Kamala Markandaya Research Articles

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE STRUGGLE AGAINST COLONIAL OPPRESSION IN IRELAND AND INDIA THROUGH THE PRISM OF LIAM O’FLAHERTY AND KAMALA MARKANDAYA

Ireland and India, even though geographically and ethnically distant countries, still possess many similarities, mostly related to the fact that they both used to be colonies of the British Empire. Before gaining independence, similarly marked by Partition in both countries, they were battlefields of colonial confrontation, depicted in many literary works. The purpose of this article is to make a comparison by analysing selected novels written by Liam O’Flaherty from Ireland and the Indian-born Kamala Markandaya, which focus on the clash between the coloniser and the colonized in these two countries. The most important point revealed by comparative analysis is that neither O’Flaherty nor Markandaya blindly accuse the coloniser alone for the misery and sufferings of the Irish/Indian people, since they also find fault with their respective governments, aware that progress in their countries can be achieved only as a result of the joint efforts of their governments and peoples.

A Recuperation of the Oppressed and Subjugated Women in Arundhati Roy’s the God of Small Things

Postmodern Indian literature in English is a powerful expression of Indian women writers who have made significant contributions to the world of English fiction. The volume, diversity and maturity of the Indian novel have grown considerably. Famous writers like Kamala Markandaya, Nayantara Sahgal, Kamala Das, Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande and many others have given their creative outlet the enrichment of literature in recent decades by sensitively exposing various issues on the gender bias of women and society. In their creative writings, female characters either rebel against the subjugation of women and the oppressive role of family, society, religion and culture, including long-standing patriarchy, or they reinvent the feminine ethos. The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy's debut novel is a saga about the eternal suffering of women in a patriarchal society, who were oppressed and even deprived of their socio-political, economic identity and basic human rights. Roy excels at how women are victims of violence, exploitation, marginalization, suffering and exile. The novel deals with the suffering, struggle and transformation of three generations of women: Mammachi, Ammu and Rahel. This idea is the basis of this research, which tries to find out how painfully three generations of Women in the novel suffer.

Deciphering Ecofeminist Script: Helen in Kamala Markandaya’s The Coffer Dams

This paper essays to trace out the ecofeminist perspectives which inform Kamala Markandaya’s The Coffer Dams. Markandaya is an ecofeminist novelist who makes Helen decipher the ecofeminst script of her novel. Helen considers the natives as human beings, and voices her feelings related to women and nature. She realizes that living with nature lends substance and authenticity to life. In spite of being dominated and exploited by her husband, Clinton, she fights against the patriarchal setup which exploits and oppresses both woman and nature.

Social reproduction, struggle and the ecology of ‘women's work’ in world-literature

Building on the insights of feminist scholars such as Maria Mies, Wilma Dunaway and Harriet Friedmann that ‘women's work’ in the realm of social reproduction, particularly in the (semi-)peripheries of the world-ecology, often draws heavily upon natural resources and is thus preponderantly affected by forms of resource depletion and environmental crisis including water scarcity, land degradation, pollution and toxification, this article argues for an approach to world-literary criticism that incorporates the insights of social reproduction feminism in order to interpret how literature of the capitalist world-ecology mediates social reproduction. I contend that world-literary criticism can help illuminate the socio-ecology of gendered forms of labour, by analysing how bodily dispositions, subjectivities and habituses corresponding to gendered divisions at household and systemic scales are mediated in specific literary aesthetics, and recuperating the utopian prospects of how texts imagine forms of struggle as arising from the contradictions immanent to capital's dependence on the unpaid work of both nature and social reproduction. In particular, reading novels by Kamala Markandaya, Ousmane Sembène and Latife Tekin, I explore three different world-literary depictions of types of environment-making labour that have been gendered as ‘women's work’ – foodgetting, water-carrying and waste-picking – in order to examine how novels imagine the terrain of social reproduction both as a site of appropriation, violence and crisis, and as the potential ground for organised resistance.

