ABOOK

ON
WOMEN

[VOICEOFSILENCE]
[Part1dealswiththewomeninsciencesandartsthroughagesinIndiaandthewestandalsoan
AutobiographicalmemoirofProfessionallifeasMedicalDoctor.ParttwoisonNalapatBalamani
Amma,herhithertounpublishedworkonwomenwritersofKeralaandanappreciationofherpoetry
andphilosophyoflife.Italsogivesafewpersonalletterssentbyhertotheauthor.]

Voice of silence
A book on women
Dr Suvarna Nalapat

VOICE OF SILENCE
Introduction
To have a mans intellect and mind and administrative ability ,and a womans body is a
tryst with destiny .This was shown to the extreme in Dr Barrys case presented in this
book . With all her manly attire ,in a most important moment in her life ,she loved a man
,and that too a man who is another womans husband is a fact which we have to
understand in a compassionate way .Why was she attracted to this man after all!!! One
was his compassion towards the slaves,downtrodden and blacks which she as a doctor
and a compassionate soul understood instantly.Another was his disease which made her
compassionate to him and the attitude of the superiors who wanted to get this man who
pleads for the downtrodden to be transferred to another locality . And above all ,beyond
all pretensions, a causeless ,romantic love for an aristocratic noble softhearted person.If
she didnt have that beautiful experience in her life ,her life would have been wasted .To
make a life perfect we need intellect as well as a compassionate,and romantic heart .The
love story of this man/woman is beautiful because he/she kept the memory of his/her
first love to the last in the symbol of the dog which carry the name which his/her lover
had given as a secret code word .
Today we have many women who do professional intellectual work and do not ignore
their personal romantic life.But during Barrys time probably that was not possible.The
stigma of being a woman incapable of professional competence as a surgeon and
administrator might have existed and that is why Barry opted to be a man rather than a
woman in her life .
A silent voice within us asks: Is it still there in society? The hidden remarks that a woman
cannot do what a man does expressed by men who are good for nothing in intellectual
and mental pursuits,in character and in professional skills are sometimes echoed in
society,in media .But todays women are not afraid of such sly remarks and do their share
of jobs with confidence and pride .Whether in science,arts or literature their share has
been well established. This book speaks of women and their inner life from a wide scope
of time and space.The first part is on women as scientists ,artists and literary personnel
and the selection is from sangham literature to modern times from different languages
and regions in India..The chapter on lady in a mans disguise is a Pathologists diary
about human body as a Pandoras box.That part is my own reminiscences as a pathologist
and a woman scientist and author .
The voice of silence is an attempt to bring out voices of women from time and
space,from past and present to give light to the women of the future .The second part is
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on Nalapat Balamani Amma ,a strong silent voice from Malayalam literary and
philosophical field and her works and thoughts as seen by me,her niece from
childhood..The introduction of a poet in regional language to English is essential for all
Indians to know what others in different languages think and feel .That will give us more
solidarity and reduce our separatisms based on many things.including language .

Unfortunately we have had to leave some important selections out because the
translations failedvery reluctantly we had to abandon the effort to translate
BalamaniAmma ,a major Malayalam poet of the 1940s and 50s because her grand
public verse about motherhood presupposes an ethos we found difficult to recreate in the
context of few poems and a short biography(Preface XX11-XX111 Women writing in
India 600 BC to the present vol 1 ,Ed Susie Tharu and K.Lalitha)
Even in an anthology on great women poets,though with an apology,this major philosopher poet
,erroneously labeled only as a poet of motherhood ,was not represented. Thus Indians are totally
in the dark about what this Saraswathi Sammaan laureate had thought ,and how she lived and
acted in day to day life Nalapat Balamani Amma , was a Malayalam poet of great renown who
had received Padmabhooshan and Saraswathy samman in her heydays. This work is written in
her remembrance in her centenary year which went unnoticed among literary circles.Poetry from
sickbed is her own musings written in Malayalam and translated by me.The article on women
writers of Malayalam is her only English writing available which she had handed over to me in
1975.And her letters from 1960 onwards until she became sick in a constant flow to me,her niece
shows how loving and considerate she had been to even a child . And it also shows by 1990 ,she
was aware of her loss of memory (Alzhheimers disease).Through the letters,one can read a poet
as a human being of values .And the letters also speak of untold volumes about how she could
mould me through them
.
Nostalgia , Radha from Punnayurkulam are two of my articles on Balamani Amma .
Sopanasangheetham (a appreciation of her book Sopanam) The sweetness of offering
(an appreciation of her work Naivedyam) covers her works which is the best of poetical and
philosophical lore a woman has ever produced from Malayalam literature.By this work ,the
woman as a silent participant of the entire drama of life and her varied and beautiful personalities
arebrought out.The book also introduces Balamani Amma ,as a kind-hearted human being
and a first class poet of Malayaalam to all the Indian languages/literature through the
medium of English

Contents
Part 1.Women as scientist,literary personnnae,and
artists through ages
The lady with a mans disguise.Pandoras Box A pathologists diary
Women in sciences
Women in medical science
Mundana and Mundane and Ilanko Adikals Madhavi in Chilappathikaaram.
Rejetion of pleasure or assertion of womanhood ?
Portrayal of Women in western regional Indian literature
Heralding winds of change.

Part 2.Nalapat Balamani Amma -An old Radha

from Punnayurkulam
Nostalgia Matriarch of verse
Poetry from sickbed by Balamani Amma
Women writers in Malayalam from Nalapat Balamani Ammas pen
( The music of the ladder at sanctum sanctorum)
The sweetness of offering
Sopanasangheetham
Radha from punnayurkulam

Part 1 The lady with a mans disguise

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Pandoras Box (A Pathologists diary )

Human body is like a Pandoras box .This chaotic world which the every day
newspaper brings to us also is a Pandoras box. .But there is a last hope in this box
.The good hope of an eternallife , and of a peaceful harmony of existence with the
environment ,with this world .The pathologists diary is about that last hope for
human kind,the harmony and music of the spheres which is within us .
Modern medicine has made tremendous leaps in technological and diagnostic
fields. Pathology as a discipline has evolved from infancy into adulthood.Yet many
people are not aware of what Pathology is about and how a Pathologist functions in
medicine. Nobody is born as a pathologist.S/he is human first ,biologist next ,and
pathologist last but not the least .Hence with a definite role in society which s/he is
a part of.Paul weiss once said that the paths of biologists and pathologists are
essentially the same and one needs the other to improve and to thrive.Biologists are
people who concentrate their attention on development and growth of the majority
and study the majority behavioral pattern and pathologists learn about the minority
behavior of the disordered cells. The behavior of cells ,like that of people deviate
from normal .But to know a deviant behaviour one should be aware of what is the
normal behavior .Thus Pathologist is essentially a biologist too.
Metnikoff did not have a degree in Pathology. He was a biologist who observing a
starfish on Messina beach came to be known as a pathologist .Welsh ,a well known
pathologist ,thought of pathology as the study of all forms of life whether normal
or abnormal, and their functions. Then what is life ? A virus, a protozoan, a plant
and animal and bird all physical forms of seen and unseen life are included in
that one term.Welsh was specific when he said the forms as well as functions of
life ,that there are seen and unseen aspects of the enigma, called life. The mental
and intellectual functions of organisms are included in the term life and its
functions. And thus human thought and emotions ,and the deeds issueing out of
them come under the definition of life.Our life is what we think .What we think
and feel we say and do .Therefore the entire drama of life is a whole ,which cant be
separated into parts .
Human body is a Pandoras box. When you open it there are variety of new
information ,both amazing and disturbing .They flow out .The reassuring and
smoothening thoughts that follow last are the best for humanity .Nature and nurture
,genes and environment ,immunity of mind and body to innumerable challenges
5

and a homeostasis in a world of stress and tension is attained depending upon

multifactorial reasons. All these forces are superimposed on one another like a
Venn diagram. The balance make us at ease-and imbalance make us dis-eased.The
external and internal forces are analyzed and integrated and made into a model by
a thoughtful individual and presented to others for their benefit .A pathologists
approach to life ,the thoughts blazing in the light of life experiences and
observations I try here to share with my fellow beings .
A person has genes from maternal and paternal families. The maternal grandfather
of mine belongs to Thalappally royal family which has a series of scholars in
Sanskrit. Nalapat family is a age-old traditional scholarly family of philosophers
and authors and poets and had several Ayurveda doctors as well .There had been
almost 7 or 8 doctors (Modern Medicine) itself in my family before me (both my
fathers and mothers side).Thus I am the 8th Doctor in my family ,like Krishna
the 8th child .Arthur Conan Doyle in his story A medical document said :There
is no need for fiction in Medicine. For the facts will always beat anything you can
fancy. When I wrote my spiritual autobiography Patheyam critic Asha Menon
wrote in its preface that I havent even touched the part of life as a doctor in it
.That is true.By the time patheyam was published I had come to the conclusion that
even birth, death and life are just like dreams .And about my opinions on medicine
I had already spoken through three of my earlier novelettes .So what I had to
convey was my spiritual journey ,the dream experiences and how I was able to lead
such a exceptional life of wisdom and knowledge (Gnaanamarga).What I had
started as a pathologists diary in 1988 I had discarded .But now, at the fag end of
my life I have searched in my old documents and fished out the manuscript .
J.F.A.McManus said that time is the most essential thing needed for a scientist who
wants to learn and to teach. But time does not wait for anybody. We have to find
time if we want to learn and to teach .Can we ever expect each and every one in
society to develop into a scholar like S.Radhakrishnan or C.V.Raman or Srinivas
Ramanujam ? Is that essential that the society should have only scholars ? Both are
not needed and is impossible too. Remember anything that is done without
knowledge is superstition .And anything done with full knowledge of what is being
done and for what it is done is the real science .Even science is becoming a
superstition in present century among majority .We need to free society from all
superstitions ,even if it is in name of science. For that we need a scientific outlook
rather than a science course in education.

