Biography
Kamala Surayya, also known by her married name Kamala Das and pen name Madhavikutty, was an Indian poet and Malayalam author from Kerala, India. She was born on 31 March 1934 and died on 31 May 2009.
Her short stories and autobiographies are her most popular works in Kerala. In contrast, her English works (works), written under the pen name Kamala Das, are known for her explicit poems and autobiographies.
Kamala Surayya is also a popular columnist, writing on various topics including women’s issues, childcare, politics, etc.
Indian poet
Kamala Suraiyya |
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 Kamala Suraiyya: History ‧ Bio ‧ Photos |
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| Wiki Events & About Data | |
| Full name: | Kamala Das Surayya |
| Stage name: | Kamala Suraiyya, Madhavikutty |
| Born: | March 31, 193 (age 75) |
| Place of birth: | Punnayurkulam, India |
| Deceased: | May 31, 2009, Pune, India |
| Nationality: | India |
| Height: | 1.7 minutes |
| Parents: | VM Nair, Balamani Amma |
| Siblings: | Sulochana Nalapat, Shyam Sunder |
| Husband • Spouse: | Madhava Das (married 1949–1992) |
| Boyfriend • Partner: | Do not have |
| The children: | Madhav Das Nalapat, Jayasurya Das, Chinnen Das |
| Job: | Poet • Author |
| Net worth: | 10 million US dollars |
Early life and education
Kamala Das Surayya was born on 31 March 1934, in Punnayurkulam, Ponnani taluk, Malabar District, British India (now Thrissur District, Kerala, India). She was the daughter of VM Nair (father), managing editor of the widely circulated Malayalam newspaper Mathrubhumi, and Balamani Amma (mother), a noted Malayali poet. Her siblings were Sulochana Nalapat and Shyam Sunder.
She spent her childhood between her ancestral home of Nalapat in Punnayurkulam and Calcutta, where her father worked as a senior officer for the Walford Transport Company, which marketed Bentley and Rolls Royce cars.
Kamala Das Surayya, like her mother, Balamani Amma, is a talented writer. She became interested in poetry at a young age, thanks to her great uncle, Nalapat Narayana Menon, a famous writer.
She married Madhav Das, a bank employee, when she was 15, and he encouraged her to pursue her passion for writing, so she began writing and publishing in both English and Malayalam.
The 1960s were a turbulent time for the arts in Calcutta. Kamala Das Surayya was one of many voices who emerged and began to appear in cult anthologies alongside a generation of Indian English-language poets. She chose English as the language for all six of her published volumes of poetry.
Personal life
At the age of fifteen, Kamala Das Surayya married Madhav Das. The couple had three children (sons): Madhav Das Nalapat, Chinnen Das and Jayasurya Das.
After 43 years of marriage, her husband, who was later revealed to be bisexual, died in 1992. Madhav Das Nalapat, her eldest son, married Princess Lakshmi Bayi (daughter of Princess Pooyam Thirunal Gouri Parvati Bayi and Sri Chembrol Raja Raja Varma Avargal) from the Travancore Royal Family.
Madhav Das Nalapat is a professor of geopolitics at Manipal University and the UNESCO Chair in Peace. He has served as a resident editor for The Times of India. In 1999, Kamala Surayya converted to Islam and announced her intention to marry her Muslim lover, although she never did.
Kamala Das Surayya breathed her last on 31 May 2009, at the age of 75, at a hospital in Pune after a long battle with pneumonia. Her body was flown back to Kerala, her birthplace. She was buried with full state honours at Thiruvananthapuram’s Palayam Juma Masjid.
Career
Kamala Das Surayya is known for her Malayalam short stories as well as her English poetry. She also writes a column. Her outspoken essays, which cover everything from women’s issues to childcare to politics, are popular, although she insists that “poetry doesn’t sell in our country.” [India]“ .
A Summer in Calcutta, Kamala Das Surayya’s debut work of poetry, is a breath of fresh air in Indian English poetry. She writes largely about love, betrayal and the grief that follows.
When Indian poets were still dominated by “19th-century romantic expressions, passions, and love”, Kamala Das Surayya abandoned the certainties offered by archaic and sometimes sterile aestheticism to gain independence of mind and body.
Although she had never been politically active, she founded the Lok Seva Organization, a national political party dedicated to promoting secularism and providing shelter for orphaned mothers. She ran unsuccessfully in the 1984 Indian Parliament elections.
Net worth
Before her death in 2009, Kamala Das Surayya was estimated to have a net worth of US$10 million.
She earned most of her wealth from her career as a poet, author, and other businesses. Kamala Das Surayya was one of the highest paid poets of her time.
