2009 -1 ad vitam june 2009.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
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We present this edition featuring ‘Women’
as a focal point of discussion. Ad Vitam
comes before its readers in a new incarna-tion, larger in ambit, and wider in scope. It
breaks away from chains, and liberalizesitself to a new beginning. In this issue, we
have many writers from various walks of
profession come together and write theirviews and experiences on various issues.
The main feature of this edition has been
that of Mrs. Ira Bhattacharjee, a commit-
ted social worker in from North-Eastern
India, in her article she analyses and traces
the empowerment of women in context of North East India.. She amazingly startles
with her insight as a referential backdrop
position of women in ancient, medieval,
colonial and modern India. She brings to
fore her experience, dedication and com-mitment in having worked on the area
within the region. The feature ‘21st Century
Woman’, by Ms. Sucheta Ray Chaudhuri.
Ms Sucheta a software professional is ex-tremely evaluative and simultaneously as-
sertive of ‘women’ and their abilities. In her
opinion she brings to light certain miscon-
ception that women are forced to succumb toand the ordeal they have had to face in the
past and continue to do so. She has a certain
quality to her views that brings to fore the
inequalities that have been brushed beneath
the carpet.
The articles by the other contributors as Ms. Aditi Deshpande, Ms. Fathimath Shafneez
or for that matter the sketch by Mr. Ibrahim
Mbaga are light but packed with a powerfulview. The views
We have taken care to make this Newsletter
an enjoyable experience but at the same timehope to strike a chord of seriousness in our
commitment. We hope that you benefit from
developing a view/opinion in context of thefeatured columns and other important infor-
mation included within this edition.
The New Beginning
E D I T I O N : J U L Y 2 0 0 9AdVitamFOR LIFE, IN ALL THAT WE SEEK TO ACHIEVE EQUALITY , LIBERTY , FREEDOM...
“The world is like a passingshadow. Thus when the sun
rises over an object, a
shadow appears for a mo-
ment then is dissipated. It isthe same thing for this world
in relation to its reality.”
“To watch out for those faults which are hidden
within yourself is better for you seeking out those mys-
teries that are veiled to you. “
“The rivers are boisterous
before they join the ocean,but when they do so, there
are becalmed forever.”
“There are four cardinal vir-
tues of the individual self:
(i) refraining from beggingin the state of poverty;
(ii) showing the attitude of
being well-fed when feeling
hungry;(iii) maintaining a cheerful-
ness in the time of sorrow;
and
(iv) befriending the enemy.”
‘WHIRLING CORNER’
Civilization can only revive when there
shall come into being in a number of indi-
viduals a new tone of mind, independent
of the prevalent one among the crowds,
and in opposition to it -- a tone of mind
which will gradually win influence over
the collective one, and in the end deter-
mine its character. Only an ethical move-
ment can rescue us from barbarism, and
the ethical comes into existence only in
individuals.
- ALBERT SCHWEITZER
Ferro-concrete feminity photograph bySergey Kushkin
http://www.photoforum.ru/photo/78189/
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P a g e 2
I t is a very wrong notion that the women in India have been
suppressed and tortured in the history of this country. Inmy work towards the empowering of women in the north-eastern part of India, I have had the opportunity of ventur-
ing into that history of India, where women were the pillars of the
society. My attempt today would be to draw a comparison of that woman, and the woman of modern India, as far as the scenario of thenorth-east is concerned.
The system of society in the hills of present Meghalaya has always been
matriarchal. Even today, Khasis andJaintias follow the same social
setup. In the past, these tribes weredivided into tribal groups, and theyhad their leaders, such as the Siyem
for the Khasis or the Daloi for theJaintias. They headed the people of
that particular group, but the headof that family was also the lady. It
has been found that the leaders have known to act on the aid andadvices of their partners, and though they were the head of the tribe,they did not qualify as the head of their family. Hence, the lady in the
family has always been the most respected member. However, it may
be argued that this is common in a matriarchal society.