Pathology, astronomy and medicine, management and administration are all

predictive sciences. We observe data, make prognostic predictions and wait for the
outcome to prove what we predicted. The predictions come true not in 100 % cases
.Yet we call it a truth if majority come true .That is statistical proof which is
unbiased. So unbiased research and opinion is the basis of science .Predictive
sciences gives greater deciding powers for the one who can predict a future
outcome, because he/she can prevent calamities or minimize effects of calamities
that are likely to happen .There is an underlying order of elements which offers a
logical sequence in place of random description of atoms and that order makes
possible predictions of future discoveries based on a clear analysis of existing
data/past and present experiences /history etc. But how do we collect data or what
experience we get in life , and how we start believing in them matters a lot .How
do we convert our data(experience) into our faith ? In the long run the data
/experience and faith merge in one .It is from experience we learn and from
learning we believe in something .That belief is faith as an educational
psychologist G.Lester Anderson puts it. We are not satisfied by answers to
questions like what is education or how it affects human personality, unless we get
real education and experience the transformation education brings about in us .The
connectionist theory is the simplest response stimuli .This may be applicable in
our initial stages of development ,when our immediate family, our primary groups,
teachers etc stimulates us. Educationists and functional psychologists prefer a
functional theory that of personal research and conclusions. And the 3rd is the
Gestalt which is a wholistic field theory in which I am believing .A gestalt pattern
includes learning about the environment ,the processes of learning/ cognition/
memory function happening within ,the arousal of a consciousness , and
recognizing an aim to be fulfilled and an ability to predict an outcome using logic
and patience to wait for that to come true and in case need arise to modify and
change the outcomes. Here a learner is a dynamic system within a dynamic system
,a part of it and a little model of it too, and education is a sum total of changes
happening in the dynamic system within a dynamic system(environment) .
Connectionist theory is what is called primary enforcements which have a place in
Gestalt .
In the dynamic field of our environment ,there is a definite order /rhythm and a
person is aware of that rhythm .We are in perfect harmony with that external
rhythmic seasonal clocks .This perfect harmony with our environment is what is
called education by the Gestalt psychology .Education happens in a person who
learns,responds,and experience the order of the field that he/she lives in . Now you
know how modern science has taken away this part of our harmonizing balance
7

with our environment ,our geographical features and cultural backgrounds related
to that .
How do we assess whether we have achieved the status of harmony ? E.C.Tholman
calls the ability to analyze the problems of the society/environment /the dynamic
field we live in, and to offer a solution to such problems as index of such education
as purposive behavior in any organism. One can educate oneself through
listening ,(both to written and spoken words) and analyzing them logically .A
person with below average intelligence listens only marginally and forgets
everything .An average person with attentive listening interprets the words in ones
own plane of experience and reference. Therefore these two types of listening are
not effective tools for a transformative research.The above average intellect strives
to attain a projective listening in which one tries to understand at the level of the
speakers experience .This is what we need our students to develop .I used to
include this in all the questionnaires to my students(MBBS) so that I get a % of
how many of my students have projective listening of the teachers words. When
our ancestors made students learn concentration by dhyana (yoga) at a Gurus feet
this faculty was being inculcated so that as many citizens as possible were made to
develop to this level .In our present day education this part is not there .
All of us are aware of the growth of our physical body from infancy to puberty and
the associated emotional changes with it .Recently a so-called intellectual of
Kerala had written in one of his popular columns that my grand uncle Nalapat ( a
philosopher who wrote Arshagnana ) must be having a interest in sex because he
wrote a book Rathisamrajya (the empire of Eros) too. The fact is that
Rathisamrajya is not a popular book for masses .It is a biological and scientific
study of the gender ,just as a doctor would have written or a evolutionary scientist
(like Darwin) would have written .Not a entertainer for youth who wants to know
the positions and the other things in sexology .If a doctor or a scientist writes a
book on a topic like that he/she would have written exactly the way my granduncle
wrote .It shows his scientific mind ,though he was not a doctor or scientist and this
so called intellectual has missed that point entirely .And to come to biological sex
,every being, every organism is interested in ones own function of reproduction
and that he ( granduncle) also must have had ,as a thinking philosophical person is
likely to have . That is no new discovery (as far as a medical person like me is
concerned) and the intellectuals new discovery just shows what his level of
intellect is !!Even an animal is having a biological urge to procreate and sustain
life of its race and each man and woman having that biological urge ,granduncle
also might have had that .Does that need an intellectual debate at all? But what
8

remains to think is that he ,without a college education in science ,selftaught all the
biological,anthropological and medical knowledge available and shared it with his
readers .
I was 16 years of age when I started to learn biology .The right time for a person to
be aware of ones own physical growth, ones emotional growth associated with it
.At that time I was amazed at the new knowledge that flooded my consciousness
/my neuronal networks with Miss Jolly Susan Abrahams embryology classes. I
could visualize myself as a tiny embryo growing in my mothers womb ,eager to
come out and experience this wonderful world .Later on Dr Saramma
Balakrishnans embroyology classes in Anatomy department of Calicut Medical
college gave me more insight into phenomenon of normal growth .The humble
beginnings in a unicellular ovum and sperm to a zygote that multiplies to a
multicellular,multisystem complex structure.Yet the desire to multiply and
reproduce the race /genes persists in all living things .The races are kept alive by
the urge to create a progeny .At a cellular level an excess of the desire for growth
is manifested as a tumor and at a national/society level as population explosions.
The cells in a tumor as well as in nation crave for more food ,more space and when
not obtained the body suffers .I was not satisfied with the mere knowledge of
physical growth at cellular and biological reproductive levels. I wanted to know
where this Pandoras box has hidden the last ray of hope . The perfect harmony of
Leibniz. Exploring into my own personal physical growth was not enough for that
.I had to explore deeper into my mental growth, intellectual growth ,spiritual
growth all the probabilities that exist in a human growth for better harmony with
cosmos .The conclusion and my prediction is evident from the name Pandoras
box. The Pandoras box though it appears as a sinister scenario of all sorts of
diseases, disorders do hold a deep harmony,peace,and order and the awareness of
that order makes one in harmony with everything and makes us take all challenges
with a smile on our lips and good thoughts and beautiful dreams for the world in
our hearts and logical designs to make those dreams come true in our brains .In
fact even those dreams come from our brain in a alpha wave state which is less
chaotic than the beta wave brain state of our daytime and are equivalent to
meditational waves .Therefore dreams are important just as the flowers are for
plants ,quite natural for a human being, for fructification of the ideas and for its
seeds to spread far and wide propagating the race of good thoughts .But remember,
unfortunately,bad thoughts and bad dreams also can spread like this . Which we
prefer is within us .Do we want a world of chaos and unhealthy competitive cruel
thoughts ,deeds and words /or a orderly peaceful healthy co-operative
9

compassionate thoughts ,deeds and words to lead us together to light, eternal life
and wisdom ? That makes the difference between human beings .

Dr Barry ,the woman in mans disguise

All of us know the lady with the lamp, Florence Nightingale. But not many know the
lady in mans disguise behind the transformation of the lady with the lamp. The lady
with a womans body and a mans name .
That was Miranda Stuart born in 1795. In a Scottish family of nobles. But she joined army as
Hospital Assistant in the name of James Miranda Stuart ,as a man. What made her do such a thing,
no one ever knows. She was qualified as Asst Surgeon and in 1816 was posted to Cape of Good hope
.Her/No ,His willpower as a strong man and his,compassion to black slaves and prostitutes and the
downtrodden attracted the attention of everyone in the camp instantly. Not only the nature but also
the special appearance of this very strong man was noticed because we find in a report of that period
: The most skillful of physicians and the most wayward of men; In appearance a beardless lad ,with
an unmistakably scotch countenance ,reddish hair, and high cheekbones; There was a certain
effeminacy in his manner which he was always striving to overcome. His style of conversation was
greatly superior to that one usually heard at a mess-table in those days
Barry in her effort to prove that she is a he ,even pretended love towards an officials wife and got an
injury from the official in a duel. The Governor of the Cape colony at that time was Lord Charles
Somerset ,a handsome attractive aristocrat with high ideals. He had compassionate views regarding
the black slaves.Dr Barry was given the official duty of being his family doctor .Therefore she was
given quarters in his official residence in a special apartment. It so happened that this Governor once
contacted cholera and was on his deathbed and all superior officials wanted him to be called back and
a new Governor appointed. But Dr Barry was steadfast in her effort to bring him back to life and his
duties. With all her manly nature ,this extraordinary woman started to love the Governor during that
period. And, forgetting his wife ,with whom he was happily married the Governor also started to love
this lady with a love, who was steadfast in giving him another tenure in life. The interesting part of
the story is that in Barrys lifespan he was the only man who knew that he is a she/He presented her
with a small dog named Psyche.
In Greek mythology Psyche is the lover of Eros, the God of love. But it also means the Self/Mind.
This was a private joke between the two lovers .The unusual relationship between the Governor and
the male doctor spread as a rumor of gay love. The Governors wife could not believe it !! A bishop
presented the matter in British parliament and Barry was called back by a Royal commission.
Barry worked in several parts of the British empire with laurels. In west Indies,Canada,
Mediterranean - and her extraordinary ability in surgery and medical administration was appreciated
by all alike .In all hospitals she strictly introduced cleanliness and prevented many deaths .At that
period colonel Military hospitals were places men are taken for the last journey only .Barry changed
that situation. Her compassionate attitude towards lepers was noted by all .But what is important is
during the Crimean war ,as an Inspector General of British army surgeons she heard of the pathetic
state of the hospital where Florence Nightingale was serving. She traveled all the way from Greek
island of Corfu via Black sea ,Peloponnesus covering 1000 miles to inspect the hospital .The death
10

rate of Corfu where Barry was in charge was very less ,only 17/462 but in Scutari where Florence
Nightingale worked it was alarmingly high.
Inspecting the hospital Barry saw that the hygienic conditions were pathetic and gave a scolding to
Florence Nightingale. Nightingale has written in her autobiography how this man brutally assaulted
her verbally and how it had been the most memorable and worst scolding she had received in life.
But that scolding changed her attitude .She evolved into a savior-the lady with the lamp for
thousands of people.
After retirement Barry lived in England as a bachelor with her faithful servant Black John from West
Indies and a dog called psyche. That dog was the last of a long line of dogs which she kept ,with the
same name .In 1865 Barry died at age of 70.When autopsy was done the doctors, her faithful Black
John and the world was flabbergasted !! Barry was not a man. But a woman ! Charles Dickens wrote
about the story in his popular journal All the year round.

