Iconoclast bilingual writer and poetess Kamala Surayya, earlier known as Madhavikutty, breathed her last on May 31 at Pune. She was suffering from chest infection and respiratory problems. She was 75.
Her body was brought to Thiruvananthapuram after being taken to Thrissur, Kochi, Alappuzha and Kollam, where thousands of her admirers paid their last respects, many with tears in their eyes. Thousands of people including several ministers, converged at the Palayam Juma Masjid to bid adieu to noted poet and writer Kamala Das.
The award-winning writer, who wrote in both Malayalam and English, was accorded a state funeral and policemen gave a gun salute as her body was interred. Earlier, separate prayers for men and women were held according to Islamic rites. All the three sons of Ms Kamala Surayya stood in the front row during the funeral prayers at Palayam Juma Masjid. Live coverage of the event was beamed by all the Malayalam channels.
Born to V.M. Nair and Balamani Amma on March 31, 1934, Ms Kamala Surayya spent most of her childhood in Kolkata where her father worked. Influenced by her poetess mother and uncle Nalappatt Narayana Menon, a prominent writer, Kamala started writing at the age of 17 under the pen name Madhavikutty.
She would often wait until nightfall after her family had gone to sleep and would write until morning: “There was only the kitchen table where I would cut vegetables, and after all the plates and things were cleared….”
A prolific author who was widely acclaimed for her short stories and novels in Malayalam, Ms. Das served as the Poetry Editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, was President of Kerala Children’s Film Society, chairperson of Kerala Forestry Board and Orient Editor of Poet Monthly. Her prominent works in Malayalam are many. Her English works include Summer in Calcutta, The Descendants, Old Play House and Collected Poems. Her Ente Katha has been translated into 15 languages. Only The Soul Knows How To Sing was published in 1996. Some of the many awards Kamala Das has received are the Asian Poetry Prize in 1964, (The Sirens), the Kent Award in 1965 (Summer in Calcutta), Asian World Prize and Academy Award (Collected Poems). Her Thanuppu got Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for short stories in 1969. Neer Mathalam Pootha Kalam secured the Vayalar Award in 1997.
Ms Kamala hit the headlines when, though born in a conservative Hindu Nair family in Kerala with a royal lineage, she embraced Islam in 1999 at the age of 65 and adopted the Muslim name Surayya. Ms Surayya’s choice of Islam was a stunning blow to those who regard Islam too suffocating for woman.
In an interview conducted by Rediff in 1999, she said, “Look at me. Am I not ebullient with happiness, with joy and zest for a life with Allah?” Surayya says, radiating the thrill of a new discovery, of new horizons opening up.
For her, Madhavikutty no longer exists. “Yes, the controversial Madhavikutty is dead. This is the last time I am shocking you all,” she explains.
But what attracted her to Islam?
“Two plain reasons. One is the purdah. Second is the security that Islam provides to women. In fact, both these reasons are complementary,” she says.
“Purdah is the most wonderful dress for women in the world. And I have always loved to wear the purdah. It gives women a sense of security. Only Islam gives protection to women. I have been lonely all through my life. At nights, I used to sleep by embracing a pillow. But I am no longer a loner. Islam is my company. Islam is the only religion in the world that gives love and protection to women. Therefore, I have converted,” Surayya makes her point.
I adopted two blind Muslim children, Irshad Ahmed and Imtiaz Ahmed, and they brought me close to Islam. I had to study Islamic scriptures before teaching them. One is working as a professor in Darjeeling and the other as a barrister in London.
Won’t she be forced to make compromises in her new religion? Will Islam tolerate her controversial past? “Religion cannot chain one’s creativity. Islam is tolerant. Allah is the God of love and forgiveness. My mind tells me Allah has forgiven me my sins, if they were sins,” Surayya says.
For Kerala’s most famous poetess, conversion to Islam arose out of conviction and was not a sudden decision. She says the “idea” to convert had been there in her mind for the last three decades. It had been churning in her mind.
“I kept my desire a secret for long. But now the time has come when I can no longer remain a Hindu. I hate being cremated as a Hindu. I love being buried as a Muslim,” Surayya says in a serious tone.
Was she uncomfortable with Hinduism and Hindu gods? “Hindus have abused and hurt me. They have often tried to scandalise me. I cannot repose faith in Hinduism because Hindu gods never forgive. They only punish,” Surayya fumes.
When asked about threats reportedly received from fundamentalists, she said, “I am not frightened by these threats. The policemen had come to me offering security. I have refused to accept their offer. I have left everything to Allah. He will protect me to the last. I don’t need the security of mortals, when I have surrendered myself to Allah, the biggest Protector. I am sure He will take care of me.” Her son M. D. Nalapat, former editor of Mathrubhumi and former resident editor of The Times of India in Bangalore, said that he received a number of threatening telephone calls, apparently from Hindu extremists. One caller threatened that he would kill her within 24 hours.
When asked whether she would continue to write poetry and paint, she said, “I am about to complete a book on the new millennium. I will start writing poems and prose on Allah and Islam. Allah will henceforth inspire my creativity whether it is poetry or paintings.
“I’d like to make this the religion of the new millennium. I will tell people the virtues of this religion and share the happiness I experienced after embracing Islam. I have no words to explain the contentment I feel now. I have never felt such happiness in my life. I feel loved and protected. I am an old person. I want this love and protection. I understand that a good Muslim should help others. I have been doing so and I am keen to continue it. Money cannot bring such happiness. I am an old person and don’t want to keep money. I want to give part of what I have earned to others. You see here (waving to indicate her house), I do not have too many possessions. I have only the bare minimum.” She was one of the most honest and unpretentious woman. She had the spine to act according to her convictions.
The writer, who loved to tread the unorthodox path, had also made a foray into politics and floated Lok Seva Party aiming at social and humanitarian work, providing asylum for orphaned mothers and promote secularism.
Ms Kamala Surayya Das is survived by three sons M.D. Nalapat, Chinnen Das and Jayasurya Das. Her eldest son, M.D. Nalapat, is married to a princess from the Travancore Royal House. He holds the UNESCO Peace Chair and Professor of geopolitics at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Since February 2007 Ms Kamala Das had been staying in Pune with her youngest son Jayasurya.
Speaking to a journalist Chinnen Das said, “Our family could spend a lot of time with her during her last days. My younger brother took extremely good care of her. In her last days she looked quite composed. She had a very peaceful ending. We are very proud of our mother”.
“My mother had been a Muslim for many years and died a Muslim. She had converted to Islam happily and of her free will. It doesn’t matter what I or my brothers want. It was her wish (to convert to Islam) and we will respect it and abide by it. There is no way a posthumous reconversion can be held. So her funeral will have to be as per Islamic norms. It was also her wish that she be returned to Kerala.”
My interaction with the family started recently when they were planning to bury her in Pune as per Muslim rites. Mr Nalapat told us, “During her critical illness in front of his brothers, he had asked his mother, ‘Amma who are you? What shall we do after you expire?’ She had told them then, “I am a Muslim! I am a Muslim! I am a Muslim!’ She repeated this seven times and said, ‘I should be buried as per Muslim rites.’ All my brothers are with me.”
When I tried to convey my dismay of not being able to meet her though she stayed very close to my residence, he said, “Life span of this world is very short, you will be able to meet her in the life Hereafter which will be an infinite life.”
May God the Almighty grant salvation to this great daughter of Islam.