My Expressions

Kamala Surayya or Kamala Das was an Indian author who wrote openly and honestly about what it was like to be an Indian woman. Das was part of a group of Indian writers whose work focused on personal rather than colonial experiences. Her short stories, poetry, and essays earned her respect and they made her a well-known figure. As “Madhavikutty” Kamala Das wrote in Malayalam.

Early Life

Das was born into a family with a lot of money. Her mother was a well-known poet, and her father worked for a car company and was a journalist. She was born and raised in Kerala and Kolkata. Her first poem was written when she was a small child.

When she was 15 years old, she married Madhava Das, a banker who was many years older than her. They moved to Bombay, India, where they lived for a long time. She converted to Islam in 1999 and changed her name to Kamala Surayya as a result of the conversion.

Poems, Short Stories and Write-ups!

Summer in Calcutta (1965), The Descendants (1967), The Old Playhouse, and Other Poems (1969) were some of Das’s poetry books (1973). The Alphabet of Lust, a novel, was written in English in 1976.

Short stories “A Doll for the Child Prostitute” and “Padmavati the Harlot” were also written in English (1992). Malayalam short story collection Thanuppu (1967; “Cold”) and the memoir “Memories of Childhood” are among the many works she wrote in Malayalam over the years.

As a columnist for a newspaper, she wrote a series of stories about her life. They were first published in Malayalam as Ente Katha (1973), then in English as My Story (1980). In 1985, she won the Asian World Prize for Literature. She also won many other literary awards.

Inspiring Women: Celebrating Their Voices

Writers & Poets:

• Sarojini Naidu

Champions of Change:

• Sudha Murthy
• Shirin Ebadi
• Nadia Murad

Voices for the Voiceless:

• Kiran Bedi
• Helen Keller
• Mother Teresa
• Malala Yousafzai

Watch a video

Kamala Surayya Reads Her Poetry

Curious Times is a leading newspaper and website for kids. We publish daily global news aligned to your learning levels (also as per NEP 2020): Foundational, Preparatory (Primary), Middle and Senior. So, check out the News tab for this. We bring kids’ favourite Curious Times Weekly newspaper every weekend with top news, feature stories and kids’ contributions. 

ME – My Expressions at Curious Times is your place to get your work published, building your quality digital footprint. And it is a good way to share your talent and skills with your friends, family, school, teachers and the world. Thus, as you will step into higher educational institutes your published content will showcase your strength.

Communicate with us: Instagram.

  0  (Please login to give a Curious Clap to your friend.)