However, in the hills of Tripura, women have also been known to be astrong member of the family. She might have not been the head of thefamily, but she had an important role to play. Tripura was a princely
state during the reign of the British, and has always been ruled by theroyal family. Presently, the city of Agartala, and the nearby land still
have the remains of the glorious reign. In that royal family, the ‘ family deity ’ or rather the ‘kul devata’ was rather the ‘kul devi’. The temple of
the goddess is a renound temple in Tripura, known as the‘TRIPURESHWARI TEMPLE’. She is visited by pilgrims from all
around the country, especially by the people of West-Bengal. Thisfactor triggered the consciousness of the family towards women andtheir status. Thus, the royal family has always known to be tolerant
and respectful towards the women in their kingdom. This also as-sured the respect of women in the Tripura state. However, the socialstructure has deteriorated in the present. Today, the due respect of
women in the state is found to be diminishing. Surveys show that men have become less tolerant towards women, as revealed from the
number of complaints of domestic violence at the Tripura Women’sCommission. It has also been found that the women folk have becomemore subdued by the men, and are bending in front of family pres-
sure and social responsibilities. It is lamenting to see that rather thana growth in the awareness in women in the state, the situation has
been worsening.
The history of the Manipur royal family is ancient. In the great epic
Mahabharata, there is distinct mention of the royal family of Manipur. The epic relates the love story of the great archer Arjun,
with the Manipur princess, Chitrangada. However, in that story, Chi-trangada has been shown to be a woman of valor and great fightingskills, who had been brought
up by her father as a sonrather than a daughter. She
was known to have all theskills of administration andgovernance, as is required by
a king. After her love for Ar- jun, she requests the deity of
love to give her beauty, so
that Arjun falls in love withher, but before their marriage,
she reveals her truth and marries Ar-
jun. This tale is an epic in itself in Ma-nipur, and the women of the state havea special role to play in the social
setup. The Classical Manipuri Dance is
also based on the love of Krishna andRadha, thus giving a special status toRadha in the state’s deities. Thus,women in the state have never been
under suppression or an invisible part of the social structure. It is important
to note that today also, Manipur doesnot find the social suppression of
women. My works across the regionhave introduced me to these states,other than Assam. I am yet to work in
the states of Arunachal Pradesh,Mizoram and Nagaland, but I look for-
ward to increasing my avenues to these states also.In Assam, the remains of the proud royal family can be seen in and
near Shibsagar of Upper Assam. The Ahoms, as would best suit thepronunciation of the royals, were known to be very proficient inguerilla warfare. History stands testimony that the Mughals and
many more of the emperors of northern India were unable to venture
into the north-eastern boundaries because of the stiff defense that was put up by the Ahoms. This problem was also faced by the British
when they tried to enter thenorth-east, as the territory of the Ahoms was the entrance of
the region, and they becamesuccessful only when the came
through present Bangladesh,and were able to defeat with
the aid of their advanced weap-onry. However, it is not a very
well known fact that the armieswhich were successful in put-ting up such resistance, also
had women in them. The kingsthat time were more tolerant tothe women folk. The Raj Mata
was also a very respectedmember in the royal family,
and her opinion was valued and, a t most instances, adhered to.
It would also interest my readers to know that the famous Maharaniof Chittor, Maharani Gayatri Devi, is the daughter of the royal family
of Kochbihar, in North-Bengal. It was this family that made the fa-mous KAMAKHYA TEMPLE in Guwahati. This family has also beenknown to be a very liberal and tolerant family. It can be understood
from the way Maharani Gayatri Devi was brought up. She educated inthe best of places, including Shantiniketan, and she is known to be
familiar with skills like horse-riding and archery.
This discussion is but only a drop in the ocean of Indian history,
which holds within itself the story of many famous and chivalrouswomen. Some names which we can remember even without straining
our memory, are names like Rani of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmi Bai, andRaziya Sultana. They are renound for the way they took the reigns intheir hands to control their families and their kingdom. With the
above discussion, I intend to draw the attention of my reader towardsto truth of the history of the Indian Woman.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
EMPOWERED WOMEN, HISTORICAL MYTH OR REALITY
RANI OF JHANSI LAXMI BAI
MAHARANI GAYATHRI DEVI
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P a g e 3
Last evening, as I settled down to pen down
my views, I was pleasantly surprised at the
sudden gush of thoughts that inundated my
mind all at once. As a woman of the 21st century, this issue holds close to my heart.