Anatomy
I was doing dissection in Anatomy with 5 others on the same cadaver . Four boys and 2 girls were
allotted one cadaver .Whose body was that ?What was the thoughts that happened in this cage while
it was alive ? What was its name, date of birth and history ? That we could not decipher , yet we
thought of during the process !! But how did this individual die ? Is there any clue in this body for
that ?
When a colleague puts a half opened Cunningham on the half-opened body of that ancestor and tries
to compare what is given in the book with what is seen inside ,I felt a sense of disrespect which we
could not but prevent ,since there was no side table for the books to be kept .We had small steel
stools to sit upon and a cadaver on a narrow table .No space for any other thing .My colleagues
were quick and experts in dissection. Their half was opened quickly and studied quickly and the
deeper structures exposed and displayed neatly just as seen in the textbook .They showed it to us and
taught us .Us means me and my partner Udayabhanu .We were very poor in dissection .I must say I
was better than him with all my poor expertise .Bhanu learned theory quickly and taught us theory
Sushma and Sugunan learned practical aspects quickly and taught us the practical side .I was a
middleman . Not expert in both theory or practical of Anatomy section. But expert when it comes to
Biochemistry and Physiology which were my strong or better points . Bhanu also was strong in them
. There was something which we both detested in dissection. Before dissection ,the anatomy tutor Dr
Thomas Mathew had made the assistants inject blue and red dye into veins and arteries so that they
stood out colourful. Death was made into an art and a craft ,and a similar picture seen in a text ,and
the colleagues of mine looked like architects making a three-dimensional model of what is seen in a
text page which is only 2 dimensional. Their wellcarved out art pieces were selected for display in
the Anatomy museum.The art and nature were used for removing fear of death and of a dead body
.Cecil Helman , a doctor , wrote in his autobiography: We are imposing with a scalpel a type of
apartheid on the body-a splitting of the whole into named parts. But in dismantling the human image
,we are also in a way dismantling ourselves. Something else is in danger of dying in the dissecting
room; A unified sense of what is human ;an ancient shape in the mind..
11

Physiology does not do that .How our body functions, how our brain thinks and feels and how it
responds to the experiences of pain and pleasure ? This functional cycles and their feedbacks to make
a balance /homeostasis with external and internal milieu is understood there. When one see the
artistic perfection with which the body and mind and intellect is well-connected and made into a
stylistic design ,one need not be a God-believer to believe in the existence of a supreme designer
what ever one calls that designer. How many cyclical communication and feedback channels of
hormones,neuropeptides,sodium and chloride and other pumps and neuronal communication
networks and gross blood and air circulation channels and how this energy/metabolic thermostatic
and homeostatic balance is kept up !! What a supreme design ! And that too in all humans alike
irrespective of name, race, geographic area,language,religion,colour of skin etc The oneness of
humanity is felt by any one who has a thinking mind and a integration power .
Birth is accompanied by death and it is a fact from which none of us can escape .The only way to
avoid death is not to be born again .Who first thought of such a thing ? And how the neuronal
networks of that ancestor might have functioned ? The Indian ancestors were concerned with this
problem of eternal life, because they had a great biodiversity in the geographic region they lived, a
clockwork seasonal rhythm, and a possibility of cyclical life (after death) and a well developed
medical lore .And the result is the Indian philosophy .Arts and saamaveda music of India has a
eternal nature in it because they give an eternal peace and a lifestyle conducive for our natural
geographic features .In Calicut medical college ,when students are tired after a strenuous examination
,or when they feel the need for a entertainment ,they instinctively turn to films/cinema and for music
programmes.Why is it so ? Because any human being needs a peaceful stage for a brain that is
bombarded with stress of any kind, examination being one among them. We were regular visitors of
all music programmes and cinemas and Bhanu and I developed a bond which later on ended up in
our marriage after house surgeoncy .I was coming from an environment rich in literary and musical
traditions, nothing to speak about the philosophy and social sense .Bhanu was coming from a more
urban situation and was not exposed to arts and literature as I had been .He became my fan seeing my
skills in writing and music and my thinking about world at that young age itself .And I with my
neverending curiosity was seeing the emotional changes and physiological changes certain musical
pieces creates in him and sometimes in me too .How does a music makes a child sleep and respond to
communication ? That I was aware from my previous experiences from many children ,since I came
from a joint family .But this was a new experience .How a young adult male emotionally reacts to
certain types of music was a new field of research for my thought processes .We sometimes
discussed which neuronal pathways may be functioning when we hear such and such a music and it
was an exhilarating experience for both of us to enter such intellectual analysis of a listened and
enjoyed piece of music together and such discussions made us good friends . While we were students
,in 1967 a great event happened in medicine .Dr Christian Bernard did his first heart transplant
surgery on a patient. That was a great event spoken about proudly by each medial student in the
campus .Heart is not a mere muscular pump that pumps a fluid blood but a organ which decides
relationships,compassion,courage and also of willpower to achieve the impossible .The part of a
human beings physical self ,through a transplant had crossed all barriers of another persons body
and in a historical moment flowed into another persons physical body through Christian Bernard
.That moment the barriers of languages, flesh and gross body were forgotten by medical science and
a hope of a new horizon was dawning .In that miracle moment ,the receiver and the donor had
actually been able to give a heart to another and also life to another being .In that historic year, at
12

such a historic moment in history of medicine we-Bhanu and me also gave our hearts to each other
and became lovers from friends .
Even in medical language there is poetry ,and aesthetic sense .Susruthasamhitha calls some cancers
as Swethapundareeka-like ( white lotus ) and these are the squamous cell carcinomas which modern
medicine describes as cauliflower-like .The geographic peculiarity has lead to the difference in
comparison. The observation power and scientific temper is same .The material in liver in amoebic
abscess is anchovy-sauce like ,and the microscopic appearance of certain lymphomas is starry sky
appearance ,and in some types of infertility the human testicular tissue is having a wind-swept
treetop appearance !!!! Upamaa kaalidaasasya is our dictum.Kalidasa is famous for Upama or simile
.These pathologists are not bad in making such similes .
There will be 200 children in each pathology class. They are coming from different backgrounds
with different socioeconomic and emotional upbringings and different religious beliefs .I have never
felt any problem with such differences .All students are good and all are humane and lovable for a
teacher whatever is their intellect ,or other differences .The science which we deal with and the arts
in which we live in are both casteless,classless,religionless and I have always been taught a liberal
view by my father and mother so ,it was like a fish learning to swim that I learned my world views
and professional views from my experiences .Only problem I encountered was with the media and
some political parties of a certain nature which wanted to brand every knowledge into a special
category or a sect and make separatism and wide gaps .Knowledge /Gnaana has no barriers .It teach
one a Mahaadvaitha of oneness in a supreme power which is called God by some (with or without a
personal name) or as natural force by others who have no belief in the name God .But whatever you
call it God or natural force-That supreme oneness do exist is what wisdom/knowledge/gnaana teach
us .I am following that path right from my childhood .Therefore even the distinction of objective and
subjective become unnecessary for a right and left brain function .Both the objective and subjective
functions come from our own brain and from our own environment and then how can one say one is
not needed and the other is needed .Both are parts of our being and accept it as such for harmonious
existence with our nature .

Surgery
I just remembered Ittaman from Punnayurkulam whom my father had sent to Calicut for
surgery of his peptic ulcer problem .He came with a letter from my father straight to Dr
V.J.Nair (my fathers niece is married to him) the Professor of surgery and got a date
fixed and was in his ward .My father called me and asked me to enquire whether he
wants anything in the ward and make arrangements because he is a poor farmer from our
village not used to city . I had planned to visit him the very next day after the morning OP
classes and rounds .We had our surgery OP .Janardhanettan ( V.J Nair) had asked groups
of us to examine different patients and came up with a history and probable diagnosis . I
was taking history of a patient allotted to me and then I heard Ittamens angry loud voice
from the other end .To my horror ,my classmates (all of them boys) were making fun of
him .What had happened ? V J had asked them to examine the hip of the patient and
come with a diagnosis .They were asking questions about a problem of his hip which he
had from birth and he was not concerned about .When they were going on asking how
did it happen and was it there from birth and can you walk and can you demonstrate the
walk etc and were trying to examine the hip joint ,Ittamen lost all control and started
shouting: I have nothing with my hip. I have come for operation on my peptic ulcer
13

