kamala surayya poems: Kamala Surayya also known as Kamala Das, was a very straightforward poet. Kamala Surayya mostly writes in English and Malayalam, the theme of her poetry explores love and female rights. She was a profound feminist an idol of all females and a distinguished figure in Indian literature.
1-kamala surayya poems: My Grandmother’s House
There is a house now far away where once
I received love … That woman died,
The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved
Among books, I was then too young
To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon
How often I think of going
There, to peer through blind eyes of windows or
Just listen to the frozen air,
Or in wild despair, pick an armful of
Darkness to bring it here to lie
Behind my bedroom door like a brooding
Dog…you cannot believe, darling,
Can you, that I lived in such a house and
Was proud, and loved…. I who have lost
My way and beg now at strangers’ doors to
Receive love, at least in small change?
Explanation :
The Poem “My Grandmother’s House” is a nostalgic poem. The poet remembers her days of childhood when she went to her grandmother’s house. The house of her grandmother is referred to as the symbol of fondness and tenderness. The poem also gives the difference between her childhood days and the present, highlighting the emotional connection with her grandmother.
2- A Hot Noon in Malabar
A hot noon in Malabar,
the houses went to sleep.
The crows became silent.
The coconut trees stood stock-still,
dreaming of the rains,
drenched, drenched.
Suddenly he turned up at the gate,
he did not look to right or left,
he came straight to me,
I who stood there waiting
at a noon in Malabar.
The daylight
crimson and brutal,
on the weed-grown hedge.
he did not look to right or left
he did not look at me.
The wind is still
and we are still
but the green compound quivers,
and the crows are silent,
Silent.
Explanation :
In the poem “A Hot Noon in Malaba” the poet creates a scene of a warm and blazing afternoon on the Malabar coast, India. The poet Kamala Surayya says that in the flaming afternoon, the house went to sleep, the crows became quiet and the coconut trees were like a statute. In the middle of the blazing heat came but there was no conversion. The poem the nature and environment very beautifully.
3-kamala surayya poems: “My Mother at Sixty-Six”
Driving from my parent’s
home to Cochin
last Friday
morning,
I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed,
her face ashen like
that
of a corpse
and realized with
pain
that she was as old as
she looked
but soon
put that thought away,
and looked
out at young
trees sprinting, the
cattle
on a graced
hill,
frisking as though they were
stark
raving
mad,
and thought of
Napoleon
at exile,
and it was all
right.
Explanation :
The poem “My Mother at Sixty-Six” has a melancholic theme. The poem describes a car drive with her mother and the sentiments within her. The poet Kamala Surayya looks at the wrinkles in the face of her mother she realizes that her mother is as old as she looks. this scene brings a sense of unhappiness and the unavoidable concept of time. As the poet furthers, she sees young trees and small castles that greatly contrast her mother’s old age. In the end, the poet realizes that aging is a universal truth.
4- “The Sunshine Cat”
Here comes the sunshine cat
purring on feet
softly padding
on silent feet
bringing into
the house
sunny
warmth
of
another
morning
he’s been out all night
on the tiles
and
frost-sprinkled
tiled roof
and
has come to stretch his
small
gray
sun-warmed
body
in the
bathroom
where
he
sits
by
the
window
and cleans his fur
then
basks
sleepily
in the sun
looking out at
the
world
with
lazy
green
eyes.
Explanation :
The poem “The Sunshine Cat” has a very calm and quiet theme. The poet Kamala Surayya describes a cat that has left its house and comes back in the morning. The cat stretches and cleans her toes and then sleeps on the window under the warm rays of the sun. The poet describes a delightful moment in nature very beautifully.
5-kamala surayya poems: “Words”
A word is born in a mind
And dies in a mouth
As the lips give it birth
It dies as soon
And is born again
As the air beats it down
Between our tongues.
It is you who say
Words are empty shells
And we hear the waves
Of the sea of truth
Roar in your voice.
It is you who cry
Words are not golden
And we feel the rush
Of the million
Shooting stars
Falling about you.
There is no
Other way
For words to speak
Except through
You and us.