Psycho-Analysis of Indian Woman in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya

Kamala Markandaya, as a follower of Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Dorothy Richardson, and Henry James, delves deep into the inner workings of her characters to reveal their passions, goals, obsessions, pains, and struggles. Their life on Tuesday or Wednesday is not what it was on Monday or Sunday as various impressions come to their mind from all sides everyday. Chari, Ghosh, Sarojini, Dandekar, Rukmani, Nalini, Helen, Clinton, and others feel worried when they think about the past, the present, and the future. For the most part their previous events torment them and they have an existence of misery and hopelessness. While some impressions are trivial, others are as sharp as steel. As a novelist, she is highly conscious of the form and structure of each novel and hence avoids all useless impressions so as to give order and shape to the novel. She analyses her characters deeply, goes deep down into the inner workings of their mind and emotions. She brings out the struggle going on their mind. Her characters are reflective in nature. They suffer silently the arrows of pain and sufferings thrown by fate on their way. Markandaya displays some of her characters’ obsessions and agonies. She also puts them through travails and difficulties. The characters also go through the journey of attachment and detachment. Almost every aspect of human nature and emotions has been dealt with very minutely by Kamala Markandaya in her novels. Sometimes, she criticizes her characters too for their drawback. Her treatment of her characters is objective, fair, detached and unbiased.

Kamala Markandaya’s ‘A Handful of Rice’: A Critical Study

This critical study delves into Kamala Markandaya's acclaimed work, 'A Handful of Rice,' providing a comprehensive analysis of its thematic depth and literary nuances. The narrative of the novel unfolds against the backdrop of societal disparities, portraying the stark realities faced by the marginalized in a rapidly changing world. Through an exploration of characters, plot, and symbolism, this study unravels the intricate tapestry of Markandaya's storytelling and sheds light on the broader socio-cultural implications embedded within the narrative. Additionally, it scrutinizes the author's use of language and narrative techniques, offering insights into the work's enduring relevance and its contribution to contemporary literature.

An Analytical Study of Female Identity in the Chosen Novels of Kamala Markandaya

The notion of Indian literature in English has been expanded by the contributions of a variety of different female authors. books written by Kamala Markandaya, which aims to investigate hitherto unexamined facets of her female characters. It exhibits the shift in women's identity, emphasises the new image via an analysis into her works, and ultimately demonstrates Markandaya's feminist moral concern through an in-depth research of sexual and family connection dynamics. Her ladies do not engage in acts of defiance, but they do succeed in bringing the society around to the idea that they are "persons," not only "possessions."

Woman as a Savior and Nurturer of Nature: An Ecofeminist Analysis of Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve

The degradation of land and ecosystem and its effects on humans is the biggest issue today. These issues have numerous effects on human existence, including decreased access to clean water, loss of biodiversity, food scarcity, and increased vulnerability to natural disasters. In this context, the concept of ecofeminism has gained new significance as it offers a unique perspective on the intersection of environmental issues and gender. Ecofeminism is a philosophical and social movement that recognizes the interconnectedness of the oppression of women and the degradation of the environment. Ecofeminists argue that both the exploitation of nature and the oppression of women stem from similar societal structures and belief systems that prioritize profit, power, and domination over women and the natural world. This paper attempts to study Kamala Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve from an ecofeminist perspective and how power and dominance are themes that appear throughout this novel and have a direct impact on both the world of women and the world of Nature. The novel delves into topics such as destitution, exploitation, and the devastation of the natural world through the experiences of its female protagonist. Ecofeminism emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to environmental issues that takes into account the interconnectedness of all living beings. It recognizes the importance of preserving traditional knowledge and practices that promote sustainability and respect for nature. Additionally, ecofeminism calls for the inclusion of women in decision-making processes related to environmental issues, as they are often the ones most affected by environmental degradation.

REWRITING GENDER NARRATIVES IN KAMALA MARKANDAYA’S POSSESSION

Through the analysis of Kamala Markandaya’s Possession, this paper delves into postcolonial gender narratives that question the colonial and patriarchal mode of thought traditionally shaping gender discourse and thus shows how social and cultural paradigms determine the postcolonial gender roles and power relations in the novel. The aim of the paper is to elucidate how the interconnectedness of race, class and gender redefines the very norms of gender identity, defying gender-stereotypical narratives. This paper discloses that gender roles are constructed by the social, cultural and historical context rather than biology itself. Therefore, femininity does not necessarily correlate only with female sex, just as masculinity is not inextricably linked only with male sex. Still, female energy is continually suppressed by the dominant masculine social framework. Furthermore, the analysis of the novel reveals that the Western vs. non-Western dichotomy can be likened to the male vs. female one – the colonizer assuming male identity, the colonized female one.

