Love and longing in Kerala

She once said, "Only the soul knows how to sing..." A quarter century later after her much-read autobiography, My Story, hit the Indian literary terrain, she is all set to tell another soulful tale in her new persona as the intriguing Kamala Suraiyya. Her biography, Malabar to Montreal, is currently being penned by Merrily Weisbord. Between the books, a lot of water has flown under the bridge.It’s not just the passage of time, but also the transmutation of her soul from a young, blunt, angry poetess to a philosopher and lover of life and love.
Born in Palghat, Kerala, in 1934, Kamala bypassed the conventional elementary education to move on to higher education. She has been poetry editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India and the editor of Poet magazine. Recognition also came her way in the form of the Kent Award for Asian English writing and the Vayalar Award for Literature. She was nominated for the Nobel prize for literature in 1984.
Recently, the Kerala government conferred Kamala Suraiyya with the Ezhuthachan Award, recognising her outstanding contributions to the language and the literary world. And once again it has generated controversy. Although she is yet to receive the award, she is already creating waves with certain fundamentalists opposing the government’s decision, arguing that "she who writes on love and lust" does not deserve such prestigious recognition!
"If love is a flower, lust is its fragrance. Without love, where is lust and without lust, can life be created?" Kamala Suraiyya quotes Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam. "I think of Radha and Krishna when I think of love. Life is all about various dimensions of love."
The fundamentalists have also been threatening to ‘hijack’ the award distribution ceremony. Says an unperturbed Das, "I will probably ask the government to deliver the award at home, where nobody can stop me from receiving it."
Her conversion to Islam in 1999 earned her a lot of enemies and criticism. A recently-shot 45-minute documentary Malayalathinde Madhavikutty still remains in the cans as fundamentalists threatened the producer and theatre owners of dire consequences. Das is her usual unflappable self. She states, "No one came home when I was a Hindu. Islam brought me friends and love. Several poor women and children come to me, they love me and I reciprocate their affections."
A prayer book in Arabic is getting ready and will be released shortly in Qatar. She says, "This is the first Arabic prayer book written by a woman."A second edition of a Malayalam poem addressed to Allah has just been unveiled.
Next: A Canadian movie company is currently making a film on her. The movie is about Kamala Suraiyya, the writer, poetess and her experiences with Islam. Keeping the identity of the producer and director, the title of the movie and the main plot under wraps, she says it will take six more months for the film to be ready. She adds, "It is delayed a bit because I could not travel to Canada due to some health problems."
And as if all this was not enough, there is still much more on her platter — her charity organisation, Lok Seva Trust, is abuzz with activity and she is also a patron of the Raksha School for children with multiple disorders.
And as encominums and brickbats continue to dot the landscape of her life, Her Story continues to hold us in a thrall.