Kamala mark andaya biography of christopher
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Markandaya, Kamala
BORN: 1924, India
DIED: 2004, London
NATIONALITY: Indian
GENRE: Fiction
MAJOR WORKS:
Nectar in a Sieve (1954)
A Handful of Rice (1966)
Nowhere Man (1972)
Two Virgins (1973)
Overview
Kamala Markandaya is one of India's best-known novelists. The fact that her body of work, especially the novel The Nowhere Man, foreshadowed the explosion of published works by South Asian writers over the last several decades makes her novels required reading for anyone interested in Indian culture. Markandaya explores a number of issues in her novels, including urbanization, poverty, sexuality, gender, interracial relationships, India's struggle to maintain its identity in an increasingly Westernized world, and colonialism's impact.
Works in Biographical and Historical Context
Indian and British Influences Kamala Markandaya was born in Mysore, India, in 1924 to a privileged Brahmin family. Born Kamala Purnaiyas, and often known as Kamala Purnaiya Taylo
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Kamala Markandaya
Kamala Purnaiya (Kamala Markandaya), writer: born Mysore, India 1924; married Bertrand Taylor (died 1986; one daughter); died London 16 May 2004.
"Once a human being is dead there are people enough to provide the last decencies; perhaps it is so because only then can there be no question of further or recurring assistance being sought." So notes Rukmani, the female narrator of Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya.
Published in 1954 under this pseudonym, to acclaim and international sales, Markandaya's first novel, about life in a south India village, brought her a prominent place in the post-independence novel. She went on to publish 10 novels in all. Although she had lived for a while in the hurly-burly of journalism, in India and England, the success of Nectar in a Sieve made her prefer privacy, which enabled her to travel and write without the burden of being feted at every turn.
In a double-bind, there were many in Britain who did not realise that f
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Markandaya, Kamala 1924–2004
[A pseudonym]
(Kamala Purnaiya Taylor)
PERSONAL: Born 1924, in India; died of kidney failure, May 16, 2004, in London, England; married Bertrand Taylor; children: Kim (daughter). Education: Attended University of Madras. Religion: Hindu-Brahmin.
CAREER: Worked briefly for a small weekly newspaper in India; immigrated to England, 1948.
MEMBER: British samhälle of Authors.
AWARDS, HONORS: Nectar in a Sieve was named a notable nook of 1955 by the American Library Association; National Association of Independent Schools Award, 1967.
WRITINGS:
Nectar in a Sieve, Putnam (London, England), 1954, John Day (New York, NY), 1955, reprinted, Paradigm Publishing (St. Paul, MN), 2003.
Some Inner Fury, Putnam (London, England), 1955, John Day (New York, NY), 1956.
A Silence of Desire, Putnam (London, England), 1960, John Day (New York, NY), 1961.
Possession, John Day (New York, NY), 1963.
A Handful of Rice, John Day (New York, NY),