Madhavikutty

They say, behind every successful man, there is a woman. But don't you feel it is the other way round. Even now behind every successful writer, there is an encouraging and supporting husband. Is it necessary to have such a man in a female writer's life? If my husband had not been sympathetic to some degree, I would not have been a writer at all. I know of women who decided to become writers or artists, but then change their mind later because of the interference from the husbands. Mine not only turned away but welcomed. He took some pride in my writing which was a great help to me. How did you evolve and grow yourself as years went by, from a young bride to a wife and a mother? How did these roles or changes in life help you grow as a person and creative writer? Growth is certainly gratifying because you need to have many  avatars, avataram in one life. I had to experience, I had to see things, I had to hear things and I was in a hurry. Another point is, Shobha, we mi...

Kamala Das  has always been daring and forthright. She has criticised the tradition-bound, conservative society which, of course, was always harsh on her unconventional life style. One thing is sure: She was far ahead of many other Indian writers in her ideas, unconcerned about what others thought of her. Excerpts from an hour-long interview with  Shobha Warrier . Ladies and gentlemen, Kamala Das in inimitable style! You expressed your feelings through different media -- poetry, short stories, painting. Can we categories these as different faces of a woman, or the different roles that she has to don, like that of a wife, mother, lover etc? I think it is very difficult to separate any person. A person is the sum total of her experiences. I went on experimenting with painting, poetry, fiction, drama. I am also a columnist. I think I have become a professional writer as it is difficult remaining a poet because poetry doesn't sell in this country. I have to become a ...

'Allah told me that in order to be effective, you should have political power' K amala Suraiya  (Kamala Das a.k.a Madhavikutty in her pre-Islamic days) continues to shock the straight-laced Malayalees. One of India's best-known English poets and shortstory writers, Suraiya, who abandoned Hinduism to convert to Islam last December, launched a national political party last week. Christened as the Lok Seva Party, the new political party, she says, emerged from her conviction that social change could be possible in India only through political power. But Suraiya, 68, and with near-blind eyes puts forward another reason that compelled her to embrace the political vocation -- Allah. "Allah inspired me to launch this party," she says. Before embarking on the political mission, Suraiya says she carried out three months of meditation and prayer before Allah. Suraiya has been shocking conservative Indians for many years now. It all began with her autobiography...

I was reading in a recent interview (The Rediff Interview |  http://goo.gl/Gk1ww6 ) of Kamala Das that she has, in fact, been wearing purdah, off and on for about 25 years. I remember, I remember. It was in Sri Lanka in 1983 when the great riots had broken out. The small community of Indian expats in Colombo had become collateral targets of the rampaging mobs. And we were all gibbering with fright. Those who could took the first Air Lanka flight back to India; those who couldn't held small councils of war, where strategies for survival were feverishly discussed. At one of these, I remember, Kamala Das (whose husband was posted there as a senior World Bank official) interrupted the proceedings by saying she had the perfect solution. We all looked at her. "I've got a special Pakistani suit made," she said simply, "If there's any trouble, I shall simply wear that. Nobody will even guess that I'm Indian." This was a brainwave, which onl...

എനിക്ക്‌ കമലാദാസ്‌ എന്ന മാധവിക്കുട്ടിയെ ഒരിക്കലും മറക്കാന്‍ സാധ്യമല്ല. അതിന്‌ കാരണം കമല എനിക്ക്‌ തന്ന ഒരു മോതിരമാണ്‌. ദിവസവും വലതുകയ്യിലെ മോതിരവിരലില്‍ ഞാനാമോതിരം ഇടുമ്പോള്‍ കമലയുടെ സുന്ദരമായ വിശാലനയനങ്ങളും പുഞ്ചിരി തത്തിക്കളിക്കുന്ന ചുണ്ടുകളും എന്റെ ഓര്‍മ്മയില്‍ ഓടിയെത്തും. കമലയെ ഞാന്‍ പരിചയപ്പെട്ടത്‌ കമല മതം മാറി മുസ്ലിമായതിന്‌ ശേഷമാണ്‌. മാധവിക്കുട്ടിയുടെ ചെറുകഥകളില്‍ കൂടിയും ഫെമിനയിലെയും ഈവ്സ്‌ വീക്കിലിയിലെ ഇംഗ്ലീഷ്‌ കവിതകളില്‍ കൂടിയും നീര്‍മാതളം പൂത്തപ്പോള്‍ എന്ന മനോഹരമായ പുസ്തകത്തില്‍ കൂടിയും മാധവിക്കുട്ടി എന്ന കമലാദാസ്‌ ലോകത്തിലെമ്പാടുമുള്ളവര്‍ക്കെന്ന പോലെ എനിക്കും സുപരിചിതയായിരുന്നു. കമല മതം മാറുന്നു എന്ന്‌ പ്രസ്താവിച്ചതും ഒരു മീറ്റിംഗില്‍ വച്ചായിരുന്നു. കമലാദാസ്‌ മുസ്ലിമായി മതം മാറി അബ്ദുള്‍സമദ്‌ സമദാനിയെ വിവാഹം കഴിക്കാന്‍ പോകുന്നു എന്ന വാര്‍ത്ത കേരളത്തിലേയും ലോകമെമ്പാടുമുള്ള മലയാളികളേയും അക്ഷരാര്‍ത്ഥത്തില്‍ ഞെട്ടിച്ചു. അന്ന്‌ ഇന്ത്യന്‍ എക്സ്പ്രസിലായിരുന്ന ഞാന്‍ എന്റെ സഹപ്രവര്‍ത്തകനായ ഇപ്പോള്‍ ഹിന്ദുവിലുള്ള എം.കെ.സുധിയോടൊപ്പമാണ്‌ വാര്‍ത്ത കവര്‍ ചെയ്യാന്‍ രാത്രി അവരുടെ ...

Excerpts from an astonishingly intimate new memoir. The story of the heady love and dizzying religion, which exploded the life of writer  Kamala Das . One last time BLISS IN THE SCENT OF HIS PERSPIRATION I don’t know about it when it happens, and can’t imagine why, but suddenly aristocratic, upper-caste Hindu Kamala Das, lover of Krishna, descendant of rajas, decides to embrace Islam. Without any hint or warning to me, she bursts back into the glare of CNN, Asianet, media across Asia, in the biggest scandal of her scandalous career. On 16 December 1999, amidst a storm of controversy, in a one minute home ceremony, she converts. I have no idea what’s going on, neither do my informants, and I’m embarrassed Kamala hasn’t told me anything herself. I try to call her, but her phone is disconnected. I reach her son Monu in Delhi, and he says a state restraining order prevents Kamala from speaking to journalists or groups, that she is receiving death threats, ...