The term ‘oppression’ has been associated
with women since time immemorial. Be it
global mass infanticide of girls due to the
strong preference for a boy; subjection of
Indian women to atrocities committed in the
name of Sati; or the lack of access to educa-
tion; the history of physical, emotional and
mental suppression of women dates back to
several centuries. The sheer disregard for
women as human beings in numerous socie-
ties testifies the plight of
women whose moist eyes
betray the bitterness that burden their hearts and
the inner turmoil that age
them beyond years. But
the 21st century has done
a sea of good for the cause
of women. The women
liberation movements
began in earnest in the 20th century and
picked pace in 21st century. The 1920s were
an important time for women, who, in addi-
tion to gaining the right to vote also gained
legal recognition in many countries. Women
began educating themselves, and the wave
of feminism began to spread rapidly. Today,
after decades of battling for basic survival
rights, women have broken free from the
shackles and have begun their swift race to
top of political, economic and social systems.
The emancipation of women has unleashed
the female power, a power so formidable
that it has altered the looks of the world.
The 21st century has seen the rise of exem-
plary women. Case in point is Indra Nooyi,
CEO of Pepsico India who is a powerful force
to reckon with in the corporate world. JK
Rowling, a penniless writer, went on to be-
come the first author to cross the billion
dollar mark with
her sensational
Harry Potter series.
Sportswomen likeVenus and Sierra
Williams and Maria
Sharapova have
swept the field of
sports. However,
the present day
deals with those
barriers which a
woman faces while
climbing up the
corporate ladder. The perceived notion is
women are ruled by heart
and not head, their per-
sonal life getting priorityover professional life.
These restrict the species
called "women" from be-
ing accepted whole heart-
edly in any organization
and from getting due rec-
ognition for her contribution towards or-
ganizational success. The role of women
worldwide is undergoing a dramatic change.
Women today share the podium with men in
almost all fields, be it kitchen or in defense.
Working women are no longer a rarity and
are now accepted as an integral part of the
working force. Indian organization has ex-
perienced a steady increase in the number
of women employees and this pattern isbound to continue in the future as well.
Women recently began to join the ranks of
managers in large numbers. But women at
the top management positions are still a
rare species. Globally, they comprise only 10
percent of senior managers in Fortune 500
companies, less than 4% are in the upper-
most ranks of CEO, president, executive vice
-president and COO and less than 3% of
them are top corporate earners. In India too,
it is no different; may be the situation is
worse.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
THE 21st CENTURY WOMAN! IT IS TIME YOU GET
INVOLVED
Ideas for Governance sets out some
thoughts for improving quality of lifein the urban civic space.
http://www.ideasforgov.org/
Dream A Dream provides children
from vulnerable backgrounds with
non-traditional educational opportu-
nities designed to allow them to ex-plore, innovate and build important
life skills.
http://www.dreamadream.org/l
SICHREM (South India Cell for Human
Rights Education and Monitoring)seeks to empower the disempowered
groups of dalits, tribals, women, chil-
dren and minorities to protect their
individual and collective rights for adignified life, through education,
monitoring and mobilizing civil soci-
ety for concerted action.
http://www.sichrem.org/
Human and Institutional Develop-ment Founded in Bangalore, in March
2000, HID Forum brings together peo-ple from different professional and
organizational settings, who aim to
develop new ways of thinking, work-
ing and reflection about Human and
Institutional Development (HID).http://www.hidforum.org/
Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
was established in 1963 with training
as its main thrust for the purpose of
building up the capacity of social ac-tivists in the voluntary sector as well
as in people’s movements. Irrespec-tive of caste, creed and class, the
trainees came from different parts of India, some even from Bangladesh,
Nepal and Sri Lanka.
http://www.isiblr.org/
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US WITH
ANY QUERIES THAT YOU MAY HAEIN SUCH REGARD
Because I am a woman, I must
make unusual efforts to suc-ceed. If I fail, no one will say,
"She doesn't have what it
takes." They will say, "Women
don't have what it takes." -
Clare Boothe Luce
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P a g e 4
I
t is often said, that on a more funda-
mental level this world consists of
two kinds of people, MEN and
WOMEN. Women forming close to
half the population of the world, and yet treated
as subordinate and inferior to men. Having said
this, it must also be acknowledged that, this
‘inferior and subordinate’ position, which we
talk of, is fast changing. Traditionally, women
were entrusted with merely family responsibili-
ties, and
w e r e
c o n s i d -
e r e d
unfit to
play any
o t h e rr o l e .
