has the actual
problems which can be easily found in real rural India. In every novel,
she has presented minute observations about rural life, its life style,
simple day- to
day problems, scarcities, beliefs, faith, happiness,
superstitions, desperations, aspirations, dreams, agonies and sorrows
effectively. She finally presents the message in a nutshell. Every novel is
her medium which reflects the message effectively. In this regard, about
her first classic Nectar in a Sieve, it has been pointed :
The struggle between man and overpowering hunger
before which honor, morality and God do not count.
(37)
The thorough knowledge of Kamala Markandaya about Indian
society such as family, caste and religion leads to the clear cut depiction
of facts. She draws a graph of changing Indian society because she is able
125
to understand the internal struggle as well as external forces behind it.
Her novels truly became mirrors of society because she has been
successful in narrating facts on right lines.
Thus, message treatment is the real success of Kamala
Markandaya s writings. Venkata Reddy has rightly noted :
In the depiction of the tragic plight of an Indian
peasant family with moving realism, it recalls the
realistic novels of Prem Chand in general and his
Godan in particular. (38)
Scholars have rightly compared themes and messages in Kamala
Markandaya s novels. The themes and the messages conveyed by Kamala
Markandaya are not stereotype, they are original and refreshing yet
revolutionary, simple yet complex and most importantly, individual yet
universal. Thus, it can be said that her style of unfolding messages is
unique.
It is true :
In its savage power and authentic atmosphere,
Nectar in a Sieve recalls Pearl S. Buck s The Good
Earth . ( 39)
126
The message treatment makes the novel classic. A good theme can
make a novel memorable for years that s the reason Jane Austen became
immortal with the selection of an entirely simple yet universal theme in
Pride and Prejudice. Kamala Marakandaya has been successful in
treating all the themes from her first to last novel. About Nectar in a
Sieve it has been observed :
It bears a close resemblance to Dennis Gray
Stoll s The Dove Found No Rest , a novel of
Modern India which reflects the social
upheaval and the national agitation in the
early forties. Small wonder, therefore, if
Nectar in a Sieve has become a classic of
the hunger theme in Indian fiction in
English (40)
Thus in this chapter study of themes explored by Kamala
Markandaya was conducted and it was revealed that there is close
thematic continuity in her expressions. All of her themes are socially
progressive advanced and problem solving. Her every novel has tackled
distinct issues. Kamala Markandaya is an ideal novelist and has a varied
depiction of women characters of her fiction. She has successfully
presented all important aspects of human life with realistic touch. She has
been successful in presenting the facts documented through paints
realistic picture of life. Kamala Markandaya touches social themes in an
127
interesting manner. Her perfect understanding of social life is base of her
narrative style. As she was a participant observer of Indian village life
and as she had travelled from village life to urban life, she had witnessed
both the traditions in life. The post modern Indian village which is a
sufferer of socio economic imbalances has been depicted by her in these
novels. It would be interesting to understand different currents and forces
that have made her to reflect them so perfectly. She has given a true
account of life in her novels. Thus, life is a fine blending of good and bad
elements. The messages in her novels are focused on welfare of
humanity. Thus her novels must be studied in the new context of
globalization to provide human face to liberalized world. The messages
have not become redundant, but they are still relevant to humanity.
128
REFERENCES
1)
Krishnaswamy
N.
John
Varghese,
Contemporary Literary Theory
and
Mishra
Sunita
McMillan India Publishers,
New Delhi, 2005, p.1.
2)
Dianne Doubrtfire
The Craft of Novel Writing , Arnold
Heinemann, New York, 1981, pp.7-8.
3)
Ibid., p.1.
4)
Ibid., p.1.
5)
Ibid., p.5.
6)
Krishnaswamy and others, op cit., p.1.
7)
Venkata Reddy Major Indian Novelists , Prestige Books, New
Delhi, 1990, p.78.
8)
Dhawan R.K. Indian Women Novelists Prestige Publications,
New Delhi, 1993, p.47.
9)
Ibid., p.1.
10)
Ibid., p.55.
11)
Dianne Doubrtfire, op cit., p.4.
12)
Ibid., p.1.
13)
Ibid., p.2.
129
14)
The Sunday Standard, April 27, 1969, article by Joshi Sudhakar
An Evening with Bhabani .
15)
Bhattacharya Bhabani So many Hungers , Orient Paperbacks,
New Delhi, 1978, p.108.
16)
Dianne Doubertfire, op cit., p.3.
17)
Markandaya Kamala No Where Man , p.68.
18)
Abrams M.H., Feoffrey Galt Harpham Literary Terms p.170.
19)
Margaret
P.
Joseph
Kamala
Markandaya ,
Arnold
Heinemann, New Delhi, 1980, p.140.
20)
Dhawan R.K. (Ed)
Explorations in Modern Indo English
Fiction Bahri Publications, New Delhi, 1992, p.201.
21)
Sharma Lakshmi Kumari The Position of Women in Kamala
Markandaya s Novels Prestige Publications, 2001, New Delhi,
p.104.
22)
Dianne Doubertfire, op cit., p.51.
23)
Ibid., p.9.
24)
Ibid., p.10.
25)
Bhatnagar M.K.
Kamala Markandaya
Spectrum , p.190.
26)
Markandaya Kamala Nectar in a Sieve , p.7.
130
A Critical
27)
Ibid., pp.43-44.
28)
Markandaya Kamala A Handful of Rice , p.235.
29)
Ibid., p.57.
30)
Markandaya Kamala Some Inner Fury , p.243.
31)
Raizda H.M. East West Confrontation in the Novels of Kamala
Markandaya , refer article by Prasad Madhusudan, p.116.
32)
Raizda H.M. op cit., p.116.
33)
Harrex S.C. The Fire and the Offerings , Writers Workshop,
Calcutta, 1977, Vol. I , p.254.
34)
Texas Quarterly Summer1968,
art.by Uma Parmeswaran,
p.233.
35)
Kai Nicholson
Some Problems in the Indo Anglian and the
Anglo Indian Novels Jaico Publishers, Bombay, 1972, p.116.
36)
Dianne Doubertfire, op cit., p.13.
37)
Mehata P.P. Indo Anglian Fiction An Assessment , Bareilly
Publications, New Delhi, 1968, p.225.
38)
Venkata Reddy, op cit., p.86.
39)
Ibid., p.86.
40)
Ibid., p-86
131