Kamala Markandaya, born Kamala Purnaiya and later known as Kamala Taylor, was a prominent British Indian novelist and journalist. Born on June 23, 1924, she became renowned for her thoughtful exploration of culture clashes in Indian urban and rural societies.

Her first novel, Nectar in a Sieve, published in 1954, was a bestseller and recognized as an American Library Association Notable Book in 1955. The novel tells the poignant story of an Indian peasant woman and examines themes of poverty and change.

Markandaya continued to write prolifically, producing works such as Some Inner Fury (1955), A Silence of Desire (1960), Possession (1963), A Handful of Rice (1966), and The Nowhere Man (1972). Her literary contributions have established her as one of the most important Indian novelists writing in English.