First published in Malayalam in 1973, My Story, Kamala Das' sensational autobiography, shocked readers with its total disregard for mindless conventions and its fearless articulation of a subject still considered taboo. Depicting the author's intensely personal experiences in her passage to womanhood and shedding light on the hypocrisies that informed traditional society, this memoir was far ahead of its time and is now acknowledged as a bona fide masterpiece.

It Is The Second World War And Kamala And Her Brother Are Removed From Their Parents Home In Calcutta To The Safer Environs Of Their Village In Northern Kerala. At Once An Outsider And An Integral Part Of Her Ancestral Home, Kamala Struggles To Fathom The Intricacies Of Class, Caste And Language. But Surrounded By People Like Her Adoring Ammamma, The Servant Sankaran Who Promises To Teach Her The Crow-Language, And Valli Who Tells Her Stories Of Yakshis Whose Breasts Are As Big As Jackfruits, Kamala Soon Discovers The Joys Of Growing Up As The Centre Of Everyone S Universe. As Calcutta Fades From Her Mind Like An Old Dream, While The Thudding Of The Drums At The Para Festival, The Roar Of The Velichappadu As He Becomes Possessed And The Songs Of The Parayankaali Dancers Become Absolute Realities Of Life.

This is an Invaluable book for those who are interested in modern poetry and particularly, modern Indian writing in English. The thrity-one poems in this collection are representative of the best work of Kamala Das. Her theme is physical love; her medium, free verse. Her writing is intensely lyrical--sometimes soft and musical, sometimes with a bitter edge to it. Its unpretentious brilliance is revealed in strong yet subtle imagery, and the natural and autobiographical tone heightens its poignancy.

The only truth that matters is That all this love is mine to give It does not matter that I seek For it a container, as alms Seek a begging bowl... - Kamala Das Tonight I surrender to the closing of wings: the Dark shall testify to this tremulous rhyme: Whenever you move under me, my body celebrates This beautiful ceremony... - Pritish Nandy This is a collection of love poems by two outstanding poets: Kamala Das and Pritish Nandy. Das is no longer alive but her reputation and following continue to grow.Pritish Nandy, with an imagery, power and immediacy that compliment hers, provides an apt accompaniment in this collection that was first published in 1979 and is now being reissued with stunning drawings by iconic artist Manu Parekh.

The poetry of seven contemporary poets from Kerala (1934 - present), selected and edited by Gopikrishnan Kottoor is presented in this beautiful poetry anthology.LIVING POETRYThe fecundities of native language, culture, climate, topography, among myriad other indigenous resources precipitate the poetryscape of the Indian poet writing in English.More and more anthologies of the kind will help bring out the luxuriant variants of poetry from India that the world is presently looking at. Ventures such as this will go miles to further our poetry in English while helping to do away with threats from 'forces of standardization' as Sri K. Satchidanandan rightly observes.