Biography of Kamala Suraiyya

Kamala Suraiyya (Malayalam: കമലാ സുരയ്യ). Madhavikutty (Malayalam: മാധവിക്കുട്ടി) (31 March 1934 – 31 May 2009) was an Indian writer who wrote in English and Malayalam, her native language. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and autobiography.

She openly and honestly discussed and wrote about the sexual desires of Indian women, which made her an iconoclast of her generation.On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at a hospital in Pune.

Kamala Das was born in Punnayurkulam, Thrissur District in Kerala, on March 31, 1934, to V. M. Nair, a former managing editor of the widely-circulated Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi, and Nalappatt Balamani Amma, a renowned Malayali poetess.

She spent her childhood between Calcutta, where her father was employed as a senior officer in the Walford Transport Company that sold Bentley and Rolls Royce automobiles, and the Nalappatt ancestral home in Punnayurkulam.

Like her mother, Kamala Das also excelled in writing. Her love of poetry began at an early age through the influence of her great uncle, Nalappatt Narayana Menon, a prominent writer. However, she did not start writing professionally until she got married and became a mother.

Kamala wished to begin writing, her husband supported her decision to augment the family’s income. She would often wait until nightfall after her family had gone to sleep and would write until morning: “There was only the kitchen table where I would cut vegetables, and after all the plates and things were cleared, I would sit there and start typing”. This rigorous schedule took its toll upon her health.

She was noted for her many Malayalam short stories as well as many poems written in English. Das 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, Summer In Calcutta was a promising start. She wrote chiefly of love, its betrayal, and the consequent anguish. Ms. Das abandoned the certainties offered by an archaic, and somewhat sterile, aestheticism for an independence of mind and body at a time when Indian women poets were still expected to write about fantasies of eternal, bloodless, unrequited love.

At the age of 42, she published her autobiography, My Story, which was later translated into many foreign languages.

Kamala Das wrote on a diverse range of topics, often disparate- from the story of a poor old servant, about the sexual disposition of upper middle class women living near a metropolitan city or in the middle of the ghetto. Some of her better-known stories include Pakshiyude Manam, Neypayasam, Thanuppu, and Chandana Marangal. She wrote a few novels, out of whichNeermathalam Pootha Kalam, which was received favourably by the reading public as well as the critics, stands out.

She travelled extensively to read poetry to Germany’s University of Duisburg-Essen, University of Bonn and University of Duisburg universities, Adelaide Writer’s Festival , Frankfurt Book Fair, University of Kingston, Jamaica, Singapore, and South Bank Festival (London), Concordia University (Montreal, Canada), etc. Her works are available in French, Spanish, Russian, German and Japanese.

She has also held positions as Vice chairperson in Kerala Sahitya Academy, chairperson in Kerala forestry Board, President of the Kerala Children’s Film Society, editor of Poet magazine and Poetry editor of Illustrated Weekly of India.

She was born in a conservative Hindu Nair (Nallappattu) family having Royal anscestry, she embraced Islam in 1999 at the age of 65 and assumed the name Kamala Suraiyya. Her conversion was somewhat controversial, among social and literary circles. Later, she said it was not worth it to change one’s religion.

Personal Life 

Kamala Das had three sons – M D Nalapat, Chinnen Das and Jayasurya Das. Madhav Das Nalapat, the eldest, is married to Princess Lakshmi Bayi (daughter of M.R.Ry. Sri Chembrol Raja Raja Varma Avargal) from the Travancore Royal House. He holds the UNESCO Peace Chair and Professor of geopolitics at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He was formerly a resident editor of the Times of India.

She had a sexual relationship with Sadiq Ali, an Islamic scholar who was much younger in age. She herself describes her visit to Sadiq Ali’s home as follows:

“I was almost asleep when Sadiq Ali climbed in beside me, holding me, breathing softly, whispering endearments, kissing my face, breasts … and when he entered me, it was the first time I had ever experienced what it was like to feel a man from the inside.” (- Merrily Weisbord)

Womanhood in her Poetry 

Das’ uncanny honesty extends to her exploration of womanhood and love. In her poem “An Introduction” from Summer in Calcutta, the narrator says, “I am every/ Woman who seeks love” (de Souza 10). Though Amar Dwivedi criticizes Das for this “self imposed and not natural” universality, this feeling of oneness permeates her poetry (303). In Das’ eyes, womanhood involves certain collective experiences. Indian women, however, do not discuss these experiences in deference to social mores. Das consistently refuses to accept their silence. Feelings of longing and loss are not confined to a private misery. They are invited into the public sphere and acknowledged. Das seems to insist they are normal and have been felt by women across time. In “The Maggots” from the collection, The Descendants, Das corroborates just how old the sufferings of women are. She frames the pain of lost love with ancient Hindu myths (de Souza 13). On their last night together, Krishna asks Radha if she is disturbed by his kisses. Radha says, “No, not at all, but thought, What is/ It to the corpse if the maggots nip?” (de Souza 6-7). Radha’s pain is searing, and her silence is given voice by Das. Furthermore, by making a powerful goddess prey to such thoughts, it serves as a validation for ordinary women to have similar feelings.

Eroticism in her Poetry 

Coupled with her exploration of women’s needs is an attention to eroticism. The longing to lose one’s self in passionate love is discussed in “The Looking Glass” from The Descendants. The narrator of the poem urges women to give their man “what makes you women” (de Souza 15). The things which society suggests are dirty or taboo are the very things which the women are supposed to give. The “musk of sweat between breasts/ The warm shock of menstrual blood” should not be hidden from one’s beloved. In the narrator’s eyes, love should be defined by this type of unconditional honesty. A woman should “Stand nude before the glass with him,” and allow her lover to see her exactly as she is. Likewise, the woman should appreciate even the “fond details” of her lover, such as “the jerky way he/ Urinates”. Even if the woman may have to live “Without him” someday, the narrator does not seem to favor bridling one’s passions to protect one’s self. A restrained love seems to be no love at all; only a total immersion in love can do justice to this experience. Much like the creators of ancient Tantric art, Das makes no attempt to hide the sensuality of the human form; her work seems to celebrate its joyous potential while acknowledging its concurrent dangers.

Feminism 

Das once said, “I always wanted love, and if you don’t get it within your home, you stray a little”(Warrior interview). Though some might label Das as “a feminist” for her candor in dealing with women’s needs and desires, Das “has never tried to identify herself with any particular version of feminist activism” (Raveendran 52). Das’ views can be characterized as “a gut response,” a reaction that, like her poetry, is unfettered by other’s notions of right and wrong. Nonetheless, poet Eunice de Souza claims that Das has “mapped out the terrain for post-colonial women in social and linguistic terms”. Das has ventured into areas unclaimed by society and provided a point of reference for her colleagues. She has transcended the role of a poet and simply embraced the role of a very honest woman.

Death 

On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at a hospital in Pune. Her body was flown to her home state of Kerala. She was buried at the Palayam Juma Masjid at Thiruvanathapuram with full state honour.

Awards and other Recognitions 

Kamala Das has received many awards for her literary contribution, including:
Nominated and shortlisted for Nobel Prize in 1984.
Asian Poetry Prize-1998
Kent Award for English Writing from Asian Countries-1999
Asian World Prize-2000
Ezhuthachan Award-2009
Sahitya Academy Award-2003
Vayalar Award2001
Kerala Sahitya Academy Award-2005
Muttathu Varkey Award

She was a longtime friend of Canadian writer Merrily Weisbord, who published a memoir of their friendship, The Love Queen of Malabar, in 2010.

Merrily Weisbord has contributed to this biography with “The Love Queen of Malabar”.