A Portrait of Woman in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya: A Review

A Portrait of Woman in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya: A Review

Analyzing the Concept of Narrative Time in Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve: A Narratological Study

This study endeavors to explicate Nectar in a Sieve (1954) by Kamala Markandaya through the perspective of narratology to study the narrative of Rukmani. Kamala Markandaya is prominent storyteller who is interested in both ‘what’ and ‘how’ of narratives which becomes the basis of this study. Narratology being the study of narratives focuses on how the narrative are presented, what are its structures and the ways it affect our perception. The study follows the framework by Gerard Genette to analyse narrative time in the chosen novel. The nature of this study is twofold; first, it discusses the framework of narratology and its constituent tenets, which provides the framework to investigate any narrative and second, it analyzes Nectar in a Sieve in the light of narratology. Narratology comprises many tenets such as focalization, discourse, narrative modes, narrator, characters, and time. Among these characteristics, this study focuses on ‘time’. This study emphases on the Genette’s two fundamental oppositions of discourse time and story time and how Markandaya has employed it in Nectar in a Sieve to assist the reader in understanding the narrative of Rukmani which has the backdrop of exploitation and dispossession of the peasants from the intrusion of industrial tannery. The study allows for critical implications, both for the readers who wish to understand Markandaya better and for the researcher who aims to understand the narrative analysis of the novel.

Exploring Nation and History: An Analysis of Chaman Nahal’s Selected Novels

The struggle for Indian independence spanned nearly a century and was an epic endeavor. The winds of change that swept across the Indian subcontinent after the 'Sepoy' Mutiny in 1857 left lasting imprints on the political and social landscape. The Indian nation had to overcome centuries of lethargy, transcend religious, caste, and provincial divisions, and move forward on the path of progress. This transformation occurred with the onset of the Gandhian movement, which disrupted established political and social norms, introducing innovative ideas and methods. Mahatma Gandhi's relentless pursuit of freedom marked significant milestones such as the non-violent non-cooperation movement of 1920-22, the civil disobedience movement of 1930-31, and the Quit India movement of 1942. The non-violent non-cooperation movement triggered an unparalleled awakening, shifting Indian nationalism from a "middle-class movement" to a widespread emotional movement. An exploration of Nahal's fiction reveals his alignment with the humanistic tradition pioneered by Anand in the thirties and carried forward by Bhabani Bhattacharya and Kamala Markandaya in the fifties and sixties. Nahal's themes encompass tradition versus Westernization, spousal relationships, internationalism, East-West interactions, satire on anglicized Indians, the three phases of India's epic struggle for freedom, the partition of India into India and Muslim Pakistan, and the resulting agony for millions on both sides of the border.

A Narratological Study of Kamala Markandaya’s Two Virgins: Interpreting Narratives through Saroja’s Focalized View

This study endeavours to examine Kamala Markandaya’s Two Virgins (1973) through the approach of narratology and analyse focalization in the novel to understand the narrative of ‘two virgins’. The novel is noted for its nonconforming narrative as it challenges the patriarchy through its subject while providing insights about the ethical code for women. Two Virgins subsides the notion of patriarchal narrative which celebrates the idea of women as the embodiment of chastity and virtue. The study presents Markanadya’s manoeuvre of narration as she used Saroja’s perspective to narrate the story of two sisters which attracted extensive contemplation from the reader as well as critics. Through this narrratological study of narrator and focalization the reader will understand how the story is constructed and affect us. This study will provide a method to analyse focalization in any fiction through the narratology which navigates the reader to decode the meaning of narrative.

Depiction of Women and their condition in Amulya Malladi’s Novels

Today, Indian English Fiction is a significant part of the global literary canon, and female Indian novelists have earned international recognition on par with their male contemporaries. They added a fresh perspective to Indian writing. Ruth Prawar Jhabwala, Kamala Markandaya, Santa Rama Rau, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Shobha De, Bharati Mukherjee, Arundhati Roy, Gita Hariharan, Namita Gokhale, Anita Nair, Manju Kapoor, and many more are only few of the prominent Indian women authors. The items in this list are not all there are. Amulya Malladi is a brand-new, formidable figure in modern Indian English fiction. Borders, migration, 'illegal' immigration, repatriation, exile, refugees, assimilation, multiculturalism, and hybridity are only some of the topics and discourses that her works explore.

