LIFE AND FAMILY
Kamala was born on March 31st, 1934 in Punnayoorkulam in Kerala;
the daughter of the late V.M. Nair, former managing editor of
widely-circulated Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi and renowned
poetess Nalappat Balamani Amma. Her love of poetry began at an
early age through the influence of her great uncle, Nalapat
Narayan Menon, a prominent writer. Watching him work through the
day Kamala felt that her uncle had the best job in the world.
Her mother’s poems about motherhood and devotion to her husband
had a profound effect on her. So did the sacred writings kept by
the matriarchal community of Nayars.
She was privately educated till the age of 15 when she was
married to K. Madhava Das, a man much older than her. She was
only 16 when the first of her 3 sons was born. She says that she
"was mature enough to be a mother only when my third child was
born". She and her family later moved to Bombay and from there
to Calcutta before returning to Kerala.
Kamala and her sons shared a special bond – they were friends,
not just mother-and-sons. Her husband played a fatherly role
both for her and their children. Kamala says that her husband
was always ‘very understanding’. Always supportive and caring,
Kamala’s husband was her greatest admirer. “He was everything to
me. He was father, brother, husband so they say, friend. He
accepted my poetry and was very proud of me.” Though he was sick
for 3 years before he passed away, his presence brought her
tremendous joy and comfort. She stated that there "shall not be
another person so proud of me and my achievements".
When Kamala wished to begin writing, her husband supported her
decision to augment the family's income. Being a woman with
household chores to take care of, she could not use the
morning-till-night schedule enjoyed by her great uncle. She
would wait until nightfall after her family had gone to sleep
and would write until morning.
Kamala’s achievements extend well beyond poetry. She has tried
her hand at painting, fiction and even politics. After losing
the elections in 1984, she took to writing columns that tackled
everything from women's issues and childcare to politics.
In 1999, she converted to Islam.
Her faith has
given her strength, mental peace and "for the first time in my
life" joy and utter contentment.
Less than a year later, Kamala Surayya announced on plans to
register her political party 'Lok Seva’. The motto of her party
includes serving the nation, and propagating secular ideals
among the people and according to her, offers have started
pouring in for membership in her movement.
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These are just some of the comments Kamala’s writings have
drawn. A bilingual writer she writes effortlessly both in
Malayalam and in English while maintaining a high standard of
work in both languages. Her theme is physical love; her medium,
free verse. Her writing is intensely lyrical - sometimes soft
and musical, sometimes with a bitter edge to it.
Under the pen name ‘Madhavikutty’, her stories first appeared on
the Malayalam literary scene in the 50's and later more
frequently, in the sixties. She began publishing fiction in the
mid-60s with such collections as Mathilukal, Oru Pakshiyude
Manam and Thanuppu and immediately she was received as one of
the key figures in the "ultramodern" (postmodern) literary
movement.
In 1965, she published a collection of English poems titled
‘Summer in Calcutta’. Her other collections of English poems
include The Descendants (1967), The Old Playhouse and Other
Poems (1973); Manas (1975); Alphabet of Lust (1976); and Only
the Soul Knows How to Sing.
But it was her controversial memoir Ente Katha (My Story),
published in both Malayalam and English in 1975 that brought her
national attention and some international notoriety (Time
magazine featured her as an Indian confessional writer).
The memoir was a turning point for the women writers in Kerala.
It proved that barriers erected by society could be broken down.
The book opened a whole new world for women in literature as
themes that were once taboo were freely explored. The work made
it possible for women to write more candidly about sexuality as
a structure of oppression.
Over a decade after Ente Katha, Kamala followed it up with
Balyakala Smaranakal (1987) and Nirmathalam Poothakalam (1994).
Though written in a gentle, lyrical style, her memoirs are
charged with much rebellious anger aimed at her aristocratic
background and at many of the illustrious literary and cultural
figures born in her ancestral family. She exposed the rigidity
of traditional society and its attempt to manipulate thought
process to ward off any discontentment.
Unlike most of other Indian English poets, Kamala received no
academic education or training in poetry writing. She considers
this her greatest assent believing that “formal education here
makes mediocrity's out of everybody. They won't tolerate
brilliance, they won't tolerate independent thinking.”
Her writings do not exhibit any particular influence but are
original in their content and style. Female sexuality, sex and
its liberating impulses and the attempt of the society to
counter act it are forcibly portrayed in her literary
constructions, quite often as first person encounters.
She believes that "True literature can originate only from
tragedies and sorrows of life." And says that her "bitter
experiences in marriage" and her struggle to maintain a family
life " woke up the muse in me”.
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CRITICS AND CONTROVERSY
If an artist’s success is judged by the controversy he/she
attracts, then Kamala Das is surely the most successful of them
all. Ever since she emerged as a writer, controversies seem to
be her constant companion.
Her writings were termed ‘erotic and sexy’ and stirred up a
hornet’s nest among the conservative literary community in
Kerala. Her candid disclosure of her personal life and numerous
affairs in her autobiography led many to label her ‘immoral’ and
‘a nymphomaniac’. When she came back to the state – having
become famous in Calcutta – she was greeted by death threats and
a dead dog laid at her door.
Scarcely had that ruckus died down when she sparked off another
controversy – painting nudes. When she released her first nude
painting in the 1980s, she proclaimed: "I find the nude female
body the most beautiful in the world."
She sent shockwaves through the Malayali community once again
this time by embracing Islam. In December 1999, she became
Kamala Suraiya and clad in a black purdah pledged her allegiance
to Allah. At the same time she declared that she could never
“repose faith in Hinduism because Hindu gods never forgive. They
only punish." The Hindu fundamentalists of the VHP were not
happy and there were even threats on her life.
For her, conversion to Islam arose out of conviction and was not
a sudden decision. In those heady days immediately after her
conversion, she was the toast of Kerala's Muslim world. Clerics
and scholars flocked to her apartment in Kochi. The Women's
League, IUML's women's wing, adopted her as their patron.
However, it was soon apparent to the Muslim community that for
Suraiya donning the purdah didn't imply the surrender of her
high-spirited nature to be remolded according to Islam's moral
tenets. Her admirers soon turned critics. Now she faced death
threats from within the Muslim community. But the spunky lady
refused to be cowed by their threats. “I am not at all afraid of
dying," she said.
For every person who lauds her, there seem to be 2 others who
tear her down. Her critics have labeled her writings as
“unadulterated crap” and have accused her of “corrupting young
minds” with her “unintelligible poems”. They have questioned her
sanity and as she left the Hindu fold some even sighed “Good
riddance!” But, whether they heaped laurels on her or
acknowledged her with grudging admiration or simply spat their
curses at her, they all agree on one thing – she certainly is
unique!
Today, Kamala Das or Suraiya, as she is now known, continues her
life as a devout Muslim. She performs namaaz five times a day
with a special prayer at 3 a.m. She has no dearth of friends and
admirers in spite of scathing critics. Writing still remains her
first love. On a recent trip to Canada, she went on a writing
binge, penning 12 love verses on the trot. Her two new novels
Kavadam, in collaboration with her sister Sulochana and Amavasi,
with novelist K.L. Mohanavarma, have been sold out in many
bookshops. A Canadian film company is filming her
semi-autobiographical book My Story, with Suraiya putting in a
brief appearance.
"How fortunate it is to be in love!" she
comments, adding, "I have never considered falling in love as a
sin. On the contrary not being in love is the real sin for me."
A woman with a fierce and compulsively independent spirit, she
lives life on her own terms. No apologies – no regrets. To her,
life is a celebration. She seems to say, “This is who I am;
accept me or reject me – the choice is yours.”
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