® Long Answer Type Questions | |. Write an essay on Kamala Das as a poet of the 20th century. [2015] | Or Write a note on the feminine sensibility in the poetry of Kamala Das. [2017] Or Feminine sensibility is well-marked in the poetry of Kamala Das. Discuss. {2016} Ans. Kamala Das as a Poet of the 20th Century Kamala Das is one of | the most significant Indian poets writing in English. She is a widely | acclaimed writer and has received the Asian P.E.N. Award in 1963 and the | Kerala Sahitya Akademy Award in 1969. She holds a unique position in Indo-English literature for being a female poet and writing in English. Her work has received praises as well as criticism due to the frank and outspoken nature of her content. She gives an uninhibited expression of sexual desires of a woman. Feminine Sensibility in the Poetry of Kamala Das As a poet of the 20th century, she openly uses her own life to explore and define the experiences of women. It is said of her that Kamala Das writings gain their vitality from her personality. It appears to the reader that the woman and the poetess merge in Kamala Das. Perhaps, this quality of her poems provides a distinct feminine sensibility to her works. Dwivedi says of Das that “As a poet of sharp feminine sensibility, Kamala Das gives vent to the hopes, fears and desires of womankind. She has been the champion of woman's cause all her life”. . Piyush sir's Classes 3Crities of Kamala Das Howover, the reaction from critics to the ow of feminine sensibility in the pootry of Kamala Das is dual in critics have praised her as a feminine poet while others point NC how the pootry of Kamala Das only captures the erotic and sensual nature of female experiences and desire while having no real touch of the foal problems of Indian women. Some crities have said that her poetry is the poctry of revolt and it is the outcome of her diss faction and psychological trauma. She is a modern Indian woman poet giving voice to ambivalent nature of the current position of woman ifL.A society. The main concern of her poetry is the pat ee vomen. Her woman characters are usually the unfulfilled wif i ;s to lusty men, silent long-suffering women ete. Her poetry beco! form of protest against a male-dominated society. Sunanda,P. n commenting on Das writes : “Kamala Das embodies the most Ex ant stage of development of Indian Feminine poetic sensibility ot yekteached by her contemporaries.” While KR Srinivas lyengar is es pinion that “she has a fiercely feminine sensibility that dares\Withéut inhibitions to articulate the hurt it has received in an i i man-made world. While giving the impression of writing in haste, she’ reveals a mastery; of phrase and a control over rhythm- the words often pointed and envenomed too and the rhythm so nervously, almost feverishly alive.” express nature, Many~@3. Write a critical appreciation of ‘An Introduction’. [2015, Or Critically evaluate the poem ‘An Introduction’. [2018] Ans. Introduction to the Poem ‘An Introduction’ by Kamala Das appeared in the poetry collection titled ‘Summer in Calcutta’. It begins colloquially with the poetess talking about herself as an innocent child like voice telling us that she doesn’t know much about politics but she knows the politicians starting from Nehru. Then, she goes on to establish her identity as an Indian, brown skinned, Malabar born to introduce herself to the readers. 17] Essence of the Poem But, as the poem progresses, she starts to recount her struggles. First of all, she had to face the language problem. She says that she speaks three languages, writes in two and dreams in one. From the next few lines the readers come to know that the language she expresses herself in, is English but she is constantly criticised for using it by her critics, friends and family. She boldly resents everyone and asks them to let her speak in any language she likes because the language she speaks in, becomes hers, She defends it by saying: ‘It is half English, half Indian, funny perhaps, but it is honest, It is as human as I am human... It voices my joys, my longings, my ~ Piyush sir's ClassesHopes, and it is as useful to me as cawing Is to crows and roaring is to the lions, it Is human speech, the speech of mind that is Here and not there, a mind that sees and hears and Is aware.” These lines show how vividly, gracefully and easily the foe could express hér strong emotions about her choice of lang se lines follow smoothly one after another that reader could sing like a tune. The next phase of the poem is when the poetess reach ty and has to follow the dictates’ of society confused with her ow! he talks about being drawn into the bedroom and losing her inode en she asked for love, not knowing what else to ask for. She says how she tried to rebel by weari ihe trousers and cutting her hair. However, the people tried cS é her demanding her to instea dress in sarees, act womanly and fit of playing her games of pretending and disguising and being a maniac, They condemn her natural urges for emotional and sexual contact and ask her not to cry after being betrayed or hurt by a lover Cott phase of the poem is when the poetess has reached maturity aid speaks like a mature woman. Now, she knows her experiences are,thé experiences of every woman, So she says that ~ ‘[met a man and loved ny : Him not by any name, he isevery man Who wants a womari just as I am every Woman who see She now finds gat an solace in her newfound confidence and identity ‘0 say that: . that she does! It is I wh mene Drinks pn Sy midnight, in hotels of strange towns, Iti ree th, it is I who make love A en, feel shame, it is I who lie dying a rattle in my throat. I am a sinner, lam saint. I am the beloved and the Betrayed.’ : She is brave enough to write about sex in the society which condemns any carnal passions. She draws the readers to herself, letting them know that she shares her joys and sorrows with them and none is alone in their experiences in this world in these words: Thave no joys which are not yours, No aches which are not yours. I too call myself I.— gD . What are the major themes in Kamala Das’ poetry? Ans. Confessional Mode Kamala Das was a 20th century Indian ing in English. She was a confessional poctess who drew extensively from her life. Despite much criticism, she is widely accepted as ‘the mother of modern English Indian Poetry.’ Kamala Das has written on a diverse range of topics, often disparate however few of the major themes of Kamala Das’ poetry can be summed up as womanhood, eroticism and feminism. Womanhood The theme of womanhood in Das’ poetry arises out of her own pain and frustration at the hands of society. She writes in her poem ‘An Introduction’ how she was asked to act like a girl, a wife by categorisers while in another poem entitled ‘The Maggots’, she talks about the suffering of lying down with a man, a woman doesn’t love. Radha’s searing pain, the poem is an indication of the pain of every woman. Collective Experiences In Das’ eyes, womanhood involves certain collective experiences. The feeling of universal oneness’ she expresses in the end of the poem ‘An Introduction’ permeates her poetry. However, Indian woman do not socially discuss their experiences yet Das refuses to accept their silence. Their feelings are no longer confined to private spaces but invited into the public sphere and acknowledged through Das’ poetry. Man-woman Relationship and Eroticism The next theme of Das’ poetry is the exploration of a woman's desires and man-wonian relationship in her poetry leading to an attention to the eroticism. The finest example of eroticism in Kamala Das’ poetry is the poem ‘The Looking Glass’ from the poetry collection entitled ‘The Descendants’. The poetess asks the woman to love their man without any restraints for the love kept in bounds is no love at all, only the total immersion in love can do justice to this experience. Feminism Kamala Das has been called a feminist poet due to the centrality of women in Das’ poetry, despite her reluctance to admit herself as one. This can be attributed to her frankness in writing about the personal desires and experiences of woman which had hitherto been never much talked about. Raveendran writes that ‘Das has never tried to identify herself with any particular version of feminist activism.’ Nonetheless, Poet Eunice De Souza claims that ‘Das has mapped out the terrain for post colonial women in social and linguistic terms.’ Piyush sir's Classes poctess wrLL .Q 1. Mention briefly Kamala Das as a poetess. “Or Discuss Kamala Das a feminine poetess. Ans, Kamala Das gave clear, a pioneering Indian poet writing in English who nk and straightforward expression to feminine nsibility in all its varied manifestations. Her poetry is imbibed with ute feminine sensibility. Unlike her counterparts, who only out feminine experiences, she explicitly writes about dee, ine desires and anguishes which others only carefully tread uj e writes about their exploitation, anguish, suppression in explicit terms. She established her reputation as ‘the fem * of Indian English Poetry: through her poems. KN Daruwala Key Sout Kamala Das that ‘In a manner Kamala Das has shown GBs y to the women poets in. India.’ Writing about her poetry called*Summer in Calcutta’, he further says that, “The intensity of feeling, erated in her better poems, and the un-inhibited manner in ‘biey She treated sex, immediately won her a big) audience.” Seem ‘mind striptease I must extrude autobiography.’ | hhe*waitings of Kamala Das both in prose or verse, in English or} Ne quite confessional and autobiographical. Her own self) scems'to be at the very centre of her work. She has explicitly written about | her own experiences to give the candid expression to the experiences and | anguish of women, Her poetry has the uninhibited expression of love, sex, emotional disintegration in marital relationship, disillusionments and) frustrations. This kind of writing is like a psychological ‘striptease’ that she | enacts in her poetry. In her very own words, ‘I must let my mind striptease; ] must extrude autobiography’. Q 3. Comment on the significance of the poem’s title. Or Comment on the poem ‘An Introduction’ by Kamala Das. ‘Ans. The title of Kamala Das’ poem ‘An Introduction’ is quite significant | to understand the poem and the poetess. This poem is an autobiographical | one which can also be called a brief synopsis of her early life and its. struggles. The poetess spots light on the important stages of her life while giving out a vivid description of herself, her environment and her struggles. The poem is itself an introduction to our poetess of this poem, » Kamala Das. She starts the poem by locating and identifying he al brown skinned, Malabar born, Indian, ving herself 25] Then, she leads to her battles in life where she was criticised for using | English as her medium of expression for it is considered a foreign language. | | / 7— oe Q 4. Write a short note on the autobiographical note in Kamala Das's poetry. Ans. The poetry of Kamala Das resonates with her own struggles and desires in life s Well as many of her own experiences. It is well written that a writer draws most inspiration from his/her own life and so is the case with Kamala Das. Her poetry which is confessional and autobiographical in nature draws from her own life so much that she calls her writing process kind of ‘striptease’ in which she ‘must extrude autobiography’. The noted critic KRS r writing about Kamala Das’ poetry says “Kamala Das’ poetry is recording of her own experiences and observations, her own unfulfilled love and her own sex exploitation, frustration and disillusionment that she had to suffer in a male dominated society.” lyenga Q 5. Write a short note on the use of language in ‘An Introduction’ by Kamala Das. Ans. ‘The poem ‘An Introduction’ can be majorly categorised into two sections, the first part composed in the voice of an innocent child who struggles to establish her identity, her choices rebelling against everyone. ‘The language of this part of the poem is simple, sometimes innocent and sometimes quite forceful and clear. It also has a certain ease while the cond and last part of the poem is written in the voice of a mature woman who asserts longings, her passions without a shadow of doubt or fear. The language of this second part of the poem assumes felicity as she is expressing profound emotions of love, urges and oneness of self and others. Piyush sir's Classes