You must say
Your say
Or else
The saying
Of a million men
Is nothing.
You must not sit
Like God
On a high cloud
And see
The world die.
Explanation :
The poem “Words” is an exciting poem. The poet Kamala Surayya describes how words are an important part of human life. The poet explores the whole process of words, from generating them in the minds to using them in speeches. the poet says that words can shape and end any relationship.
6- An Introduction
I don’t know politics but I know the names
Of those in power, and can repeat them like
Days of week, or names of months, beginning with Nehru.
I amIndian, very brown, born inMalabar,
I speak three languages, write in
Two, dream in one.
Don’t write in English, they said, English is
Not your mother-tongue. Why not leave
Me alone, critics, friends, visiting cousins,
Every one of you? Why not let me speak in
Any language I like? The language I speak,
Becomes mine, its distortions, its queernesses
All mine, mine alone.
It is half English, halfIndian, funny perhaps, but it is honest,
It is as human as I am human, don’t
You see? It voices my joys, my longings, my
Hopes, and it is useful to me as cawing
Is to crows or roaring to the lions, it
Is human speech, the speech of the mind that is
Here and not there, a mind that sees and hears and
Is aware. Not the deaf, blind speech
Of trees in storm or of monsoon clouds or of rain or the
Incoherent mutterings of the blazing
Funeral pyre. I was child, and later they
Told me I grew, for I became tall, my limbs
Swelled and one or two places sprouted hair.
WhenI asked for love, not knowing what else to ask
For, he drew a youth of sixteen into the
Bedroom and closed the door, He did not beat me
But my sad woman-body felt so beaten.
The weight of my breasts and womb crushed me.
I shrank Pitifully.
Then … I wore a shirt and my
Brother’s trousers, cut my hair short and ignored
My womanliness. Dress in sarees, be girl
Be wife, they said. Be embroiderer, be cook,
Be a quarreller with servants. Fit in. Oh,
Belong, cried the categorizers. Don’t sit
On walls or peep in through our lace-draped windows.
Be Amy, or be Kamala. Or, better
Still, be Madhavikutty. It is time to
Choose a name, a role. Don’t play pretending games.
Don’t play at schizophrenia or be a
Nympho. Don’t cry embarrassingly loud when
Jilted in love … I met a man, loved him. Call
Him not by any name, he is every man
Who wants. a woman, just as I am every
Woman who seeks love. In him… the hungry haste
Of rivers, in me… the oceans’ tireless
Waiting. Who are you, I ask each and everyone,
The answer is, it is I. Anywhere and,
Everywhere, I see the one who calls himself I
In this world, he is tightly packed like the
Sword in its sheath. It is I who drink lonely
Drinks at twelve, midnight, in hotels of strange towns,
It is I who laugh, it is I who make love
And then, feel shame, it is I who lie dying
With a rattle in my throat. I am sinner,
I am saint. I am the beloved and the
Betrayed. I have no joys that are not yours, no
Aches which are not yours. I too call myself I.
Explanation :
The poem “An Introduction” is a thought-provoking poem by Kamala Surayya. The poem shows the problems and complexities of society, gender, and societal expectations. The poet wants to change the traditional roles assigned to women and asserts her right to freedom and individuality. The poem is raw and gives an honest view of the society.
What is the most famous Kamala Das Poem?
“A Hot Noon in Malabar” is the most famous Kamala Das Poem.
7- The Looking Glass
Getting a man to love you is easy
Only be honest about your wants as
Woman. Stand nude before the glass with him
So that he sees himself the stronger one
And believes it so, and you so much more
Softer, younger, lovelier. Admit your
Admiration. Notice the perfection
Of his limbs, his eyes reddening under
The shower, the shy walk across the bathroom floor,
Dropping towels, and the jerky way he
Urinates. All the fond details that make
Him male and your only man. 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. Oh yes, getting
A man to love is easy, but living
Without him afterwards may have to be
Faced. A living without life when you move
Around, meeting strangers, with your eyes that
Gave up their search, with ears that hear only
His last voice calling out your name and your
Body which once under his touch had gleamed
Like burnished brass, now drab and destitute.
