Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories

For anyone interested in the Indian (translated or otherwise) literature scape, Kamala Das (Madhavi Kutty, her pen name/ Kamala Surayya after she converted to Islam) is no new name. Her unabashed take on women's lives, their desires and sexuality and her own life story published as My Story have always kindled ample interest in readers. 

Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories by Kamala Das is a collection of 19 stories, most of them very short - about a page or two long, some about 4-5 pages long with the only exception of A Doll for the Child Prostitute, the longest one, being little over 30 pages long. 

Moongphali, the first story that portrays the survival instincts a man exhibits during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is different from the rest in that it is the only story set against the backdrop of an important event in recent Indian political history. 

There are stories that depict little life episodes, written like random musings - That Woman, The Young Man with the Pitted Face, December, The Sign of the Lion. 

The Sea Lounge and Equity Shares are instances where women protagonists call the shots, have a firm sense of identity and clearly overpower the male counterparts in the stories. 

Padmavati the Harlot and A Little Kitten are where the women decide to whom they offer their bodies providing a bold take on feminine desire and sexuality. 

There clearly exists another subset of stories in this collection, those that revolve around human relationships - beautiful and moving. A bereaved father in The Coroner, a busy son who has forgotten his mother thoroughly though she, whose memory is steadily deteriorating by the day, remembers much more than her son in The Tattered Blanket are poignant tales. Darjeeling, Grandfather, Walls, Leukemia touch chords of humanity in the most delicate fashion in very short space. 

Same-sex relationship is explored well in Iqbal. Sanatan Choudhuri's Wife lingers on suspicion a man harbors for his wife. The former story is just as much crisp and impressive as the latter is confounding.

And here are the most potent stories from the collection in my opinion, my favorites too - The Princess of Avanti and A Doll for the Child Prostitute that lay bare the scum that fills up the society. These two stories churn our inners showing how a woman, irrespective of her age, is always an object of desire, a commodity and there is never an inch of safe space for her in this society. The tonality in these reminded me of Gracy's stories from the collection Baby Doll.

Some of Kamala Das's women are bold, some too naïve. The old ones are as frail as a child, withered away due to ageing and the children are mature, wise like a woman in her prime for they are exposed to the societal ills from a tender age. 

With astute observations and sharp narratives without mincing words even once, Kamala Das holds her readers in rapt attention showing them what our society looks like and does. The foreword by the author's daughter is a sweet. little ode to this fiery writer. 

A Doll for the Child Prostitute published in the year 1977 by India Paperbacks, New Delhi has a set of 11 stories, all of which are bundled up here in this collection published by Aleph Book Company. Look no further, Padmavati the Harlot and other Stories serves as a good and wholesome starting place to explore the authors' writings.