Lotus Slave - A Tribute to Poetess Late Kamala Das

SYNOPSIS : Late Kamala Das  was born on March 31st, 1934 in a village place named as Punnayoorkulam, Trichur District  in Kerala. Born as the daughter of the late V.M. Nair, former managing editor of widely-circulated, popular  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 too. Her mother’s poems about motherhood and devotion to her husband had a profound effect on her. Her writings, especially poems do not exhibit any particular influence but are original in their content and style. Female sexuality, sexual characteristics and its healing 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”. - WILLIAMSJI MAVELI

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My tribute Poem to my favorite Poetess Late Kamala Das ( means ( Lotus Slave )

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Whenever he touch me,

The body celebrates love;

And not lust as you all say;

This is a beautiful ceremony of

Mind and the body, which

Enthrall all humans  

A word " Kamala " in Malayalam

 means " the Lotus "; the flower in the lake;

A Poetess "Kamala Das " means "The slave of Lotus "

The lake is her love life;

The lotus is her face; her eyes; her cheeks

She was a lotus to me as a Poetess of Love;

She had always believed that writing is

a very courageous art form.

Whenever he touch me,

The body celebrates love;

And not lust as you all say;

This is a beautiful ceremony of

Mind and the body, which

Enthrall all humans  

For a true writer does not just string together

a few words that sound correct or proper;

instead using words, she is able to capture

the essence of her soul and express it to her readers.

Such openness, baring the deepest, darkest

corners of the mind and spirit without

 fear is what sets apart the novice from the master.

One such master of the pen is Kamala Das.

Whenever he touch me,

The body celebrates love;

And not lust as you all say;

This is a beautiful ceremony of

Mind and the body, which

Enthrall all humans  

She is known by different names –

 to her Malayalam readers as Madhavikutty,

 to her English audience as Kamala Das

 and in her latest avatar as Kamala Suraiyya;

but the spirit is the same – bold,

Forthright and often painfully honest.

Known internationally for her profoundly feminine,

 Lyrical English poetry and at home for

 Her short stories in Malayalam

Whenever he touch me,

The body celebrates love;

And not lust as you all say;

This is a beautiful ceremony of

Mind and the body, which

Enthrall all humans  

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BY

WILLIAMSJI MAVELI

NOTE: This poem is a tribute to Late Kamala Das, my favorite Malayalam Poetess who passed away on 31st May, 2009  (Born on  March 1934 – Died on 31 May 2009)