problem .It is for that my big boss ( Thampuran) had sent me .This made a commotion.
The students were making fun of him asking who is that big thampuran who is bigger
than our surgery professor ? Ittamen was furious .I heard him say .This (the surgery
professor ) is only small Thampuran . Our big thampuran knows all about me .If you have
any doubt you ask the thamburatty.
I knew I was in trouble because I heard my colleagues asking who is this new character
thamburatty and Ittaman proudly pointing a finger at me standing at a corner and
declaring : that is our thamburatty .Our big thamburans daughter . In fact Ittamen had a very rare
disease of the hip joint called Perthes disease which a medical student will get only a chance to see
once in a blue moon .Dr VJN thought it an opportunity for his students to see such a rare case and
that had made all the trouble .
Here what we see is a situation which is a little bit humorous and at the same time a situation
unavoidable in any teaching medical institution . So we have to view each situation with a little bit of
wisdom and see each in a different light .
Dr VJ was a exceptional surgeon and his thyroid surgeries were artistic and not a single drop of
blood will mask the surgical areas .I have seen several other surgeons cutting all neck vessels and
making a pool of blood and making visibility of region problematic .While theirs is a butchery VJS
was art and his disciple Dr K.P Rajagopal has the same style of artistic surgery style. When Bhanu
needed a abdominal surgery in 1993 Bhanu said he will have it only if Janardhanettan does it .At that
time he had retired and was working in PVS Calicut . And Bhanu had a coma just previous to that
and all professors were against having a surgery in PVS and asked us to go to Appollo and my son
Abhilash went to Appollo with a letter from Dr Vinayachandran and fixed a date there. But Bhanu
did not agree .He said ,he will do it at PVS and only with Janardhanettan whom he believes .Thus we
went to PVS.VJ did the surgery and called me in and showed me the lesion at the ileocolic junction
.There were 3 of them .Very tiny constrictions with reddish blood vessels converging one at the
ileocolic junction and 2 others at 1 cm distance from each other away from the first lesion .They
looked like Crohns disease and since Bhanu was very weak the resection could not be done and
mucosal biopsy taken which showed fibrosing epitheliod granulomas which were negative for
tubercle bacilli .
Janardhanettan died with colonic carcinoma and secondaries.Even in his death he showed his calm
and cool nature .He had treated several patients with colonic cancer and he developed it in the end
.When he died he waved his hands at his dearest disciple and assistant (Dr KPR ) and said good bye
to him and closed his eyes and breathed his last .A glorious end to a glorious life, I must say .My first
surgery posting was in Mathew Philips ward S3 . I learned many things during that posting about
life of a patient in ward .There is a place called solarium attached to each ward .Originally the term
solarium comes from sunlight and it was devised to have a isolated sunny area for patients in need
of sunlight and fresh air .But Calicut medical college solariums are the dirtiest rooms attached to
leaking bathrooms and without either sunlight or fresh air and poor patients with foul-smelling
wounds are kept there for long time and if one has to reach them one has to jump over pools of dirty
water coming out of the bathrooms .
The operation theatres were clean and we students had a gallery to watch surgical procedures
.Surgeons will come with specimens ,still fresh from the body, in a big basin of steel ,in their aprons
and start teaching us with that in front and students are encouraged to touch specimens in fresh state
.I was a little afraid of touching fresh bleeding specimens . One day Mathew Philip came up the
gallery with a 7 or 8 kg weight tumor removed from a womans abdomen .I was seeing a Mucin
secreting adenocarcinoma of ovary for the first time .I had seen humptying number of them after I
became a pathologist, cut and studied them myself and made diagnosis too ,but that was my first
14

experience and I was afraid that I will fall down in a swoon .I felt a cold clammy feel of my limbs
and was sweating profusely and slowly went behind the student in front of me .Mathew Philip noted
my hiding technique and called out .That girl ,who is hiding . Come to front .Take this basin in your
hands and show it to all your colleagues . I had no other choice .I was a very thin girl and balancing
such a huge weight in both my hands and controlling my fainting attack was too much for me and I
have never forgotten that incident to this date .A student who is afraid of disease cannot become a
doctor and Dr Mathew Philip was removing my fear of a specimen by that action and that had helped
me later as a pathologist who had to handle specimens every day .
Surgery theater is like a drama theater .So many masked faces ,the identity of whom is not revealed .
The drama always use masks ,especially in tribal cultures like India and Greece the masked face is a
theatrical guise. When a third year student gets a surgical mask to wear for the first time a
transformation happens .Like a transformation happening for an actor who wears a mask of a hero
.Such a personality transformation happen in third year with a mask and a stethoscope and a knee
hammer etc .The student considers oneself as an already transformed doctor ,a teacher ,a medical
professional by that transformation. The time span of the student cross calendars and clocks and
starts behaving as if he/she is already a doctor .Surgical mask is worn so that the patient does
not get bacteria from us .But a ordinary person or a ordinary medical student is transformed into a
superhero of the future by that mask .In fact ,in the stage of life all people are acting some thing or
another imagining that they are this and that .In the students case the hero is a warrior battling
against disease .A hero who brings back life .The power of science is worn as if it is our personal
power and this sometimes gives an ego bigger than what you are .Women come to surgical
profession very rarely while men prefer that .Probably a males ego is satisfied with such enacting of
superhero power and women are less interested in acting as what they are not .In 1982 American
Medical Association News said : The surgeon above all else is a soldier and this healer greets
every day as a battle .
I didnt have any such super heroism or macho courage to exhibit and I had known it right from my
Biology days of dissection, continued to Anatomy dissection hall . There was a funny event in my
biology final exam. I was always reluctant to kill animals just for the sake of learning and was very
poor in dissection. In final exam one has to do dissection to get through .I didnt know what
happened .I just called out in my mind : My Guruvayurappa ! and left the hall after an hour .All
my classmates thought I might have failed but the external examiner (Her name was Mariamma ,I
think) announced at the end of the exam that the girl who left the hall after an hour got the first
/highest marks .Both me and my classmates have not understood what made that miracle. Who
helped me .I explain it as Guruvayurappan.Recently a cinema came by Padmarajan with exactly a
same situation in which a unmanifested celestial being ,a Gandharva helping the girl in dissection
and one of my classmates ,Kunjamma Chacko was teasing me recently whether such a miracle
happened . I dont know .But in dissection hall also I had the same help and got through the first time
,though I am bad at dissection. But poor Bhanu didnt get such heavenly interventions and lost both
Anatomy and Physiology practical though for theory he had very high marks .
I had actually swooned in a operation theatre .That was during house surgeoncy . Dr Achuthan Nair ,
Thoracic surgeon had posted me to assist him on a thoracotomy for Dr Francis s mother .And I had
scrubbed and come well prepared .I remember seeing him opening the thorax and a beautiful red
heart throbbing in all its splendor inside a cage and I dont know what happened next .When I opened
my eyes I am on a bed in preanesthetic room with a nurse with me and later on Dr Achuthan Nair
15

told me that when he asked for instruments he could not see his assistant on his side and the assistant
was on the floor .And after that he never asked me to assist him and I never went near a surgical
operation theatre .
The women and children hospital was the old Beach hospital (now general hospital) where we had
our training in obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics etc .During internment I had a patient there
called Annamma .A thin lady with a small contracted pelvis (probably had rickets in infancy) and
with twin pregnancy .She had two children earlier both of them girls and this time her mother-in law
and husband expected sons .Caesarean section was performed and two little girls came out .Very cute
little beings with red limbs and a redder lip and curly black hair . I was so much attracted to those
cute things so that I went to her bedside and spent more time there .Annamma once asked me
(probably seeing that I love her kids) to take one among them and help her out since her mother in
law is very cross for having 4 girls in the family and I too had half a mind to do so. But by then
Bhanu had become my lover and he told me that I am being foolish and a unmarried girl coming
home with an adopted newborn girl and a history of a love affair at college will be branded as illegal
pregnancy .He was practical and I was not .I was more emotional at that stage I thought .But later on
I was more logical about life and he was too emotional but that was after the symptoms of Addisons
started .So his change in behavior was due to a imbalance of his chemical metabolisms .To ask
whether stress is first and disease after or vice versa is like asking whether hen or egg is first .Both go
on simultaneously forever .
When I think of our early days of love and courtship I feel a sort of funny mixed feeling .Because I
had come from a remote village with a dreamy poetic musical mind and a philosophy of life akin to
mysticism .And Bhanu had come from a rational urban background and a family which is nuclear
and his sensibilities were different from mine. But we had some common sensibilities ,the most
important being our social sense, love for music and for vegetarianism and also for intellectualism
.And later our mutual love for our son .He became my fan very easily because he was being exposed
to a free atmosphere for the first time so that he can enjoy films, hotel food and musical nights etc
which were not allowed at home and he loved my company because he thought I am an
accomplished girl with many creative talents .I remember his questions now as if interviewing a
celebrity-to be ,whom a new journalist has discovered for the first time .He was asking things and
extracting things out of my thoughts as if he was doing so for an audience of unseen nature ,unseen
readers .He made me remember each and every event from my childhood and made me narrate them
to him and enjoyed doing so .My love of music and his love for me made a revelation of some hidden
jewel within me shine forth by itself .I loved love for loves sake and he loved me for my sake .That
was a good relationship .I had come to medical college to know about death .How did my granduncle
die ? What made his wife die an untimely death ? How my grandmother died ? I had to investigate
into death to know about my life .From death I started to weave a beautiful life .I loved nature,
music,literature,science and philosophy and all good people who lead a simple life and who have
high ideals and great thoughts .I love all living things and entire world .And for me music was equal
to my personal God Krishna .The love of God and music made me love all and Bhanu was a good
human being with social sense and a good student and a boy with no bad habits and I naturally loved
him for loves sake .When he heard that I am afraid of having a married relationship but would love to
have children grown from my body as Hydra does ,he laughed out loud and thought I am too
innocent and dreamy and impractical about life and instantly took up the role of my protector .He
knew all my weaknesses and strengths before he married me . That was a good sign of love .
But ,is it true that he understood me or what I dreamed at that young age ? Now ,retrospectively
thinking ,I wonder!. What he wanted was a secure female ,who could replace what he had lost in his
childhood (mother) and more than he being my protector, it was me becoming his protector that was
16

