Contents: Preface. 1. Eclectic facets of Kamala Das : An Overview/R. Ramesh. 2. Too Personal, Too Disturbing/G.N. Panikkar. 3. Confessions in the Poetry of Kamala Das/N.D.R. Chandra and N.K. Prasad. 4. Kamala Das: Stranger to Herself/Dilip Barad. 5. Exploring the Self: The Poetry of Kamala Das/Sudhir K. Arora. 6. Quest for Self in Kamala Das’s Poetry: A Study of The Descendants/Ram Sharma. 7. Sexuality as Subversion in the Select Poems of Kamala Das/Anita Balakrishnan. 8. Passion for Freedom: The Erotic Corpus of Kamala Das/J. Samuel Kirubahar, S. Kanakaraj, A. Mohan Kumar and Devichandra. 9. Vortex of Life, Love, Lust and Death: Kamala Das’s Poetry/P. Gopichand and P. Nagasuseela. 10. Markers of sensuality and beauty in Kamala Das’s Tonight, This Savage Rite/Dinesh Kumar. 11. An Oikopoetic Study of Kamala Das’s “An introduction”/D. Samuel Johnson. 12. Kamala Das’s Spiritual Journey through Her Poetry: A Reading of Select Poems/B. Sharmila and G. Baskaran. 13. Love as Vehicle to Higher Understanding in the Poetry of Kamala Das and Sarojini Naidu/P. Gopi Chand and P. Nagasuseela. 14. Kamala Das as a Radical Humanist/Vennila Ramanathan. 15. Poetry of Kamala Das: Rebellion of a Bohemain/Ashish Gupta and Manish Manekar. 16. Paradigm and Politics of Conversion: The Case of Kamala Suraiya/Neeru Tandon. 17. A Feminist Reading of Kamala Das’s Poestry/K.V. Dominic. 18. Feministic Voices in the Poetry of Kamala Das: A Study/Vipul K. Makodia. 19. Discovering the Poetry of Kamala Das: A Feministic Perspective/M.F. Patel. 20. Feminine Psyche at Work: A Study of Kamala Das’s Poetry. 21. Kamala Das: A Poetic Genius/Keyur K. Parekh. 22. Thematic Concerns of Kamala Das’s Short Fiction/V. Pala Prasada Rao. 23. The Psychic Violations and Complications in Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and Kamala Das’s My Story: A Re-Reading/J. Samuel Kirubahar and M. Muktha Manoj. 24. A Tribute to Kamala Das/K. Balamurugan and S. Thirunavukarasu. 25. An Interview with Dr. Basavaraj Naikar/R. Sai Chandra Mouli. Index.

Indian English Poetry has come of age with enduring charisma, enchanting range and amazing authenticity. Kamala Das occupies a pre-eminent position among contemporary poets with her astounding imagery, new idiom and honest portrayal of Indian women and their concerns. Her quest for realizing ‘self’ is essentially oriental and reflects the essence of Vemana’s famous line ‘Kaami gaaka mokshagaami kaadu’ [one can not attain liberation without aspisring for ‘self’.].

Kamala Das is remembered chiefly for creating awareness among women about the need to think of them first and foremost. One cannot help others without helping oneself. She immortalizes the splendour of nature and human relationships in her poetry, where personal experiences turn into universal on account of passionate expression. Her fiction and prose writings deserve due exploration.

This volume attempts to reassess Kamala Das and her works. There are twenty-four research papers and one interview, which aim at shedding new light where possible on her concerns, craft and life. It is hoped that this humble tribute to Kamala Das wins the hearts of all.(jacket)