Nectar In A Sieve

Kamala Markandaya's masterpiece available for 2023 as a Small Axes classic.

Set in a village in India shortly after Independence, child bride Nathan must survive poverty and disaster.Married as a child bride to Nathan, a tenant farmer she had never met, Rukmani works side by side in the fields with her husband to wrest a living from a land ravaged by droughts, monsoons, and insects. With fortitude and courage, she fights poverty and disaster. Written over 70 years ago, Nectar in a Sieve is as relevant now as when it was first published. The story of Rukmani and Nathan is the story of many Indian farmers yesterday and today. This new edition introduces a new generation of readers to a tragic tale made all the more relevant as temperatures soar in India and working the land becomes more and more challenging.