Explanation :
The poem “The Looking Glass” captures the universal human experience of seeking self-awareness and acceptance. The poem explores the themes of self-reflection and self-acceptance. The poet looks in the mirror and sees her reflection and accepts herself for who she is. The poem shows the complexities and racism people face regularly.
Why is Kamala Das so Famous?
Kamala Das is famous because of her controversial writing style.
8- The Suicide
Bereft of soul
My body shall be bare.
Bereft of body
My soul shall be bare.
Which would you rather have
O kind sea?
Which is the more dead
Of the two?
I throw the bodies out,
I cannot stand their smell.
Only the souls may enter
The vortex of sea.
Only the souls know how to sing
At the vortex of the sea.
Your body shall be dead,
Poor thing,
Dead as driftwood, drifting
And drifting to the shore.
Your body shall ride the tide,
Rider, slumped dead
On white war-house.
Charging.
Your body shall bruise white
Against the coral reefs,
Your body,
Your lonely body.
I tell you, sea,
I have enough courage to die,
But not enough.
Not enough to disobey him
Who said: Do not die
And hurt me that certain way.
How easy your duties are.
How simple.
Only roar a hungry roar,
Leao forward,
And retreat.
You swing and you swing,
O sea, you play a child’s game.
But,
I must pose.
I must pretend,
I must act the role
Of happy woman,
Happy wife.
I must keep the right distance
Between me and the low.
And I must keep the right distance
Between me and the high.
O sea, i am fed up
I want to be simple
I want to be loved
And
If love is not to be had,
I want to be dead, just dead
While I enter deeper,
With joy I discover
The sea’s hostile cold
Is after all skin-deep.
The sea’s inner chambers
Are all very warm.
There must be a sun slumbering
At the vortex of the sea.
O sea, i am happy swimming
Happy, happy, happy …
The only movement i know well
Is certainly the swim.
It comes naturally to me.
I had a house a Malabar
And a pale-green pond.
I did all my growing there
In the bright summer months.
I swam about and floated,
And divided into the cold and green
I lay speckled green and gold
In all the hours of the sun,
Until
My grandmother cried,
Darling, you must stop this bathing now.
You are much too big to play
Naked in the pond.
Yes, the only movement i really know
Is swimming,
It comes naturally to me.
The white man who offers
To help me forget,
The white man who offers
Himself as a stiff drink,
Is for me,
To tell the truth,
Only water.
Only a pale-green pond
Glimmering in the sun.
In him I swim
All broken with longing.
In his robust blood i float
Drying off my tears.
Yet i never can forget
The only man who hurts.
The only one who seems to know
The only way to hurt.
Holding you is easy
Clutching at moving water,
I tell you, sea,
This is easy,
But to hold him for half a day
Was a difficult task.
It required drinks
To hold him down.
To make him love.
But, when he did not love,
Believe me,
All I could do was to sob like a fool.
O sea,
You generous cow,
You and I are big flops.
We are too sentimental
For our own
Good.
Lights are moving on the shore.
But I shall not return.
Sea, toss my body back
That he knew how to love.
Bereft of body
My soul shall be free.
Take in my naked soul
That he knew how to hurt.
Only the soul knows how to sing
At the vortex of the sea.
Explanation :
The poem “The Suicide” is an emotional poem that reflects the mentality of a person who is ready to commit self-harm. “The Suicide Poem” by Kamala Surayya, also known as Madhavikutty. The poem explores the darkness and hopelessness of a person who is ready to do such acts. Surayya offers readers a glimpse into the complex and deeply personal struggle faced by individuals grappling with suicidal thoughts
Who is Kamala Das’ husband?
Madhava Das was the husband of Kamala Das.
9- Punishment In Kindergarten
Today the world is a little more my own.
No need to remember the pain
A blue-frocked woman caused, throwing
Words at me like pots and pans, to drain
That honey-coloured day of peace.
‘Why don’t you join the others, what
A peculiar child you are! ‘
On the lawn, in clusters, sat my
schoolmates sipping
Sugarcane, they turned and laughed;
Children are funny things, they laugh
In mirth at others’ tears, I buried
My face in the sun-warmed hedge
And smelt the flowers and the pain.