happening .And about the thought of a method to create a race without biological sexual union ,was
my professional dream of cloning ,which I put in a very clumsy way to him and he totally missed the
point .Only when great biologists started to do cloning did he understand my research dream of
teenage but by that time I had become a housewife and a family woman of traditional way and I had
no intention or opportunity to pursue such a career of researcher .And I think that it was nice that I
lost such a career because I attained what a ordinary researcher cannot attain .My high spiritual life
and my deep understanding of philosophy of human life which would have been alien to me if I had
remained single and gone abroad to pursue a career of techno medicine .So in the balancing act ,I had
gained all by a good family life and a good career with humanitarian values and my cherished
musical thoughts forever green in me .What Dr Barry lost ,I had gained and still I had lived a life of
researcher,teacher,pathologist and administrator as I had wished for .
There are several instances of family lives destroyed by problems of maladjustments in the present
world. Two people when they come together will have to adjust several things which are due to the
differences in their upbringing and also due to different personalities. Without adjustment life cannot
go on smoothly .I understood my would be husbands peculiar upbringing and its difference from
mine while I was a student .But didnt know its gravity then. He used to tell me that he wants to see
my room in the hostel which was next to impossible. In our ladies hostel no man is allowed except a
Gurkha ,Bahadur Singh . While we were 4th year students there was a hostel social to which we were
allowed to invite our friends ,including males and thus he came to the hostel along with other boys
invited by my other friends. When he came to my room he loved it and looked at every detail and
remarked on the colors ,this and that which I was not aware of.
Then he noticed my Krishna and Radha idol and a Christ beside it .He looked at Radha and Krishna
and seemed very happy and told me that this is okay and my father will be happy about it .He seemed
terribly afraid of his father.He then asked , why do you keep a Christ with it ? I was shocked. I said ,
my mother keeps Christ also in her house ,and while I studied in Little Flower convent I got this
photograph and I too keep it .And I opened a small cloth-covered bundle from my table drawer and
showed him a treasure of my mother which I keep with me even to this day .That was a Ramayana of
Thunjath Ezhuthachan (belonging to my father) and a Malayalam version of the Koran which her
uncle Nalapat Narayanamenon had given her as a child . This time Bhanu was shocked. He said . :I
too am like you and I dont have any boundaries like religion or caste or anything .As doctors ,we
cannot have it either .All human beings are alike for a doctor .But my father is a peculiar person .He
has very strict orthodox ways and will disapprove of such things ,so you will have to keep such
habits to our personal house ,if we get one ,and should no display this at my fathers house
But it was not a question of religion .His father would not tolerate anything which he does not
approve of to happen in his house .Bhanu told me how his father detests even the sports/cricket
which his son loves most and how he express his displeasure with words and deeds and even body
language .And I was terrified because I am used to a most liberal background at my home and I never
thought that it will be possible for one individual to behave like that to another individual . That was
a new knowledge for me coming from my highly liberal family background .Our profession ,luckily
made it possible for us to live in freedom ,away from that house .
Samsaara as it is called in Sanskrit is like a old dilapidated ship in which a pack of fools climb in to
escape from a flood. The vehicle has to be strong. The dilapidated institutions cannot rescue you
from great waves of the ocean . For escape from shock waves of tension and stress of world and
professional and personal life ,we need a strong vehicle,a view that is positive for a happy life in all
calamities,personnal,professional and natural . .The wise people have that with them. It is a strong
philosophy of mind called Yoga in India and that is not the Hatayoga as misunderstood by modern
17

yoga practitioners .The yoga practice is only a means to an end .The end is a peaceful adjusted
balanced and wise life without being affected by the shock waves of tension and stress .Musical
Yoga offers us that strong ship in which to cross the ocean of samsara .Fools sit in the dilapidated
samsara ship ,eating, drinking ,immersed in pleasures and pains and other dualities and getting all
sorts of pressure symptoms and diseases .The intelligent wise person abandons that ship and with
perfect yogic calm crosses the ocean doing what he dreamed and giving peace to all around .Both
have a mind and a psychology .But modern medical psychology and psychiatry deals with only the
mind of the first type .All data come from clinical patients and their doctors. From a group of yogis
no data is coming. Therefore we think every mind is like a ordinary tense householders mind and
does not get a glimpse into a yogic mind which is always positive and peaceful. That psychology is
missed by modern psychiatry .Studying a musicians psychology ,we find a positive peaceful yogic
mind and a tense stressed householders mind combined. Even a musician is not free from tensions or
stresses. But a yogi is free from tensions in all situations of life and he/she uses music for self healing
and for teaching self healing .But how many are benefited depend upon the mentality of the person
who accepts or not the lifestyle advocated .Thus it has a very individualistic yet universal appeal to
all human beings and even to nonhuman living beings .Sometimes the symbols about here you are
leading whether to success or not-comes from our dream visions and I had several such dream
symbols which I could relate to Jungs archetypes in later life .This is what I tried to convey in my
spiritual autobiography Patheyam (about which Ashamenon wrote )..
Raagachikitsa as a personalized approach:A personalized approach means a counsellling for positive change. In my home while I was a child
,there was extensive practice of paddy cultivation,because my father was a farmer .The paddy that
was brought from the wellwatered lowlying kol puncha fields were of good size grains and
welldeveloped.But the same seed which had grown on the sies of the field and in the grounds were it
is processed were smaller and less developed.How did this happen?
Paddy in a good rainy season is welldeveloped with more production and with large size grains.And
paddy grown in a drought season or when it is in a adverse circumstance like a pest infestation etc
seemed less developed and of smaller size.Why ?
And when I became a student of Biology in my teens I found that the organisms whether plant or
animal has an inherent capacity for its own growth,maintainance and enhancement which we call
development.The envirormental adversities cause dwarfing and weak constitution ,but it does not
destroy the innate urge within to survive even in that situation and the race survive as dwarf weak
strains ,to show its real nature when another season of good conditions prevail.We can trust in the
wisdom of all organisms whether small or big ,in every individual .This is true of all human beings
whom a therapist see too.So,it is my trust in the innate ability of all organisms to try to selfprotect
and selfheal and maintain itself that lead to my personalized approach in music therapy.
The therapist is just facilitating to find this self-healing power innate in each being .To identify the
discrepancy and to get over it.The innate power of human beings is best seen in infants who know
what they need and what they do not need.They stop taking milk when it is enough for them.They
wont eat if they are not hungry.They love to be caressed ,loved and talked to in soft tones and cherish
such people who give them this security of love.They reject the negative opposite type people .They
love a new experience just for the sense of a new discovery and its enjoyment.Pain,unexpected loud
sounds etc they reject and do not like.So we can learn from an infant ,instead of teaching it the
principles of music therapy.
If a person gets unconditional positive regard ,he/she is in a continuous state of self maintainance and
enhancement as a paddy seed in a good field,well looked after.Such persons will be able to transmit
18

this to next generations .The environment and the organism is a highly complex gestalt with quite a
few possible permutations mutually influencing both.
Stress is something that is ubiquitous.All people ehave stress to some extent.But all do not fall ill.In
the first stages of stress the person may not disclose it to anyone and possibly may not know it at all
and therefore in the first stage we may not get a person coming for help to a therapist.But a therapist
can start help in an educational institution itself to prevent stress before it starts and act as a antistress
mechanism to entire society.
In the second stage the person feels there is something wrong with his/her system.Yet attributes the
problem to someone else /or something else and find fault with that person/object and increase stress
for both parties.(by anger and other negative emotions).At this stage also a person does not come for
help since the person does not think that there is a problem with him/her but project problem on
someone else (imagines)and get angry with that person and this vicious circle enhance his/her own
stress and that of the surrounding people.Most of the people who come for psychological
and professional stress reduction may be in this stage.
When this stage is over the third stage manifests some symptoms and signs of stress as disease and
the person say that :The doctor says I have such and such a disease. The persons coming to music
therapists for a physically diagnosed disease is in this stage.The person remembers his/her past life
with all its pleasures and pains .Remembers parents ,their habits,how the person resembles them and
how he/she is imitating or feeling the same way as them and about the present circumstances and
difference from the golden age of childhood etc etc when he/she was perfectly healthy.Now the
person is conscious of his/her genes and innate tendencies and how they contradict with the new
surroundings he/she is in.Feelings as well as scientific analysis combine in the logistic thinking
.Wants a wellbalanced healthy life again .Wants to heal the stress and its effects.In a hospital we are
seeing such persons .So hospital based music therapy practice is with such third stage onwards.And
by this time the stress has become matured into a type of disease itself .(Either Cardiovascular or
Gastrointestinal or any other ).
The therapist has to start from any of these three stages .
The 4th stage is the change brought about by the therapy. By musical experiences and musical life
panorama one has to assist the person to remember moment to moment experiences to flow
continuously,uninhibitedly changing the concept of the person about the problem.In the initial stage
there may be emotional outbursts with opening up of a closed door for years ,but the person is now
not conceptualizing a problem but simply living that experiences accepting it in a thoughtful
manner.This is done in a genuine naturalness,and person is getting acclamatised to functioning
.When the counselors facilitation is no more needed the person has started to trust ones own feelings
and body ,to accept it as it is,and transformation is complete.When such a positive change happen
we call it a fully free transformed being ,an Integrated process of positive change. Such a person is a
fully functioning person.The stage at which the therapist see the person,the severity of the disease/
stress ,and the communication of the therapist and receptivity of person has roles in bringing about
the total change.But ,change does happen whether small or big is the positive factor.Each moment is
lived to the full.And this therapy works on the high trust on the innate function of any organism
whether plant ,animal,man whether uni or multicelluar and hence is science and art together.
What are the signs of a fully mature free functioning person?
1.Will become more creative
2..Will be less constrained in living in a freedom vs determinism conflict /debate. Will be beyond
such conflicts and all conflicts are solved by themselves.
3.Finds greater richness due to increased variety and range of experiences
19

