Kamala Das Revised

KAMALA DAS
A POET OF FEMININE
LONGINGS
BIOGRAPHY AND EARLY LIFE
Kamala Das born on March 31, 1934 in

Malabar, Kerala. Das is one of the best known
contemporary Indian Women Writers.
Writing in two languages, English and

Malayalam, Das has authored many
autobiographical works and novels.
Her upbringing in a conservative family deeply

influenced her writing, as she grappled with
the constraints of literature and patriarchy.
WORKS OF KAMALA DAS
Kamala Das’s poetry collections included:
Summer in Calcutta (1965),

The Descendants (1967)
The Old Playhouse, and Other Poems (1973).
Alphabet of Lust (1976)
A Doll for the Child Prostitute(1977) and
Padmavati the Harlot (1992).
Notable among her many Malayalam works were the

short-story collection Thanuppu (1967; “Cold”) and
the memoir Balyakalasmaranakal (1987; “Memories of
Childhood”).
Perhaps her best-known work was an autobiography,
which first appeared as a series of columns in the
weekly Malayalanadu, then in Malayalam as Ente
Katha (1973), and finally in English as My Story (1976).
LITERARY CAREER
◦ Das was noted for her many Malayalam short stories as well as many poems written in English.
◦ She was also a syndicated columnist.
◦ She once claimed that “poetry does not sell in this country (India)” but her forthright columns,
which sounded off on everything from women’s issues and child care to politics were popular.
◦ Das first book of poetry, Summer in Calcutta was released with fresh air in Indian English poetry.
◦ Her works are known for their originality, Versatility and the indigenous flavour of the soil.
◦ She had also held positions as vice chairperson in Kerala Sahitya Academy and in Kerala
Forestry Board President of the Children’s Film Society.
A PROLIFIC WRITER
◦ Das wrote more than 20 books.
◦ Her topics ranged from religion to politics to the beauty secrets of Nair women.
◦ Several well received collections of poetry in English, numerous volumes of
short stories, and essays on a broad spectrum of subjects. Since the publication
of her first collection of poetry, “Summer In Calcutta”(1965), Das has been
considered an important voice of her generation, exemplified by a break from
the past by writing in a distinctly Indian Persona rather than adopting the
techniques of the English modernists
◦ Das spontaneity often translated into whimsically and earned the ire of critics,
but it allowed her to explore the paradoxes of life and relationships with
emotional honesty.
HER CONVERSION TO ISLAM
◦ Kamala Das was born in a conservative Hindu Nair family and
had a royal ancestry.
◦ On 11 December, 1999 at the age of 65 Das converted to
Islam.
◦ She is also Kamala Suraiya, the name she took
after converting to Islam in 1999.
◦ She was also named Madhavikutti, the pseudonym she gave
herself when writing in Malayalam
◦ Finally, she is also ‘Ami’, a pet name she reserved for herself in
her memoirs.
THEMATIC CONCERNS
1) FRUSTRATION IN LOVE:
Kamala Das is a poet of love and sexual relationship.

Love and sex form the main theme in her poetry. Her
poetry is largely an expression of her frustration in love.
She always speaks of her unfulfilled love and expresses her
need for love.
In 'The Sunshine Cat' the poet abuses her husband

because he never loved her and never used her properly.
She calls him a selfish and cowardly man who was a
ruthless watcher of her sexual act with other men.
This frustration of her love boils over in poems like' The

Invitation' and 'The Looking Glass'.
2) FEMININE SENSIBILITY:
Kamala Das's poetry is a frank and straightforward expression of

feminine sensibility.
The poet Kamala Das is inextricably linked to Indian feminism's past;

in fact, hers is the country's first and most significant feminist
movement. No matter what she wrote, she always aimed to depict
some of the most contentious aspects of Indian culture, especially
the pressing challenges facing women.
Kamala Das experienced the tremendous tragedies of family life

firsthand. Her marriage had been a complex disaster. Throughout
her life, she saw partnerships fall apart. Kamala Das was forced to
deal with the upheaval of a disintegrating marriage. She observed
and experienced the blind patriarchy's power over her, which
crushed all of her goals, aspirations, and concerns for her health.
She revolts against the exploitation of women. She expresses anger

against the male dominance in the society. She attempted to
establish her identity as women through her poems.
At the same time she tried to impart an identity to Indian women.