F o r t u -
n a t e l y ,
t h o s e
days are
long gone. As we stepped into the 21st century,
there has been a sea change in the image of
women in our country. They are now efficiently
managing more than just their homes. Today,
women are perceived as individuals, who are
capable, and who have the ability, skill and intel-
ligence to contribute constructively to the
growth and development of our society. Womenhave made their mark in every possible field, be
it politics, science, business, entertainment, or
technology, and are slowly but most definitely
rising to the top. Having established their own
identity as that of an equal to the opposite sex
and also having acquired the requisite education
and exposure imposes on them a great responsi-
bility not only towards their families but also
towards those people who are in dire need of
help and support. We all have a social responsi-
bility in the direction of less privileged, less for-
tunate people, but there are certain women-
centric issues, which can be effectively tackled,by only women. Some of these issues would
include moral and emotional support to rape
victims, education of the girl child, prevention of
dowry harassment, providing awareness to
women of the lower strata of society as to the
rights and remedies available to them under the
law. The reason for women being better suited
than men to deal with these issues lies simply in
the essence of them being women. The compas-
sion, the concern, the care, the kindness that a
woman possesses, cannot, by any means be
matched up to, by a man. All women who have
DYNAMICS OF WOMEN AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY INK’N IDEAS
“Can You Type?”
Sometime back a young woman went on aninterview. She was ready with the technical
answers. She knew why she was there. But
what she wasn’t ready for was the nega-
tive outlook that peo- ple had on her career
option. She wasn’t ready for the thought that
the career she opted for was male dominated.
“What would you do if your husband doesn’t
approve of your pro- fessional life?” “Would
you carry on working after you get kids?” She
was dumbstruck . All across the world, half the
women who go for interviews get asked
these questions. Why? In the past years, awoman was defined by her family when she
was a kid, by her hus- band when she was mar-
ried, and by her sons when she was a widower.
A woman, was re- garded a legal nonentity
once, but after the introduction of several
women’s rights pro- tection laws, she is now
treated as a well respected person in the society. But alas, even today in some parts of
the world, women are “hidden away”. Hidden away from the civilization. Hidden away
from socializing and getting that education which is a right of an individual.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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P a g e 5
Women have been known to possess the following rights in a truly Islamic society: The
right and duty to obtain education, The right to have their own independent property,
The right to work to earn money if they need it or want it, Equality of reward for equal
deeds, The right to express their opinion and be heard, The right to provisions from
the husband for all her needs and more,The right to negotiate marriage terms of
her choice, The right to obtain divorce
from her husband, even on the grounds
that she simply can't stand him. (Please
note that God deeply frowns upon di-
vorce as a solution unless there ishardly any other alternative but it does
not mean that men have more right to
divorce their wives than women do.)The right to keep all her own money
(she is not responsible to maintain any
relations), the right to custody of their
children after divorce, the right to refuse any marriage that does not please them.Starkly most of the Muslim community, in India reflect a contrastingly different pic-
ture altogether when it comes to living by the word of God, vis a vis treating womenwithin their ‘social structure’. The Qur'an makes no distinction between the Muslim
and the non-Muslim woman in terms of her status as a biological social being since
men are, on principle, in charge of women, and the male is not like the female (Sura Al
Imran 3:36). Yet it is true that a large section of women continue to suffer under un-ending violence and abuse. As a society which identifies more on a religious parameter
(Unity in Diversity) I personally see a failure in commitment while upholding a cardi-
nal rule of sense and sensibility. Rule of law has always encouraged us to establish andadminister institutions of our choice, ironically we continue to witness an institutional
failure towards a conscious effort on part of the religious institutions. The failure is in
terms of not establishing counseling/guidance centers at the grass root level to edu-cate society about safeguarding and protecting rights, for every society especially in
our country is a religious in nature. The issue at hand is primarily social at most an-
thropological and although it invariably calls for legal determination of parties about
their ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’, a better solution can be found within the institutions we soregularly choose to be a part of. If for instance each religious institutions, within a cer-
tain area diameter could work towards setting up of counseling centers and function
within the mandate of the constitution, women would certainly receive the impetus to
rise beyond their imposed limitations and suffering. Consider the way co-operative
society's function on this premise, albeit in a different context (assisting and support-
ing the agriculturist economically, brings awareness to better farming methods etc.). Iwish to highlight the fact that human right abuse runs deep in every society, perhaps it
is just another element that goes in defining what kind of society we are or rather
choose to be. We need to remind ourselves that No God or Prophet has stood for vio-lence, hatred and destruction, religion has been in the clear all the time about such
dastardly activities. In the end it is men who have been led astray by wickedness, mal-
ice and institutions that we have established that act as platforms of contempt to pro-
gress and prosperity. We continue to justify our decisions under the fancy of Gods di-vine plan or The holy Prophets prophecy, with malice and a hidden vendetta to disturb
and bring disharmony in society we live in. We need to become conscious of the fact
that violence is an act of human choice and as a society that is committed to live in har-mony the onus is on us, members of such a society to address human needs so as to
encourage each other to make the better choice, one of Love, Respect and Brotherhood
of mankind.