4.Become more trustworthy and more constructive to society as a whole.Not living for selfish
individual motives alone.
The peson who is free to select what is valuable for oneself ,will respect those values ,love them
.enjoy experiencing them,and through that goal along with ones own growth facilitate the growth of
society and of world as a whole.Any society which gives that value to all persons will find that every
mature person in it prefer to uphold the same values because of this only.The mature people prefer
the same value directives which made them what they are .Thus a personcentered ,individuocentric
growth leads to prosocial and sociocentered values.From wounds of past to hope and healing is
crucial to this change.
The intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships:We have to examine meanings of implicit and explicit congruence and incongruence
before we proceed.
Implicit congruence is concerned with intrapersonal relation.That is an individuals
awareness of ones own experience.
Explicit congruence is concerned with interpersonal communication between two people
,here the therapist and the person concerned.
Incongruence may be between the concept of self and the experiences of life.Or it may be between
therapist and person.Incongruence of the past experience is possible due to a past history of
conditional worth.Like you are loved only if you perform in such and such a way ,if you have such
and such abilities etc.Or may be due to appearance .A handsome child preferred by parents and
teachers etc.Or afirst rank child being compared to a comparatively lower rank child.Without
considering the other talents of the child such comparisons might produce longlasting illeffects .
May be the child is ridiculed for obesity for several years and even when it has grown up
the wounds inflicted by its parents about the beauty and marriage proposals etc is still
there.Now what the therapist has to do cautiously is to tell what is best for the health,and
make positive remarks that appearance does not reduce worth of an organism /person.It is
not for being worthy of acceptance by others,but for a healthy life that obesity is prevented.In this
way one has to deal with every situation.
A human beings self-concept is always three-dimensional or multidimensional.One is a woman,a
mother,a wife,sister,a professional,a music lover and so many other things at the same time without
any contradiction.There is an organized configuration of the self . This may be an affective
configuration(like a mother lost at infancy ,a teacher ridiculing for lack of intelligence etc),a
traditional family style(which prevents taking opportunities by fear of safe options /unsafe or risky
options etc).The regard complex one has for a elder ,a famous person .a parent etc can be built up for
certain values and a therapist who appreciate such values is trusted and regarded as a trusted person
and thus a facilitation can happen.When persons accepts therapist as mother,sister or teacher such a
thing is happening.Through the facilitator they are able to regain a lost link which had been
valuable in their life.
Focusing:- This is a method to internalize or indwell experiences to clarify meaning .It is the
experience of a person and hence personcentered councelling .One is allowed to have a special sense
of internal awareness of body and mind complex.It is not a mere physical sense but a felt sense .The
sense of a particular problem situation that any organism naturally feels.Trusting the wisdom of the
organism is the principle here.How the process of focusing work?
1.Allow to listen to a bit of music.(First start with what the individual loves most and then procedd
slowly to the best suitable ones) ..Just allow whatever sense/thought that come to the mind.Need not
try to analyse it or identify Raaga etc..Just sit back,enjoy and relax .In other words float into the
musical sense.
20

This may be compared to clearing a space for cultivation of a seed.

2.Floating into music is like a meditation.We are immersed in it.And after the music try to recollect
what we experienced and whatever we felt write down on a diary or piece of paper.Do not worry
about whether we are right or wrong.This is the felt sense of a musical experience.
3. After some time read it and think about it.Try to find out the quality of that felt sense(not of music)
.What word,phrase or image fit in with your experience best? Write this down beside what you have
described earlier.Now we are trying to name the experience .Its quality is analysed by ourselves.We
are analyzing our own felt sense and not the music .If there are close friends who share same interest
in music one can share the experience and get enriched.In the case of patients ,share with the
therapist and not with all people indiscriminately.
4.Suppose the word ,phrase or the symbol you gave does not fit in ,or if we want to change it so that
it fits well,we are free to do so at any time .Sometimes the same music may bring a separate feltsense
and a phrase,symbol is different with same music when you hear it several times.All these we are
free to record as our personal experience.Now this is the realm of Narrative medicine.One is
narrating what one felt ,what one experienced and what one enjoyed most and what change it brings
about to oneself .(Not what had curtailed ones progress but what enhanced ones progress).This is a
positive narration.Not a negative narration of all the wounds inflicted by others/by society as the
usual biographies do.This stage is called Resonance.We are resonating with our music experiences.
5.Ask:- Why do I feel so with this music?What made me feel so ?What is the effect of it on my body
and mind complex? How it makes me happy ,energetic and in good terms with the entire world ?
Ofcourse write down the answers one gets.That makes the narration more fruitful.Both for us and for
others too.
6.Receive the grace of God /NaadaBrahman:Welcome what come up within oneself.Now we are one step ahead to solve our problems ourselves.
There may be need for a few more sessions with more types of music which the therapists suggest
from our chart .Have continued sessions like that.We will find that we have accepted the conditions
of life as it is,and we have reduced our stress by ourselves through music ,and that the lack of stress
has given us an immunity that withstands our disease condition better .
The necessary conditions to facilitate change:In 1957 Carl Rogers said that six conditions are essential for facilitating change.In 1959 he stated
them as Theory of Therapy.In 2001 Wyatt amalgamated them and presented it as follows.
1.The two persons (Therapist and the person concerned)should be in psychological (not necessarily
physical) contact.
2.The first person (the client)is in a state of incongruence to start with,and is vulnerable and weak
and asks for guidance/help/treatment.
3.The second person (Therapist)is congruent (well integrated personality)in relationships.
4..The therapist should feel an experience of unconditional positive regard for the person /client who
comes for help.
5.Therapist should have an experience of empathy ,understanding of people and their internal frame
of reference and endeavour to communicate this to the client.
6.The client should perceive this,at least to a minimal degree (conditions in 4 and 5) if not in full
measure.The unconditional positive regard of therapist to client,and the empathic understanding if
unknown to client , it is useless.If it is understood at least partially ,that means the communication
has been successful to some extant .
Initially conditions 3 ,4 and 5 were considered as core conditions.But the other three are also now
considered core conditions.
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Reasons:-A contact is a relationship .It is a profound meaningful and person-centered relation to be a

psychological contact.That is a faith or trust in oneself and in the other person.So naturally the trust
of the 3,4 and 5 conditions come from it.Hence the first condition is part of core condition too.
If a person is not incongruent ,the person will not come for treatment or advice for the first
place.So,the incongruence and a possibility of facilitating change is existent when a client approach a
therapist.That is to reduce stress,anxiety and vulnerability is existent when the person approach for a
treatment itself.If they do not want a change ,they will not come to therapist at all.
The client should experience that the therapist have the qualities which he/she had heard about and
talked about.So communication of therapists mind to the client is dependent on communication skill
of the therapist as well as the receptivity of the person who approached.For that contact
communication(contact)either spoken or written is essential.(the first condition).So the conditions 1,2
and 6 are as important as 3,4 and 5.
Congruence is a mental state that one achieves alone within oneself.It exists with oneself and with
ones situations as in the case of a paddy seed. So,the client is aware of what is happening within
him/herself but not what is within the therapist .So ,how can a client know that I am approaching a
person who is congruent with him/herself? It is impossible or near impossible.But he/she can
perceive the empathy and unconditional positive regard for all life forms/all organisms in a therapist
.So what Carl Rogers meant by congruence here is the relationship of the two people (not the
congruence of the self attained alone in meditation only) the therapist and client for a healing
experience.If a therapist has a unconditional positive regard for all organisms(and hence the client)
the client experience the unconditional positive selfregard and thus selfhealing starts its cycle.Thus
the good therapist is like a good farmer giving a good environment for a paddy seed to show up its
best potential.This is the philosophy of therapeutic human interaction in Raagachikitsa or Music
therapy.Genuineness and empathic understanding are only two contextual attributes of unconditional
positive regard.
Trust is tenderness and love and that bridges two hearts.Quality of tenderness as demonstrating a
preparedness and an ability to move between worlds of the physical,emotional,cognitive and mystical
planes without any strain (as a good musician do in concert) has to be understood. The stream of
love,effortless ,with intuitive understanding of nature and its laws is communicated even without any
biographical data by the therapist and the client instinctively recognizes in him/her the beloved
companion in the same journey .Thus the Presenceof the second person in first persons life is a
profound acceptance of presence in ones life journey.It is a spiritual relationship and spiritual
understanding rather than physical alone.Music and musical life panorama and music therapy
experiences give a profound spiritual experience .The method is planned.But the experience is not
planned.It comes when we least expect it.When we least predict it to happen.Both therapist and
client get such experiences in the sojourn .It transcends all past experiences and a profound growth
and selfhealing happen .The effects of this healing is but measurable with common parameters
(physical) of modern medicine.
Thus the personalized approach of music therapy is transcending all planes of existence from
physical,mental ,intellectual to spiritual in creative and scientific ways .It does not have any side
effects if proper conditions are applied judiciously and can be applied in mass scale in
hospitals,educational and professional institutions as well as in family/day care homes .

A chemical marriage
If the pharmaceutical companies are making money ,the main marketing agent for them is the
practicum , the doctor .The equation for this illicit relationship for marketing is,
22

Individual + chemical = a satisfied individual.

A well accepted equation which succeeded ever since modern medicine came into being ! The
chemical marriage between doctors and pharmaceutical companies reaches enormous
proportions and it spreads even to research areas and mass marketing of drugs through research
funded by pharmaceutical companies .How can one expect science in such business ! Yet such
research funded by the beneficiaries is accepted as research by modern medicine while research done
without any such illicit funds and at a level of compassion by interested individual researchers does
not get entry into reputed medical journals .Without knowing all such internal politics the common
man-( called a donkey by many intellectuals) - bear the burden of the prescription of numerous drugs
and are lost economically , tired mentally and physically .
I was given a prescription by Bhanu during our house surgeoncy .That was not a chemical
prescription ,but .
He was sitting in casualty as duty house surgeon and I came there to relieve him as next on duty .
When I reached casualty Bhanu was busily writing on a OP chit .A prescription for a patient, I
thought .Before he left the casualty ,handing over duty to me, he slipped what he was writing into my
coat pocket and whispered : This is my prescription for Swarna . Dont read it here .Read it in your
room while alone . But I didnt have any disease and I didnt ask for a prescription. When I read the
prescription at my room I laughed out .He had mentioned several dos and do nots for me and among
them one was to see as many films as possible with Sheila as heroine and stop seeing Saradha (as
heroine) films as a prerequisite for our marriage . That was just a joke between us .He used to call me
Saari a short name for Sharada ,the simple homely heroine who is not a sex symbol at all in Film
industry .Now that he contemplates marriage he was asking me to see the other opposite of such a
woman being depicted because he needs that also .A very thoughtful yet humorous way of telling a
truth from a mans point of view .
Bhanu was an intellectual and he used to call himself a perfectionist .Being very good in his studies
(except in dissecting which I too shared with him) in P SC selection he was first in 4 subjects when
an employment list came .(Pharmacology,Ophthalmology,Radiology and Medicine ) Even before
that he had joined Pharmacology department in Allepey Vandanam Thirumala Devaswam Medical
college . He was well aware of all drugs, their actions and reactions from his tenure as a
pharmacology tutor /lecturer before he joined Medicine .The samples which he got from
pharmaceuticals went free of cost to the needy patients in the general wards .The pamphlets that
accumulate in a doctors house and the artistic depictions on them make us wonder how mans
sorrows and problems are marketed as a reductionist approach to one organ,multicoloures and a few
catching words .This art is a part of modern consumerist world .There is a reduction of human values
in such consumerist art .What we now see around us is only a mass consumerist propaganda done by
many firms to promote their products and to call it greatest science is foolish .This has happened
within the past 200 years and before that India had a system which did not thrive on propaganda but
on millennia of observation of the geographic area, its needs and experience . And what we have to
understand as Indians living in this particular geographic region I show best we can use this system
without any consumerist benefits but for all citizens as a cost effective self help and what we can do
about it in implementation level. The integrated approach and the integration through music therapy
is that vision only as far as I am concerned . In 1906 Paul Erlick called medicines as magic bullets to
23

