Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve and Deepa Mehta's Water

Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve and Deepa Mehta's Water are two pieces of Indian media that share the same general meaning, however different the circumstance and the reaction to them may be. The creators have fairly, but not entirely similar paths down their lives have been taken. Both pieces of art revolve around women who must overcome the challenge of change in order to be better in life, whatever route and form it takes shape in. Nectar in a Sieve's message was very more accepting by the public, possibly because of its target audience. Deepa Mehta's Water, which was meant for Indian viewers caused death threats and riots, among a few other things.

Both the creators of the novel and movie are similar in more ways than one. Kamala Markandaya was a Indo-British writer, whose work seemed to revolve around two parts of Indian history in the twentieth century, “The early Anglophone writing around the independence movement … and then a leap over several decades to the post-Rusdie era.” (George) She was born in Mysore, India in 1924 and had attended the University of Madras and studied history, and had also worked as a journalist before her first novel was published, Nectar in a Sieve. (Assisi)

Deepa Mehta, however was born in the midst of Markandaya's time as a journalist, a similarity lies that the two of them both have went through Universities with majors that have nothing to do with writing or film-making, the things Marandaya and Mehta are known for, respectively. Mehta was born in 1949, and had received a bachelor’s and masters degree in philosophy. (Post) Both women were born, raised, and educated in India. However they both went on to live in different places. Markandaya had lived in England since she was twenty-fi...

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...ly changing world, but one remains oppressed by certain groups while the other basks in fame. Though both of these pieces are telling the same message, there is no doubt that the world has changed, and that the people of the world should move along with it.

Works Cited

Assisi, Francis C. "Homage to Kamale Markandaya." Beilharz. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.

George, Rosemary M. "Where in the World Did Kamala Markandaya Go?" Novel: A Forum on Fiction. Providence: Brown University., n.d. 400-09. Print.

Kumar, Virendra, and Sarita Kanth. "Bride Burning." Lancet 364.(2004): 18-19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar in a Sieve. Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1954. Print.

"Mehta, Deepa." Postcolonial Studies Emory. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

Water. Dir. Deepa Mehta. Deepa Mehta Films, 2005. DVD.