The words are muffled now, the laughing
Faces only a blur. The years have
Sped along, stopping briefly
At beloved halts and moving
Sadly on. My mind has found
An adult peace. No need to remember
That picnic day when I lay hidden
By a hedge, watching the steel-white sun
Standing lonely in the sky.
Explanation :
The poem “Punishment In Kindergarten” captures the innocence of a child in a harsh school. The poem explores a young child being punished for a minor mistake. The poet shows the contrast between the child’s innocence and the strictness of the teacher. The poet captures the universal theme of childhood innocence clashing with the sometimes unforgiving nature of the adult world in this heartfelt work.
Who was the mother of feminists in India?
Savitribai Phule was the mother of feminists in India.
10- The Dance Of The Eunuchs
It was hot, so hot, before the eunuchs came
To dance, wide skirts going round and round, cymbals
Richly clashing, and anklets jingling, jingling
Jingling… Beneath the fiery gulmohur, with
Long braids flying, dark eyes flashing, they danced and
They dance, oh, they danced till they bled… There were green
Tattoos on their cheeks, jasmines in their hair, some
Were dark and some were almost fair. Their voices
Were harsh, their songs melancholy; they sang of
Lovers dying and or children left unborn….
Some beat their drums; others beat their sorry breasts
And wailed, and writhed in vacant ecstasy. They
Were thin in limbs and dry; like half-burnt logs from
Funeral pyres, a drought and a rottenness
Were in each of them. Even the crows were so
Silent on trees, and the children wide-eyed, still;
All were watching these poor creatures’ convulsions
The sky crackled then, thunder came, and lightning
And rain, a meager rain that smelt of dust in
Attics and the urine of lizards and mice…
Explanation :
The poem “The Dance Of The Eunuchs” is a beautiful poem that explores the lives and emotions of eunuchs, a marginalized and often misunderstood community in India. The poet challenges the readers to empathize with their plight, urging society to recognize their humanity and grant them the dignity they deserve. “The Dance of the Eunuchs” stands as a testament to Das’s ability to empathetically portray the struggles of marginalized communities and advocate for social acceptance and understanding.
11- A Losing Battle
How can my love hold him when the other
Flaunts a gaudy lust and is a lioness
To his beast? Men are worthless, to trap them
Use the cheapest bait of all, but never
Love, which in a woman must mean tears
And a silence in the blood.
Explanation :
The poem “A Losing Battle” powerful poem that shows the challenges and difficulties of life in the context of love and relationship. Throughout the poem, Das uses evocative language to express the emotional turmoil and the experience of being caught in the web of love and desire.
Who is the mother of Kamala Das?
Nalapat Balamani Amma is the mother of Kamala Das.
12- Krishna
Your body is my prison, Krishna,
I cannot see beyond it.
Your darkness blinds me,
Your love words shut out the wise world’s din.
Explanation :
A brilliant little poem that emanates from the pen of a pure devotee of the Lord Krishna! The poetess imprisoned her soul in the prison of the four walls of Lord Krishna..’Your body is my prison. A magnificent expressive poem carrying spiritual vibes.
13- Winter
It smelt of new rains and of tender
Shoots of plants- and its warmth was the warmth
Of earth groping for roots… even my
Soul, I thought, must send its roots somewhere
And, I loved his body without shame,
On winter evenings as cold winds
Chuckled against the white window panes.
Explanation :
Winter poems often capture the serene and magical qualities of the winter season. They evoke the stark beauty of snow-covered landscapes, the crispness of the air, and the stillness that descends upon the world.
There are some of the best Kamala Surayya poems, stay tuned for more updates and other great pomes of different poets
FAQs
- What is the main theme of Kamala Das’s poems?
The main theme of Kamala Das’ poem is physical love.
- Did Kamala Das write in different languages other than English?
Yes, Kamala Das also writes in Malayalam, her native language.
- What themes did Kamala Das explore in her writings?
Kamala Das’s writings often delved into themes such as love, desire, and gender inequality
There are some of the best Kamala Surayya poems, stay tuned for more updates and other great pomes of different poets