kill bacteria as enemies of human beings .Now they have grown into laser-guided missiles and
atomic bombs to kill life .The form of antibiotics were devised as a gelatin covered bullet because of
Erlicks nomenclature .But are the harmful bacteria alone that are destroyed ? No one knew for
certain .Even now no one knows for certain .In chemical battles within our body the medicines as
toxins, bacteria and viruses and other organisms as enemy and human cells as the host country take
part for ever and what side effects such constant wars produce on the host is more serious than what
happens to the enemy bacteria or virus which develop a resistance and produce a new symptom .
There is a variety of nosocomial infection which a person contacts from resistant strains in hospitals
and wards to which no drug is useful . The misunderstandings of a superego/superhero image for
modern medicine and drugs and modern techno medicine through consumerist fantasies created by
pharmaceutical advertisements and mass marketing had never happened with any tribal medicine in
the world or with any system of ancient healing before advent of Allopathic medicine .No fantasy
writer or filmmaker had ever succeeded in creating such a superhero image for something or
somebody as it is created for modern medicine and as an insider of it I know what a false image is
that . But the saddest thing is that many doctors fall a prey to such propaganda and think that they are
the only scientists and the entire health of the community is safe in their system alone and therefore
they are custodians of scientific thought .
When my book on Music Therapy was being launched in New Delhi ,one of the audience(Later on I
came to know that he is the son of a great Atheist of Kerala and himself an Atheist) asked a very very
relevant and pertinent question to me .Relevant and pertinent because with that one single question I
could explain the difference in essence of eastern and western medicines.I am ever thankful for him
for asking such an intelligent question.He asked me :Can you kill Tubercle Bacillus with music ?
My answer : Not at all. Music have no aim of killing any organism at all.It is for building up a
immunity so that all living and nonliving organisms can survive on earth without interfering or
harming each other ,well balanced in an environment of harmony.The very outlook that all the
microorganisms and other living beings are enemies for the healthy life of man makes the
technomedicine different from Eastern alternative medicines which boost our immunological and
hormonal balance by a lifestyle.
The moment a cold or a slight pain comes people rush to a modern medicine practicing doctor ,gets a
prescription as a chemical love letter and rush from doctor to doctor for a remedy and accumulate the
prescriptions and gets new and new side effects and a never ending fear and disease chain is created
by such consumerist propaganda in which both doctors and pharmaceuticals and even Government
machinery and media are to some part responsible. This mass hysteria of fear complex we call health
awareness . The first lesson a medical student ,if thoughtful, realize is that the boundary between
death and life is too thin so that it is difficult to distinguish the two .That boundary can disappear at
any time any where and for any one .If one learns this lesson early in ones educational days the
illicit chemical marriage between consumerist business and selfish motives can be either minimized
or stopped forever .That is ,one needs a value based medical education curriculum . Where are those
people who were with us yesterday ? Where are those expereicnes,histories which they
communicated with pain and pleasure ? Where would our stories and histories be in tomorrows world
? Are we the so called supreme beings ,the supreme heroes after all ? We cannot run away from truth.
We have to face truth with valour and compassion to life .To move in a consumerist and selfish
way is to loose the way completely forever .To loose the compassion by mere data and by
reductionist approach of the whole to its parts is also not nice. We have to have a wisdom ,a
knowledge ,a scientific fervor combined with humanitarian values .The institute of human values in
24

healthcare as I envisaged (see my book Music therapy in administration, management and education
from Readworthy Publications for details ) was for this purpose .
My 4th year posting in medicine was in M 2 unit,and we had two good teachers there loved by all
students .Professor T.D.Gopalakrishnapillai and his Assistant Dr .N.S.Venugopal .Bhanu was in
constant touch with these two doctors throughout his life and loved both of them . Something
happened during that posting . A patient was referred from the beach hospital. A young woman of 28
or 29 who had a postpartum hemorrhage and a amniotic fluid embolism symptoms .She was in shock
. In deep coma . I was asked to sit near her and constantly monitor and give oxygen and call duty
doctor if necessary.Bhanu was in surgical department .I was alone sitting with a comatose young
woman in deep distress and I remembered all the bad days when my grandmother had a stroke and
lied down for 6 months helplessly before she died uttering the single syllable Krishna . And I was
very tense .Bhanu understood that and sat with me for several hours and relieved me of my duty
.When I take rest in the side room for a few minutes and come back ,I could see Bhanu carefully
looking after that unconscious human being with compassionate eyes and when she died on the 5th
day I saw him lament that I could not bring her back to life .She was a total stranger yet he loved her
as his own sister and wanted her to come back and live normally with her newborn child and her
husband but that dream did not materialize .Bhanu was only 22 or 23 then .And he showed that
compassion to his patients till his end .That day and that compassionate gesture was one of the
factors which made me accept Bhanu .rather than any other factor .I recognized a simple loving and
honest heart compassionate and sensible to the pain of others in him which I valued very much .Later
on when I wrote a short story ( A soul from Geneva) I had Bhanu in my mind .And when Bhanu
was in a coma in 1992 I remembered this event .By that time Bhanus body had become just an
archeological remnant of what he was . Continuous blood and lab tests and x-rays and endoscopies
and biopsies, scans and toxic chemicals had had their toll .By 15 years the records had exceeded a
big box .
When the boundary between life and death was lost and when the relatives are fighting a loosing
battle with illness a word from the onlooker /doctors has to be very careful .While I was going
through such experience with Bhanus coma I had two entirely different communications from the
world of doctors. I will remember the positive one first .It was from my student Padma . (It is her
name I have put for my book from Mathrubhumi books Padmasindhu) I was in a dazed state and
didnt know what was happening to me or to Bhanu and I was following the stretcher on which
Bhanu was ,to the scanning room .I dont know how I felt at that moment but it was as if I was numb
and no thoughts whatsoever was there in me . Suddenly I felt as if a beautiful Goddess is catching
hold of my right hand and her compassion is flowing through me as if saying that Bhanu will come
back to consciousness .And I thought that it was Goddess of the temple at Kottakkal ,the famous
Thirumandhaam kunnu .I had never gone there previously and had never thought of that deity at all
but I suddenly had a vision of her in my most needed hour .And when I came to my senses it was
Padma ,my very beautiful and very intelligent student sitting beside me holding my hand and in
silence watching me sitting there dumped in a corner of the scan room . When I told her this
experience after several days ,may be after months ,she gave me a piece of information which was
interesting to both of us. She has her family deity in Thirumandham kunnu and the goddess is said to
represent Madhavi ,the second wife of Kovalan ( while kannagi his first wife is at Kodungallur) .
And I am really proud to say that when I went to Trichur 3 years after this episode , she said
in a send off party that she took Pathology as her subject for post graduation due to the Neoplasia
lecture classes of Suvarna Madam .She had actually given me two great moments in my life one as
25

Devi herself giving me a strength to challenge a situation and bring back Bhanu to life and the
second in my teachers career to be remembered forever in golden letters.
The negative side of it I would have kept silent since I dont want any ill feelings created for anyone
.But I can share them without mentioning names in a general way to teach next generation of
students what they should not do as doctors .One of the doctors tried to remove all evidences as
prescriptions fearing a legal problem for him in case Bhanu dies and another ,a colleague of Bhanu
came and announced very casually that Sir is a KK PP case only . He knew very well that I know
what it means ,being a part of the institution and its secret words like that . When my son
asked what it meant I had great difficulty in explaining it to him .It just meant in Malayalam (Kittiyal
kitty,Poyal poyi) either dead and gone or if there is luck getting back situation . The fact is that even
the comatose person hear such remarks though they may not be able to respond to it as demonstrated
by brain wave studies in ICU and such a remark on bedside of a doctor was criminal since it would
have made him tense .
It is not for criticizing any one in particular that I am giving these stories .But just to make us
understand where our medical science and its humanitarian approaches are . This has to be changed
for the sake of humanity and that is the need of the hour for a value based education and a institute of
human values in integrated healthcare which I am speaking about .No one is a sinner .The sins do
exist but no sinner .Gandhi called the 7 human sins .I call them the 7 human apasruthi and I would
like to make them into sruthi again through a harmonious blending ,an integration of values in
science education ,especially medical education .I feel that this was the only aim of my birth and life
.And I was created by God for just this purpose and all other experiences I had been actually leading
to this one goal when I watch my whole life and retrospectively analyze it .My recurrent dream of a
wave less sparkling ocean from age 8 is only a prediction of this goal in my life .A dream symbol of
a mind is best interpreted by the dreamer him/herself as Jung pointed out .Because it unfolds the
whole life history as if a bud unfolds a whole flower naturally . When someone else interprets it takes
the subjective dimension of the interpreter .The wholistic vision of a symbol of a perfect mind is
difficult for an imperfect mind which see only a part of it and that is why Jung said the best
interpreter is the dreamer itself. The symbols take us beyond this time and place to a space less
timeless realm and that is a personal experience for each individual. A varahamihira seeing a number
interprets it differently from a merchant seeing the same number in his dream .It just shows what one
thinks and what one is about to attain . And that I subjective and not generalized as psychiatrists do
.For a disciple of Yoga the dream visions are Upanayana Guru for a next stage of attainment .And a
raksha (a black thread) which a priest or a sister ties round the wrist is only a signifier of that loving
protection of God as Guru ..That is just a external sign of an internal compassion from someone
you love and cherish as guide, teacher and sister ,and as best friend in life .
A plant comes out of a seed .Makes leafs,flowers,fruits and seeds .Like that a human mind makes its
childhood dream visions come true while in adulthood .The visionary dreams of this kind are actually
symbols of growth of mind (just as we have signs of growth of body) and are not illusions or mad
sexual desires as Freud thought it to be . Freud watched only diseased minds and tried to generalize
that for entire humanity .Jung understood the folly of it .Jungs psychoanalytical methods created a
continuity between past human beings ,present human beings and the future human beings
possible through a strong bond of archetypal positive symbols .He accepted this from Indian Mandala
(of Srividya and Guruparampara) and that is why it is more wholistically oriented .The simile of a
plant that creates a flower is a natural creativity and a cyclical repetition both being characteristic of a
26

