Kamala Markandaya
Historical/Social Context
Characters
Chapters 4-7
Vocabulary
100

Where was Kamala Markandaya born? 

India

100

What is the dominant religion in India? 

Hinduism

100

Who is the protagonist?  

Rukmani

100

Which big change has the village experienced in chapter 4? 

The building of a tannery

100

showing strong feeling or passion

vehement

200

Where did Kamala Markanday live when she wrote Nectar in a Sieve? 

Great Britain 

200

What is offered to a soon-to-be groom and his family? 

dowry

200

Who did Rukmani meet in the fields and invite to her house to meet her family? 

Kenny

200

How old was Ira when she marries?

14

200

in a way that does not show previous thought or planning

indiscriminately 

300

What did she study in England? 

Journalism 

300

India's social system, which began 3,000 years ago and is rooted in Hinduism

Caste 

300

Who was the matchmaker in chapter 6?

Old Granny

300

How much dowry was offered to find a husband? 

100 rupees

300

to lessen or weaken

abate

400

Which literary time period was Nectar in a Sieve published? 

Post-modernism 

400

What is the divorce rate in India?  

Less than 1% 

400

How does Rukmani describe Sivaji, the tenant manager who manages the land Nathan works on? 

Kind and humane

400

What natural disaster happened in chapter 7?

monsoon

400

To live through someone else's experiences

vicariously

500

Where did Markandaya find inspiration for the title of her novel?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Work Without Hope

500

Which country has the highest number of homeless children?

India

500

What kind gesture did Irawaddy do for Kenny when he visited their house?

She offered him rice and rice water.

500

Which event on the Blackfeet reservation had similar effects as the monsoon? 

The flood of 1964 (dam broke)

500

Not talkative; quiet and withdrawn

taciturn

M
e
n
u