Kamala Surayya (born Kamala; 31 March 1934 – 31 May 2009), popularly known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty and married name Kamala Das, was an Indian English poet as well as a leading Malayalam author from Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and autobiography, while her oeuvre in English, written under the name Kamala Das, is noted for the poems and explicit autobiography. She was also a widely read columnist and wrote on diverse topics including women's issues, child care, politics among others.
Her open and honest treatment of female sexuality, free from any sense of guilt, infused her writing with power and she got hope after freedom, but also marked her as an iconoclast in her generation. On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at a hospital in Pune.
Books
English
- Novel
- 1976: Alphabet of Lust
- Autobiography
- 1976: My Story
- Short stories
- 1977: A Doll for the Child Prostitute
- 1992: Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories
- Poetry
- 1964: The Sirens
- 1965: Summer in Calcutta
- 1967: The Descendants
- 1973: The Old Playhouse and Other Poems
- 1977: The Stranger Time
- 1979: Tonight, This Savage Rite (with Pritish Nandy)
- 1984: Collected Poems
- 1985: The Anamalai Poems
- 1997: Only the Soul Knows How to Sing
- 1999: My Mother At Sixty-six
- 2001: Yaa Allah
Malayalam
- 1964: Pakshiyude Manam (short stories)
- 1966: Naricheerukal Parakkumbol (short stories)
- 1968: Thanuppu (short story)
- 1982: Ente Katha (autobiography)
- 1987: Balyakala Smaranakal (childhood memoirs)
- 1989: Varshangalkku Mumbu (novel)
- 1990: Palayan (novel)
- 1991: Neypayasam (short story)
- 1992: Dayarikkurippukal (novel)
- 1994: Neermathalam Pootha Kalam (novel)
- 1996: Kadal Mayooram (short novel)
- 1996: Rohini (short novel)
- 1996: Rathriyude Padavinyasam (short novel)
- 1996: Aattukattil (short novel)
- 1996: Chekkerunna Pakshikal (short stories)
- 1998: Nashtapetta Neelambari (short stories)
- 2005: Chandana Marangal (novel)
- 2005: Madhavikkuttiyude Unmakkadhakal (short stories)
- 2005: Vandikkalakal (novel)