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Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya - 4* - My Review

I know many people read this book during their school years, but I somehow missed this one. The description is accurate: “In a small village in India, a simple peasant woman recalls her life as a child bride, a farmer's wife, and a devoted mother amidst fights to meet changing times, poverty, and disaster.” Published in 1954, it is the story of a tenant farming family living an arduous life in rural India. It begins with protagonist Rukhmani as an older woman looking back on her life.

This story depicts the hardships experienced by the rural poor. It portrays the slim line between survival and starvation, particularly weather-related perils, especially drought and floods, which ruin the crops. Both times of scarcity and times of plenty are described. The people generally accept their plight with stoicism.

Social changes are occurring, and conflicts arise when this traditional agrarian society encounters the forces of modernization. A tannery arrives in town and changes the economics and the lives of the inhabitants. A British doctor comes and goes, trying to help but not quite understanding the culture of the people he is attempting to help. Toward the end, it shifts to a city at a time when Rukmani and her husband must leave their village. One particularly touching scene occurs when they share what little they have with a person who has even less.

There is a lot of sadness in this novel. It is often a life-or-death struggle to keep from starving, but it also includes much love and perseverance. Women’s issues are emphasized, such as child marriage, patriarchy, fertility, and sacrifice. The writing is elegant in its minimalistic style. Rukmani and her family face many misfortunes and challenges. Their lives are filled with the uncertainties of mother nature, tragedies, betrayals, and upheaval, yet they struggle on, and still retain a modicum of hope. It is hard to say I “enjoyed” a book with so much sadness and hardship, but I appreciated it and can see why it is considered a classic.

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