Kamala Markandaya
Kamala Markandaya (1 January 1924 – 16 May 2004), pseudonym of Kamala Purnaiya, married name Kamala Taylor, was a British Indian novelist and journalist. She has been called "one of the most important Indian novelists writing in English". Life. Early life. Markandaya was born into an upper-middle-class Madhva Brahmin family. A native of Mysore, India, Markandaya was a graduate of Madras University, and afterwards published several short stories in Indian newspapers. After India declared its independence, Markandaya moved to Britain, though she still labelled herself an Indian expatriate long afterwards. Kamala was a descendant of diwan Purnaiya  and was fluent in Kannada and Marathi. Career. She was well-Known for writing about culture clash between Indian urban and rural societies, Markandaya's first published novel, "Nectar in a Sieve", was a bestseller and cited as an American Library Association Notable Book in 1955. Her other novels include "Some Inner Fury" (1955), "A Silence of Desire" (1960), "Possession" (1963), "A Handful of Rice" (1966), "The Nowhere Man" (1972), "Two Virgins" (1973), "The Golden Honeycomb" (1977), and "Pleasure City" (1982/1983). Death. Kamala Markandaya died aged 80 on 16 May 2004.