Environmental Depletion in India and Nectar in Sieve

Author(s): Dr. Kumari Shikha

Abstract:

Kamala Markandaya wrote just after independence when new India’s prime agenda was its and the country had opened its eyes to post-colonial problems where colonial treatments were carried on by the local rich. However, though, pollution was not in agenda before Independence but a close look tells us that the road to pollution had been built long ago. The authorities in their understanding of development could not envisage the later effect of clearing the precious forests. In her novels the gradual killing of the greenery at the hands of modernization can be seen. When the novel is read from the ecocritical perspective it is observed that her novel Nectar in Sieve has nature as one of the protagonists of the novel. It also tells us about the power of monsoon rain in making or ruining the lives of the millions. The novel was published in 1954 and not much difference can be noticed even half century later. Besides post-colonial themes her novels reflect a key fact, that is, how nature shapes the culture and how time and again people fail to realize this and fall victim to the consequences. Nature can upset the social, cultural, economic and political setting. The paper uses ecocriticism as the base for the present study.

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Pages: 39-41     |    2 View     |    0 Download