Noted Malayalam Poet 'Madhavikutty' (Kamala Das) converts to Islam.
JPR:
Interesting story .
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Madhavikutty's Islamic conversion; yet another sensation
Thiruvananthapuram: Madhavikutty, who on Saturday announced that she had become a Muslim, claimed here that her life was under threat. She told visiting press persons that she was getting threat calls from RSS-VHP men as well as from others. An anonymous caller even had set a deadline of 24 hours to finish her off, she said. The poet said she was planning a book of poems on Islam and Allah. Already, three had been written. "Maybe, Allah has made me a tool to write poems on him." Even though she might continue to use the name Madhavikutty while writing in Malayalam, she will use her new name in her English works.
Meanwhile her sensational decision has evoked mixed response from various quarters. She told newsmen that she received a telegram from Abdul Madani congratulating her on her decision. In a very jovial mood and with a typical girlish smile, she said she is considering another marriage and the details of which will be disclosed only later. While her son and senior journalist with Times of India, M.D. Nalappatt has said that her decision is totally personal and she is free to do whatever suits her, VHP has strongly criticised her for her action. According to VHP, she has brought disgrace to Hindus and Guruvayur temple in particular by her statement saying that Lord Krishna has come away from Guruvayur and she will make Him, Mohammed. Most of the literary luminaries of the state preferred to stay away from the controversy by saying that her decision is truly personal and there is nothing to criticise or support on.
About Kamala Das ('Madhavikutty')
Biography
Recognized as one of India's foremost poets, Kamala Das was born on March 31, 1934 in Malabar in Kerala (Dwivedi 297). Her love of poetry began at an early age through the influence of her great uncle, Nalapat Narayan Menon, a prominent writer. Das remembers watching him "work from morning till night" and thinking that he had "a blissful life" (Warrior interview). Das was also deeply affected by the poetry of her mother, Nalapat Balamani Amma, and the sacred writings kept by the matriarchal community of Nayars (IndiaWorld). She was privately educated until the age of 15 when she was married to K. Madhava Das (IndiaWorld). She was 16 when her first son was born and says that she "was mature enough to be a mother only when my third child was born" (Warrior interview). Her husband often played a fatherly role for both Das and her sons. Because of the great age difference between Kamala and her husband, he often encouraged her to associate with people of her own age. Das says that he was always "very understanding" (Warrior interview).......<continued>
emory.edu
Her Works
Das has published many novels and short stories in English, as well as in the Indian language of Malayalam under the name "Madhavikutty" (de Souza 7). Some of her work in English includes the novel Alphabet of Lust (1977), a collection of short stories called Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories (1992), in addition to five books of poetry, Summer in Calcutta (1965), The Descendants (1967), The Old Playhouse and Other Poems (1973), The Anamalai Poems (1985), and Only the Soul Knows How to Sing (1996), a collection of poetry with Pritish Nandy (1990), and her autobiography, My Story (1976).
Some of her more recent novels in Malayalam include Palayan (1990), Neypayasam (1991), and Dayarikkurippukal (1992). She is currently the author of a syndicatcd column in India.
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