Zul Kafeel
The Prophet said that women totally domi-
nate men of intellect and possessors of
hearts. But ignorant men dominate women,
for they are shackled by an animal ferocity.
They have no kindness, gentleness or love,
since animality dominates their nature. Love
and kindness are human attributes; anger
and sensuality belong to the animals. She is
the radiance of God, she is not your beloved.
She is a creator - you could say that she is
not created. - Jalal al-Din Rumi
One day John Marshall and hisfellow Supreme Court justices,having heard disturbing rumors
of their own excessive drinking,jointly agreed to abstain on theirweekly consultation day - unlessit was raining. The followingconsultation day, Marshall (theChief Justice) instructed JosephStory to go to the window andcheck for signs of inclement weather. Story soon reportedback: "Mr. Chief Justice, I havevery carefully examined thiscase," he declared, "and I have togive it as my opinion that thereis not the slightest sign of rain.""Justice Story," Marshall replied,"I think that is the shallowest and most illogical opinion I have
ever heard you deliver. You for-get that our jurisdiction is asbroad as the Republic, and by thelaws of nature it must be rainingsome place in our jurisdiction.Waiter, bring on the rum!"http://www.anecdotage.com/
index.php?aid=10972
*****
As a puisne judge, Bowen onceadjudicated in a memorable caseinvolving a burglar who, havingentered a house by the top sto-rey, was accosted downstairs inthe process, apparently, of steal-ing some valuable silverware.Incredibly, the accused pur-ported to be a harmless eccen-tric, addicted to 'perambulating'on the roofs of adjacent houses -and occasionally dropping in"promiscuous" through an openskylight. In his instructions tothe jury, Bowen caustically de-clared:"If, gentlemen, you think it likely that the prisoner wasmerely indulging in an amiablefancy for midnight exercise onhis neighbor's roof; if you think it was kindly consideration forthat neighbor which led him totake off his boots and leave thembefore descending into thehouse; and if you believe that it was the innocent curiosity of theconnoisseur which brought himto the silver pantry and causedhim to borrow the teapot, then,gentlemen, you will acquit theprisoner! To the incredulousjudge's great dismay, the juryobliged - and immediately acquit-ted the accused.http://www.anecdotage.com/
index.php?aid=721
WOMEN IN A TRULY ISLAMIC SOCIETY
LEGAL HUMOUR
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
EMPOWERED WOMEN, HISTORI-
CAL MYTH OR REALITY
It is false to consider women to be aweaker sex, as the pain that a womantolerates while bearing a child can
only be an imagination of a man.Unknown to many truths, may I also
make my reader aware of the fact that the idea of women being aweaker sex arises from a western
ideology, and is not Indian in origin.
Does this not create a question to-wards how we, in our attempt toshow our modernization, and ouraffinity towards western culture,
have actually moved away from therichness that our own culture has
gifted to the western world? In myresearches, I have found that the
status of women across the worldwas much poorer, than it was in In-dia. Ancient India always respected
women, and assured their rightfulplace in the family, and in the society.
