In her novel Two Virgins (1975), Indian author Kamala Markandaya (1924–2004) embodies the themes of Eastern tradition versus Western commercialism and country life versus city life within the characters of Saroja and Lalitha, two very different sisters.

Saroja is the younger sister and Lalitha is the elder. They live in a rural Indian village. Saroja is delighted by life's simple pleasures—harvests, rain, the countryside's beauty, local sweets, and so on. Her elders' words of guidance take root in her heart. She looks forward to her traditional roles as wife and mother, and her roots are firmly planted in the village and its ways. Saroja represents Eastern traditional values and the virtues of country life.

On the other hand, her much more beautiful older sister, Lalitha, wants nothing more than to become a movie star. The cinema represents an element of Western culture that her elders warn her against. But Lalitha looks down on the village's ways and the cautionary tales of her elders (especially from one of her aunts). When she gets a role in a movie about village life, she is thrilled.

However, the cinema and the city are full of snares and heartbreak for those who are innocent. Sleazy Mr. Gupta, the movie director, exploits and seduces the young and lovely Lalitha. This is exactly what her elders had warned her about. Her reputation is ruined while her sister's remains unsullied.