Thus her poetry signals the advent of new phenomenon in Indo-
Anglican poetry.
3) TREATMENT OF SEX:
In fact, the poetry of Kamala Das is devoted to her

confessions of her sex life. Sexual humiliation becomes a
central theme in her poetry. She goes to the extreme in her
frank treatment of sex.
In 'The Looking Glass’ she says:
Gift him all, Gift him what makes you woman, the scent of
Long hair, the musk of sweat between the breasts, The warm
shock of menstrual blood, and all your Endless female
hungers.
Kamala Das has added a new dimension to the poetry of

love and sex. Her frank admission and bold treatment of her
private life make her a great confessional poet.
In this context she can be compared with Gauri
Deshpande.
4) AS A POET OF PROTEST:
Kamala is a poet of protest also. She rebels against

the conventions, traditions and accepted norms of
society.
Her protest is directed against injustices

and exploitation.
She made her poetry a vehicle for the expression of

her resentments against male domination over
women.
In 'The Sunshine Cat' she writes in a strong tone of

protest:
Being selfish
And a coward, the husband who neither loved nor
Used her, but was a ruthless watcher........
POETIC STYLE
AS A CONFESSIONAL POET:
◦ Kamala Das is a confessional poet. In this context she can be

compared with Ramanujan, Ezekiel, R. Lowell, Anne Sexton, Sylvia
Plath and J. Wright.
◦ As a true confessional poet she takes her readers into confidence

about her private life. She shows with remarkable frankness the
wrongs, injustice and the humiliation that she suffered in a male
dominant world. She has candidly described her traumatic
experiences of lovemaking and of the sexual act.
◦ We can easily find the tone of confession in her poems like 'The
Sunshine Cat', 'The Invitation', and 'The Looking Glass'. In 'The
Invitation' she has shamelessly described her sexual experience:
◦
◦ I want no other On the bed with him, the boundaries of Paradise had
shrunk to a mere Six by two and afterwards . . ..
2) MASTERY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
◦ A command of the English language is naturally the first
requirement of an Indo- Anglican poet.
◦ Kamala Das's command over English language deserves to be
admired. This command has duly been recognized by most of the
scholars.
◦ She has a vast range of vocabulary. She understands the precise
meanings of words. She can differentiate between the shades of
meanings.
◦ We may take any poem by Kamala Das, and we shall find
evidence of her command on the English language.
3) CHOICE OF WORDS AND PHRASES
◦ Kamala Das deserves high praise for her choice of words and for combining those
words into phrases, clauses and sentences.
◦ In the choice of words she exercises a special care. Her words are neither splendid nor
glittering. According to the requirements of the poem, Kamala Das is able to use simple
and tough words.
◦ She is a poet in the confessional mode and thus her tone is conversational and her
diction is often colloquial. The words come to her effortlessly and become one with
emotions.
◦ Kamala Das reveals a mastery of phrases also. Here is an example of her use of words:
“Cowering Beneath your monstrous ego I ate the magic

Became a dwarf.”
[The Old Playhouse].
4) USE OF IMAGERY
◦ The poetry of Kamala Das abounds in imagery. Her imagery covers a wide
range. It is by no means monotonous or boring. It is suggestive and functional.
◦ Her images and symbols are taken from the commonplace. They reveal the
poet's own life. They fully support the theme of her poetry.
◦ In her poetry the imagery of love and sex is predominant. 'The Freaks', 'The
Sunshine Cat' and 'The Old Playhouse' deal with such imagery.
◦ Some of her poems deal with the imagery of sights witnessed by the poet
herself.
◦ In 'A Hot Noon in Malabar' we get a catalogue of sights. Then there is the
imagery of motherhood. Her ‘Jaisurya' is a fine example of it.
CONCLUSION
◦ Kamala Suraiyya formerly known as Kamala Das , was a major Indian English
poet and littérateur and at the same time a leading Malayalam author from
Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and
autobiography, while her oeuvre in English, written under the name Kamala
Das, is noted for the fiery poems and explicit autobiography. Her open and
honest treatment of female sexuality, free from any sense of guilt, infused her
writing with power, but also marked her as an iconoclast in her generation.
The critics generally admire as for her franker treatment of love and sex, bold
presentation and the confessional statements.

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KAMALA DAS

Kamala Das born on March 31, 1934 in

Writing in two languages, English and

Her upbringing in a conservative family deeply

Kamala Das’s poetry collections included:

Summer in Calcutta (1965),

Notable among her many Malayalam works were the

◦ She was also a syndicated columnist.

Kamala Das is a poet of love and sexual relationship.

In 'The Sunshine Cat' the poet abuses her husband

This frustration of her love boils over in poems like' The

Kamala Das's poetry is a frank and straightforward expression of

The poet Kamala Das is inextricably linked to Indian feminism's past;

Kamala Das experienced the tremendous tragedies of family life

She revolts against the exploitation of women. She expresses anger

At the same time she tried to impart an identity to Indian women.

In fact, the poetry of Kamala Das is devoted to her

In 'The Looking Glass’ she says:

Kamala Das has added a new dimension to the poetry of

Kamala is a poet of protest also. She rebels against

Her protest is directed against injustices

She made her poetry a vehicle for the expression of

In 'The Sunshine Cat' she writes in a strong tone of

◦ Kamala Das is a confessional poet. In this context she can be

◦ As a true confessional poet she takes her readers into confidence

“Cowering Beneath your monstrous ego I ate the magic

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