Kamala Das: A Mindmap

• Kamala Das (1934-2009)
  • Pen Names: Madhavi Kutty (Malayalam), Kamala Suraiyya (after conversion)
  • Titles & Epithets: The Mother of Modern Indian English Poetry
  • Biography
    • Born: Mar 31, 1934 (Punnayurkulam, Kerala)
    • Family: Distinguished literary family (mother Nalapat Balamani Amma, poet)
    • Childhood: Spent in Kolkata
    • Marriage: Arranged, unsatisfying, early motherhood
    • Conversion: Converted to Islam in 1999
    • Died: May 31, 2009
  • Major Works
    • English Poetry Collections
      • Summer in Calcutta (1965) - Debut, confessional
      • The Descendants (1967)
      • The Old Playhouse and Other Poems (1973)
      • Collected Poems (1984) - Sahitya Akademi Award
    • Key Poems
      • “An Introduction”
      • “The Dance of the Eunuchs”
      • “The Looking Glass”
      • “My Grandmother’s House”
      • “My Mother at Sixty-Six”
    • Autobiography
      • My Story (1976) - Controversial, originally Ente Katha (Malayalam)
    • Novels
      • Alphabet of Lust (1976)
      • A Doll for the Child Prostitute (1977)
  • Literary Style & Themes
    • Style
      • Confessional Poetry (pioneer in India)
      • Direct & Unflinching Language
      • Open Exploration of Female Sexuality
      • Colloquial & Conversational Tone
      • Feminine Sensibility
    • Themes
      • Search for Identity & Self-Assertion
      • Female Sexuality & Desire
      • Love, Betrayal, & Disillusionment
      • Constraints of Marriage & Society
      • Loneliness & Alienation
      • The Body and the Self
      • Rebellion Against Societal Norms
  • Awards & Honors
    • Sahitya Akademi Award (1985) for Collected Poems
    • Kerala State Sahitya Akademi Award (1969)
    • Asian World Prize for Literature (1985)
    • Nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature (1984)