Book review: 'Wages Of Love: Uncollected Writings Of Kamala Das'

Book:  Wages Of Love: Uncollected Writings Of Kamala Das
Edited by Suresh Kohli
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 164
Price: Rs299

In the article 'Poet at the Hustings' in Wages Of Love, Kamala Das reflects, “The stories I had written for thirty years in my mother tongue [Malayalam] were filled with lust and passion, and although the readers liked to read them they did not openly praise them, fearing censure.” While here Das may be dismayed at her popularity being inexpedient to her political ambitions, these words are, regrettably, not untrue.

Flamboyant, bold, provocative, and controversial are some of the words that are associated with the works of this doyenne of Malayalam and English poetry and fiction writing. There is no denying that Das ruffled several feathers by converting to Islam at the age of 65; or by making several dents in the mould society had set for women in the 1960s. She wrote about love that was amorous, frank and devoid of compunction at a time when poets/writers, especially women, were expected to romanticise all matters of the heart.

However, times have changed. What was sensational yesterday is mundane today. But in no way does it belittle this Nobel nominee’s contribution. The latest collection of her uncollected writings, Wages Of Love, will go a long way towards preserving great writing at a time when self-styled writers have sprung from every nook and corner.

The collection, divided into three segments — fiction, non-fiction and poetry — begins with the riveting 'The Fair-skinned bahu' where an author who has converted to Islam is organizing her own murder. In 'The fourteen-days war', a finger is pointed at an army nurse for travelling with a brigadier who is clearly not her spouse because, “They looked too happy together to be married”.  'A week with Manasi' is about an illicit association between a politician and a married woman who is not new to such an arrangement. And while the two characters are about to put a full stop to their “contract”, the following story, 'All the Lovers', is devoid of all punctuation, making it a tough but interesting read.

The poetry section makes the autobiographical vein in Das’ fiction more prominent. It perhaps reflects her complex emotions and disappointments she experienced as a woman (in various social roles) and as an individual. In 'Noose', she tries to silence her critics by saying, “I broke loose/From the noose/A religion provides./To stand face to face/with God/Who knowing the answers/Asked no questions”.

The non-fiction section gives a good peek into Das’ perspective on several issues and the versatility of her writing. The first article, 'Thoughts on Sahitya Akademi', is the script of her acceptance speech at Sahitya Akademi Writers Meet in 1986. True to her image, Das deviates from the acceptable norm of thanking everyone and, instead, blames the Akademi for feting contemporary authors way after their “fecundity is exhausted”.

She expresses her envy with affluent women authors who do not have to “worry about cheques bouncing, rent falling due or about raising money to admit the youngest child into college…”

'Body is a Mere Container' is a doleful account of a woman who has lost her husband and for whom “Loneliness is not a familiar feeling”. Moving away from sorrow and regrets in 'Indigestion and Hospitality', Das takes a sardonic shot at a topic I can quite relate to — the perils of socializing in a country where people love to kill guests by forcing them to eat. 'Clean People, Dirty Bathrooms' reflects on the absence of proper sanitation facilities in the country. What surprises you the most is that the article is relevant even after so many years.

Suresh Kohli, poet, literary critic, documentary-maker and a close friend of Das, deserves much credit for editing this important collection. In doing a commendable job of presenting Das’ wide spectrum of writings, he has reminded readers that good writing just gets better with time.