Nectar in a Sieve: As a Protest Novel

Pages:216-217
Kamal Rani (Department of English, Vaish College, Rohtak, Haryana)

Nectar in a Sieve is designed to capture the tragedy of Indian village life affected by poverty, hunger and the influx of modernization. The rural folk, particularly the farmers are helpless victims of natural, social and economic forces that are beyond their grasp. Markandaya has had the experience of living and working in villages when she was involved in social work. She understood the problems of the peasant class; saw their suffering, their resentment to industrialization and their distrust of industrial and economic change. It is through the story of Rukmani that Markandaya gives voice to subaltern. The novel becomes very powerful due to stark depiction of Indian reality economic backwardness problem of large family. Illiteracy and helpless complacency with which the farmers endure the assault of existence. The novel revolves round the questions of poverty economic deprivation, social taboos and traditional outlook Markandaya gives a first hand picture of a typical farmer woman through Rukmani who is strong, hard working, uncomplaining, ‘tolerant and able. Rukmani has often becn compared to the ‘mother earth’ and to Shakti. She is resolute and once. She takes a step, she sticks to it as is revealed in the first few paragraphs of the novel when she upholds her decision to bring the leper boy, Puli with her from the city, “What is done is done there can be no repining” (P.I), she says. The novel takes off from this point and a reflective benevolent, affectionate but strong Rukmani recount her life and through her the village community is revealed to us.