Encountering Kamala: Selections from the Poetry of Kamala Das: India's Powerful Voice for Change

KAMALA DAS is the Indian poet and writer who truly belongs to the world. For fifty years, long before it became fashionable, she has been an outspoken fighter for human rights. She is deeply concerned with the plight of women, the poor, and the young in India and around the world. Throughout her life she has sought to empower India s women and improve their position in society. She has also strived to save the poor from their degraded existence. Powerful political and religious forces have targeted Kamala. Her conversion from Hinduism to Islam, garnered criticism from both sides and her current questioning attitude towards all religion has not put an end to the controversy that follows her. Extremists from all factions have put her in their crosshairs. Despite many threats against her life, she remains an unafraid critic of what she considers excessive influence of politics and religion on the disenfranchised. We in America have been laggards in recognizing her ongoing influence, which began with her first writings at age fifteen and continues now into her seventies. I say to the American audience, many of whom believe these truths to be self evident : Take note of a fellow freedom fighter! After 30 years of friendship Kamala has invited me to present the first U.S. publication of her works. This comes after forty-odd books have been published in India and globally. In addition to selections from her earlier works, she has given us poems and drawings created especially for her new American audience. On a personal level, I have included bits of our visits together, some correspondence, conversations, and e-mails. In these, Kamala is often as poetic as in her verses. I have even accused her of dreaming in poetry. If I can encapsulate all this into one Kamala-flavored tome, and if her somewhat fragile health permits, my fantasy suggests that we set a date for you to meet her in person next year perhaps at Carnegie Hall. Until then, I invite you to Encounter Kamala and experience her passion as you turn each page of this book.