Who Is Kamala Surayya? Age, Biography, and Wiki
Kamala Surayya, born on March 31, 1934, in the state of Kerala, India, was an influential poet and writer, renowned for her works that challenged societal norms and addressed issues pertaining to gender and identity. She passed away in 2009, but her literary legacy continues to thrive. By 2025, her birth date would mark her 91st anniversary. Her works include groundbreaking pieces in English and Malayalam literature, where she was known for her candid exploration of complex emotions and societal issues.
| Occupation | Novelist |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | March 31, 1934 |
| Age | 91 Years |
| Birth Place | Punnayurkulam, Thrissur District, Kerala, India |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | India |
Popularity
Kamala Surayya's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Though specific details about Kamala Surayya's height and weight may not be broadly documented, she was often described in literature and interviews as an ordinary woman whose larger-than-life persona resonated through her compelling narratives. This shows that her physical appearance, though less emphasized, was not a focal point of her public identity.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Kamala Surayya was married at a young age to a Muslim man, and she had three children. However, her relationships underwent numerous challenges, which she expressed openly in her writings. Surayya's poetry often drew from her personal experiences with love, loss, and familial ties. By 2025, as her legacy carries on, her influence is felt in discussions surrounding women’s rights and personal freedom in relationships, though she remains unmarried post-divorce.
She spent her childhood in Calcutta, where her father was employed as a senior officer in the Walford Transport Company that sold Bentley and Rolls-Royce automobiles, and the Nalapat ancestral home in Punnayurkulam.
Net Worth and Salary
During her lifetime, Kamala Surayya earned a respectable income from her literary works. Estimates of her net worth at the time of her death are believed to have been modest, likely around a few hundred thousand dollars, considering her writing for established publishers and her engagement in literary circles. By 2025, her net worth has become more symbolic of her legacy rather than an active measure of financial earnings.
Career, Business, and Investments
Kamala Surayya's career spanned several decades, characterized by her contributions to poetry, short stories, and essays. Some of her most recognized works include "My Story," an autobiographical account that defies traditional boundaries of literature. She also explored various themes such as sexual identity, feminism, and betrayal, placing her at the forefront of literary icons in India. Although she did not engage in business ventures, her investment lay in the profound influence she had on emerging writers and poets, particularly women.
Though never politically active before, she launched a national political party, Lok Seva Party, aiming at the promotion of secularism and providing asylum to orphaned mothers. In 1984 she unsuccessfully contested in the Indian Parliament elections from Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
She contested as an independent candidate and received only 1786 votes. She was depressed after the results and was advised to rest at her sister's house in Anamalai hills. She wrote the Anamalai Poems during this period.
She wrote over twenty poems in this series, but only eleven have been published: eight of them in Indian Literature journal by the Sahitya Akademi (1985) and an additional three of them in the book The Best of Kamala Das (1991).
Social Network
Kamala Surayya's work has continued to inspire and resonate through various social networks and literary forums in 2025. Numerous fans and followers engage with her poetry through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and literature-oriented spaces such as Goodreads. The ongoing discourse surrounding her works fosters a community of readers and writers who celebrate her contributions and challenge societal norms.
Kamala Surayya (born Kamala; 31 March 1934 – 31 May 2009), popularly known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty and married name Kamala Das, was an Indian poet in English as well as an author in Malayalam from Kerala, India.
Her fame in Kerala primarily stems from her short stories and autobiography, My Story, whereas her body of work in English, penned under the pseudonym Kamala Das, is renowned for its poems and candid autobiography. Her works are known for originality, versatility and indigenous flavour of the soil.
She was also a widely read columnist and wrote on diverse topics including women's issues, child care, politics, etc. Her liberal treatment of female sexuality, marked her as an iconoclast in popular culture of her generation. On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at Jehangir Hospital in Pune.
Education
Surayya's educational background includes her studies at a local school in Kerala, followed by her higher education in English Literature at the University of Mumbai. Her education laid the foundation for her prolific writing career, enabling her to voice the unexpressed thoughts and struggles of women in a predominantly patriarchal society.
She travelled extensively to read poetry to Germany's University of Duisburg-Essen, University of Bonn and University of Duisburg universities, Adelaide Writer's Festival, Frankfurt Book Fair, University of Kingston, Jamaica, Singapore, and South Bank Festival (London), Concordia University (Montreal, Canada), etc. Her works are available in French, Spanish, Russian, German and Japanese.