THE COFFER DAMS AND THE MAKING OF CIVILISED CULTURE REVISITED

Through the analysis of Kamala Markandaya’s The Coffer Dams and drawing on the groundbreaking works of the leading postcolonial theorists such as Bhabha, Fanon, Said and Young, this paper explores the East-West power relations in the postcolonial period that has brought about Western technological imperialism perpetuating the dynamics of Orientalism. The aim of this paper is to show how the Eastern stereotyped image is reinforced in the mechanised tech world, emphasising the fact that the binary oppositions such as nature/culture and civilised/uncivilised have survived colonialism spanning into the postcolonial tech age. Like its precursor, the neo-colonial project came to be justified by the need to bring civilisation to the Eastern world, but this time, by means of technological transformation and modernisation. This paper discloses that the Other remains the Other in the postcolonial Western mind because technology, as a new form of power, has sharpened the distinction between Western superiority and Eastern inferiority. Moreover, it is evident that the means may change but the desire to claim, control and curb the land of the Other still remains, as well as the price that has to be paid – that of dehumanisation and mechanisation of human beings.

Hunger and Human degradation in kamala Markandaya’s a handful of rice

The purpose of this article is to depict hunger and poverty, exploitation, deprivation, disgrace, anguish, and unemployment via the life of Ravi, the protagonist of Kamala Markandaya's novel A Handful of Rice (1966). This is a book about Indian society that is realistic. In this work, Kamala Markandaya attempts to address a variety of concerns. A Handful of Rice is a practice for teenagers who haphazardly rush to metropolitan places to make a living. The author explains that if there is nothing to give young people in towns, then the urban areas have nothing to offer them as well. With their little training, the employees become entangled in the urban shadows of malice. Individuals who surrender to sly techniques such as Damodar's get fame, recognition, and riches, but not a family life. Those who keep to trustworthiness, like the primary protagonist Ravi, obtain a regular, if not cheery, family life, but not reputation, distinction, or money, contrary to popular faith. Kamala Markandaya brings her hero to the most incredible fatal picture of his life near the end of the narrative. Despite the fact that the great majority of the impoverished lose their hopeless battle against poverty, they retain their inner voice. The novel's subsequent line is incredibly heartfelt and might be considered at its pinnacle.

MARKANDAYA'S NECTAR IN A SIEVE : AN OUTCRY OF RUSTIC LIFE

Kamala Markandaya's some of the fictions written on the background of British ruled India present the rural India and the outcry of the rustic people. The terror of technology encroaches the villages and plight of rural people is unbearable. Establishment of the Tannery in the village of of Rukmani shows us how introduction of Industrialization forces the villagers to give up their traditional livelihood. The village people are forced to go to the city and spend their lives in slums. The flow of village life has been portrayed realistically with an apprehension of bad impact of the industrial revolution.

Markandaya's fictions: an interpretation of Indo-British conflict

England ruled over India for a long span of time. As a result of this, Indian fiction writers of Pre and Post Independence had opportunity to portray the Indian Scenario during the British rule. In this article some Indian writers' works have been cited and at the same time Kamala Markandaya's vision is reflected through some of her novels. The picture we find in her novels are though fictitious yet have resemblance with the real picture of the British Indian under foreign rule. This article presents the sweet and sour but bitter relationship between the Indian people and the Britishers.

Woman as a symbol of sacrifice in Kamala Markandaya’s Novel Nectar in a sieve

Kamala Markandaya portrayal of life in the little villages and big cities of Indian rips open the sordid, the pathetic and the tragic side of life its perpetual fight against starvation in the pre and post Independent India. Her novels thus become faithful records of the means and ways of exploitation in various forms. An interesting aspect of modernity is the creative release of feminine sensibility. Women in modern India have not only played exciting and dangerous roles in the struggles for Independence but are also touched and toned by the consciousness of cultural changes. Kamala Markandaya’s novels seem to be fully reflective of the awakened feminine sensibility in modern India as she attempts to project the image of the changing traditional society. Women have always assessed themselves by the parameters marked by men. This accounts for the complacency in women as subalterns. They have been passive and submissive because this was the feminine stereotype that was accorded to them. It is incredible that even after sixty four years of freedom, Women’s empowerment is still in its nascent stage. Experience thus forms a vital ingredient in all women’s writings and this in turn serves to connect to the feminine world.

Eco-Marxist Study of Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve (1954)

The study aims to expose the capitalist components behind the metabolic rift and economic issues that Kamala Markandaya's novel Nectar in a Sieve (1954) creates. Additionally, this study sheds light on the commodification, objectification, and commodity fetishism of commodities, as well as alienation, degradation due to differences in exchange value and use value, and the alienation of land and labour due to capitalism. This study explains how capitalism emerged, how people suffered and experienced mental unrest, and how the author ultimately felt a need to accept modernity and change (emergence with capitalism). It also foresees the transition from rural to urban life, the emergence of the pure past into the capitalist present, and the eventual glimmer of hope.