THE FLOOD - KAMALA MARKANDAYA
Also read :-
- Look Back In Anger - John Osborne
- Saint Joan - George Bernard Shaw
- Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett
The Author:-
Kamala Markandaya is a Tamil-speaking writer of English. He started writing around 1950. She was born brought up in South India. She was educated at various schools there. Then she went to Madras University. After leaving college she worked first on a small Indian magazine and then for a short spell in a village in India. This experience provided the basis for her first novel, Nectar in a Sieve which appeared in 1954. Its theme was the life of a poor country family is South India. Her second novel, Some Inner Fury, was published three years later and centred on the effect of political and social upheavals in India on educated people shortly before the end of British rule. In her third novel. A Silence of Desire, she dealt with religious faith and doubt through the attitudes of middle-class man, of his wife and of some villagers towards a local Swami, or holy man. A forth novel Possession and several short stories have also appeared.
Through her writing, she helps us to develop a sense of compassion for others, and to share in their joys and sorrows. He work is marked by vividness and compassion. "The Flood" is an extract from Nectar in a Sieve.
The Title:-
The story is about the damage by a violent storm in India during the rainy season. The main food croon of India is rice. Rice needs plenty of water to grow. But rain at the wrong times or too much rain, can rain the crop. Then the family face starvation, Here Kamala Markandaya showed how the flood had wasted away the crops is an Indian village and brought misery to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan. So the the title of the story is "The Flood".
Introduction:-
Wordsworth, a great Romantic poet held Nature as kind, gentle and benevolent. It was holy and spiritual. It was the source of joy, happiness and peace. But is not always true. It is a often “red in tooth and claw". Sometimes it looks frightening and dreadful. It causes terrible loss to life and property of human beings. It also causes harm to animals.
We conclude that Nature is both benevolent and destructive In "The Flood" Kamala Markandaya benevolent and destructive.
Summary:-
Kamala Markandaya draws out attention to the horrible aspect of nature. She considers nature to be a wild animal. If a wild animal is tamed properly, it will serve like wise, If they are not trained they are dangerous. Nature is also like that. It is a capable of infecting serious damages to mankind if they are care-less and absent-minded.
Kamala got her daughter, Ira married in June. She spent money lavishly on the occasion. The marriage celebration consumed huge money and huge quantity of grains. After the marriage they scanty amount of money and meagre quantity of grains to spend on the repairing of their house and protecting their land against the flood.
The monsoon set in the early this year. It brought tremendous Rains thunder and lightening. The terrible storm socks the earth. Rains thundered and lightening lashed their house on land. The roofs of the houses of people were blown off. Walls collapsed and crops were totally damaged Nathan, her husband and herself were deeply concerned with damages brought by the storm and the flood.
Kali's hut was also rained by the storm. She requested the writer to lend them palm leaves for the repair of her hut. The writer could not help her neighbour as she had to thatch her own roof. She had exhausted the stock of her rice in her house, She had no grains to feed her children. She had fed her children with gruel for some days. Nathan dug out the cloth bundle of their savings from under the ground. The bundle contained twelve rupees. He took out two rupees from the bundle to buy rice. The writer and her husband visited grains shops, but dealers refuged to sell rice to them as they had no stock with them. Biswas, a grain dealer agreed to sell some rice after humble requests on fancy price.
Markandaya but the rice in her sari and folded in the load to her waist. On the way home they met Kenny, and other neighbours who alarmed them against the worst days ahead. This was a warning to Markandaya of face economic hardships yet to core The children lived on rice for sometime. Now there was danger of starvation Nathan broke the dam for eating fishes. Their family would live on fish while the flood ravaged rice fore sometime. He thought of planting more vegetables when then grains would be lust, they would live on fish, salt, vegetables till the next harvesting season.
We find a terrible picture of the damage and rained caused by the flood. The terrible storm accompanied with heavy downpour of rain cause flood resulting in countless miseries and sufferings the writer and a large population residing in the village of Kamala.
POINT AT A GLANCE:-
1. Nature is like a wild animal. If it is tamed, it can serve human being. But carelessness and absent-mindless will make nature wild and it can cause damages to human beings.
2. The writer got her daughter, Ira, married in June. Money was spent lavishly. The marriage took huge money and a huge quantity of grains.
3. The writer and her husband could save scanty money and meagre quantity of grains to spend on the repairing of their house and protecting their land against flood.
4. The monsoon set in. It brought tremendous rains, thunder and lightening. The terrible storm rocked earth.
5. The roofs of the houses of people were blown off Walls collapsed and crops were totally damaged. Many people were home- less. Many were killed.
6. Kali's hut was also ruined. She requested the writer to lend them palm leaves for the repairing of her hut. But Markandaya could not oblige her neighbour as she had to her own roof.
7. The writer had exhausted the stock of rice in her house. She had no grain to feed her children. She fed her children with gruel for some days.
8. Nathan brought out his savings. He had twelve rupees to buy rice.
9. The writer and Nathan visited grain shops, but the dealers refused to sell rice to then as they had no stock with them. Han man, a rice-dealer asked them to go to Biswas who give them some rice for two rupees.
10. On way back home they Kenny who was an European doctor. He was angry because the Indian did not seen to take action against their sufferings.
11. Children lived on rice for a few days. Then there was the danger of starvation. Nathan broke the dam for catching fish. Their family would live on fish. He thought of planting more vegetables. When the grains would be finished, they would keep their children on fish, salt and vegetables till the next harvesting season.
12. The writer was no more anxious. She thought of delight-full dreams. She wanted to sleep beside the small grain.