Mother has always been the pictureof God for children, and a man was
considered incomplete without hiswife, or till he was married. It would
be interesting to note that Ramayan
shows a proof of how the wife is animportant part of many rituals. It is
written there that during a yagna, it was mandatory of Ram to have hiswife Sita along with him, but due to
the fact that Sita was in exile in theforests, her statue of gold, of her size
and weight had to be placed besideRam at the time of the ritual. Hence,
it is my strong faith that if the pre-sent Indian society intends to realize,
and create awareness about the roleof women in Indian social structure,the Indian society actually just needs
to look back at the glorious history,and it will reveal how we have actu-ally moved away from our roots. It is
very commonly said that we need tolook forward to bring awareness. I
would argue that we need not searchfor awareness; we have got the sameas a heritage from our fore-fathers.
Writing about this topic was very
dear to me, as I have been working inthis field for a long time, and I thank
Ad Vitam for giving me a chance to
express my views. I just hope that mysmall comparison assist my valuedreaders to form an opinion, which is
necessary for the development onthis country as such, because menand women are the two wheels on
which the vehicle of society runs, andneglecting one would slow the pace
of the whole vehicle. It is but thetruth that neglecting women wouldbe like competing a race with a punc-
tured tier, and expecting to emergevictorious.
Ira Bhattacharjee Social Worker in North-eastern India
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 THE 21st CENTURY WOMAN!
Though statistics elude, if we look around, we will not find even
a handful of companies headed by women or women at the
helm of strategic departments. Major road blocks for women
who aspire to achieve and succeed in organizations are the
presence of social constraints imposed upon them by society,
the family and women themselvesThese constraints are re-ferred as myths fostered and sustained with preconceived no-
tions and unsupported evidence, which generate guilt in
women. These women are just a small fraction of the million
globally who are realising their true potential. Women enroll-
ment in educational institutions is on the rise. They are striving
to be independent in all respects of life. They can perform do-
mestic chores and conduct corporate presentations with equal
élan and do complete justice to their multiple roles. Women
have shed their inhibitions and are proud to fight for their
rights. Today, every international human rights instrument has
placed the protection and rights of women at the peak of its
agenda. There exists no domain where the presence of women
is unfelt. Their ability to rub shoulders with their male counter-
parts, in all spheres of life has led to the degeneration of thepatriarchal systems of control. And although liberation of
women has not yet reached its zenith in several conservative
societies, it nevertheless is on its way. This is the true picture of
the women of the 21st century. These are today’s women, and
they are here to set the ball rolling!
Sucheta Ray Chaudhuri
For comments, mail to
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
“Can You Type?”
Yet everyday, women faceseveral duties and responsi-
bilities. Duty to maintain the
welfare of the family, to up
bring a well mannered child.
When so much is expected out
of a woman in everyday life,
how does the society expect
her to fulfill her duties without
proper knowledge? Women
are more entrusted with re-
sponsibilities than men nowa-
days. So, let your daughters betrained for her responsibili-
ties. Whether she marries adoctor, lawyer, an engineer or
a fisherman, her role in her
family life remains the same.
Education can only prepare
her for practical responsibili-
ties at home or during her
maternity, while only her hus-
band can give her insight onmutual business transactions
or worldly affairs. Gone should
be the day when the first thinga woman is asked at a job in-
terview is “can you type?” It’s
true when Clarina Howard
Nichols said in her speech in
1851 at the Second National
Woman's Rights Convention
that, “a sheriff can take your
husbands goods if he got unfor-
tunate, but no creditor can
attach the capital invested in
your mind.”
Fatimat Shafneez
For comments, mail [email protected]
Kamala Suraiyya aka Madhavikutty (31 March 1934 – 31 May 2009)
was an Indian writer who wrote in English as
well as Malayalam, her native language. Das
openly and honestly discussed and wrote about the sexual desires of Indian women, which madeher an iconoclast of her generation. Das's un-
canny honesty extends to her exploration of wom-anhood and love. Some of her work in English in-
cludes the novel Alphabet of Lust (1977), a collec-tion of short stories called Padmavati the Harlot and
Other Stories (1992), in addition to five books of poetry, Summer in Calcutta (1965), The Descen-dants (1967), The Old Playhouse and Other Poems
(1973), The Anamalai Poems (1985), and Only the
Soul Knows How to Sing (1996), a collection of poetry with Pritish Nandy (1990), and her autobiography, My Story (1976).
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