mandala or energy field of Indians .The tree of life and its cyclical repetition and an eternity possible
through it is conveyed in the timeless spaceless existence of varna (colors) and dhwani (sounds)
in the same energy wave giving name and shape and form to each vision /dream and thus recreating a
new world, a new universe forever by all generations a continuous cyclical process of education .This
eternal symbols are not symbols of sex and Eros alone but of Amrithathwa (eternity) and are not
signs of disease but of signs of growth of mind . But majority are unable to understand this and this
lack of understandings is the reason for problems according to Jung . How this happens to
modern scientific human beings ,he saw from his own teacher Freud and faithfully recorded that
danger .
A quiet lake or water body is feminine symbol and it shows peace (shanthi) ofattaining the goal and
bliss according to Jung and my dream of ocean is simply that . And a high mountain in its center as
my Vridhachaalm , is the entire efforts taken in our present life to reach that high goal according to
Jung .The dream vision of one sitting on its middle in mediation is a sign of total success in life . Life
is a sacred journey . It is an internal great journey . In it the natural state of death and eternity is
the natural state of the Upasaka or the dreamer who meditates. It is not a supernatural thing ,but just a
natural thing to happen just like a flower on a plant . Jung said : In a spiritual pilgrimage the initiate
is acquitted with the nature of death. It is a journey of release ,renunciation, presided over and
doctored by some spirit of compassion .
When a person has to take a step in life without any other persons assistance ,the most
compassionate mother archetype (as Anima in male and Animus in female) give her vision according
to Jung . It is a moment of sacrificing everything for a goal and in which one has reached a point of
no return when we get that vision. My dream of God always come at such moments .Right from the
age of 8 I had always been alerted to such an ultimate goal whenever I needed it most .In that dream
vision the past and present merge in future and that timeless ocean of ecstasy as Soundaryalahari ,as
Srividya ( devotion to Vidya is devotion to education) is seen in my dream visions of Devi,Gayathri
and Vishnu etc .They give me a positive sign to continue what I am doing for the sake of humanity
and lead me along and they are the flowers on the tree of my mind growing and making fruits for all
humanity to enjoy and live peacefully together .It has no religious connotations but has very rich
cultural ,artistic and creative connoatations pertaining to the geographic region to which I belong and
to the philosophy of the land for millennia as my archetypal Sri Vidya and I cannot negate my seed
just as a tree cannot negate the seed as its cause . And vice versa a seed cannot negate a tree as its
cause either .They are one .They are Eka ,an advaitha of existence .This I understand from my
profession, from my life and also from my dream sates and meditational states and that makes me as
a whole

To Pathology
I was married just after my house surgeoncy and Bhanu was doing his house surgeoncy at the time
.Both of us were unemployed and I was pregnant when I started to work in a small village called
Palazhi .Imagine a tiny village with a name palazhi,which means a cosmic milky ocean !1There was
only a single bus to that remote village and no doctor was practicing there at the time .That was in
1972.I had to travel in that single overcrowded bus with my pregnancy and my morning sickness
.And when I get down at my destination I had to climb up a dilapidated wooden stairs to reach a
thatched first floor of a shop .The ground floor had a tiny shop where rice and salt were sold .On the
upstairs was my tiny room where I had to see my patients.That was a room with a single window and
27

just enough light to visualize a human beings face and recognize them .And there was a small bench
on which the patients can be asked to sit and lie down for examination,a chair and a table .On the
wall stood a rack of wood with some bottles and some medicines and cotton .On the table was a
small stove for sterilsation of needles if it is needed to give injections.
After the bog casualty experience and facilities in the medical college and expectations of a grand
practice what a young person feels with such a scenario you can imagine .And my patients were
invariably women ,especially Muslim women of the locality who didnt want to go to a male doctor
and was happy to see me there .And they were extremely poor and after getting the examination and
treatment they will keep a coin or a crumbled dirty one rupee note for me as my fees .And even that I
could not accept from them seeing their poor state .And when pregnant and anemic women come and
I had to advice them to take milk ,eggs and protein-rich nutritious food ,I felt at a loss for words and
ashamed of myself to ask them that .With such poverty in their life how can they get nutritious food
as I suggest ? And that is the state of affairs in our villages .They are milky oceans in name only and
requires lot of nutritional food sufficiency to improve health and intellect and that is our first duty to
the nation .Then only comes the multispeciality hospitals and the high cost equipments and five star
facilities for the few . Prevent illness ,protect citizens from disease by good food,clean water and
environment and that has to come from each village by co-operative effort and enlightened
citizenship alone can lead to that aim .For that we have to make our education valuebased from top to
bottom ,from primary to post graduate levels .No other short cut for overall expansion and self
sufficiency .
Bhanu got his posting as Pharmacology lecturer in Alleppey Medical college ,and my practice at
Palazhi ended in a short 6 month period which was enough for me to learn a model poor village and
its needs in healthcare .We shifted our residence from Calicut to Alleppey .
There I got my first Government posting in Pathirappally ESI hospital as Assistant surgeon ,in
general service.My son was only 6 months old and I accepted the post since I could travel there daily
from our residence . W e were short of money since our household needed many things for us and for
the baby . And the job was a security for our economic needs .But what waited there for me was
shattering .There had been a senior doctor there .He told me on the first day itself that what you
learned in the college may be of no use here but what the people wants have to be done and I
didnt understand what he meant by that .But I found out within a week .Every day a stream of hefty
healthy male group will enter the outpatient and ask for a leave letter so that they can get a leave
.And what a doctor in that hospital was to give a ready supply of leave letters whether the person is
ill or not .I could not do that against my consciousness .I was taught by my father about the duties of
a professional ,and person who does a job ,for the productivity of the nation.Taking unauthorized
leave is making less production and a doctor is there to see whether the employee really needs
leave or not .But here ,the doctor was to obey the labourer and give a leave letter whenever he
demands and if not the doctor faces even the threat of assault by labourers .When I complained to the
senior doctor he told me to give leave ,since I am too young and thin and just started a new life to
resist such people and that looked a threat to me and my ideology.Just after one month I decided to
quit and submitted a resignation.Even Bhanu thought that I am being impractical to do that since we
needed the money so badly to buy baby food and other things . But I said I will get my next posting
in Pathology and will join it and continue in it since it is of an intellectual job and suits me well .And
I got it soon ,the very next month .My posting was in Calicut and I had to leave to Calicut with the
baby and Bhanu was left in Alleppey for some time alone .
When I joined Pathology I was very happy .Two of my friends (Nirmala and Bhagyalaxmi) were
already there .And I loved to work in Calicut .But the then Professor of pathology had other thoughts
.He told me that we do not need more of women here and women are always taking maternity leave
28

and the department suffers. Moreover if I join,a sincere tutor (whom he trusted) will be ousted from
his temporary service and will loose job . That was his position.I could not give him a promise that I
will not take maternity leave forever since that was not in my control and he went on saying that as if
he is winning over a mere woman who cannot even make a promise not to take maternity leave and
make the department suffer .That was the extreme of problem with a leave . I had the problem from
hefty men employees who demanded leave with no disease and here was a man who looked like a
gentleman but was going on prattling that a woman employ takes maternity leave and is not good for
job of a pathologist . There was no lift to the Pathology department(Even no wthere is no lift) which
is on the third floor and I went up and down the stairs pleading with him and my husband who said
no professor can deny a person s right once Public service commission and Government had given
an appointment order and he has to respect it.After the third trip up and down the three stairs I told
my husband that either he come and make the professor understand this point or we will have to
forego the appointment .Then my husband said Dont loose heart like that .He thinks ,being a
woman and a frail one like you ,he can saywhatever he wants and only if he understands that you
have strong support he will come down . He went to the Principals room and told the problem .The
principal at that time was a former Pharmacology professor who knew Bhanu well and he called the
pathology professor and talked for just two minutes .What transpired between them is unknown but
when I went up the fourth time with my appointment order and knocked at his door ,I had a warm
welcome and lots of apologies and then I was allowed to join but the professor had a secret grudge
for some time against me which he lost after a few months seeing how I was working hard and how
sincere I was ..That was my entry into my department of Pathology which gave me so much of
experience over a lifetime .
Pathology ,surgery and Anatomy were during ancient times under the same person ,not to speak of
Forensic medicine .When we read Susruthasamhitha,an ancient surgical pathology text of India
before Christ we understand this.Americal journal of clinical pathology( 73.524.1974) gives the
history of European pathology also in a similar way .But it originated from a practice of taking out
the liver and intestines of a killed animal to predict the outcome of disease of a patient in Europe and
in the Americas .Quite unlike India .Even in Talmud we see the history of such dissesction of killed
animals by Rabbi .In veda we have the old practice mentioned .In India the veda started with the
Rakshasa tribes of South India first and the cruel system of killing animals was stopped during
Ramayana period which roughly corresponds to Mehrgarh period .Sage Viswamithra with Rama and
lakshmana were instrumental in destroying such cruel practices in veda and making all rakshasa
accept ahimsa and a life of vegetarianism and Vaishnavism .Till that time medicine was a job of
butchers and barbers .Especially surgery was considered a barbers job .Even during Ramayana
period sages like Vasishta knew how to keep a dead body in an oil tank without disintegration as we
see with Dasarathas body until Bharatha returned for cremation .This is what the Egyptians were
doing regularly for their mummy in pyramids .Susrutha describes dissection of a dead person step by
step and classify cancers and other diseases just as a modern textbook of pathology does .Millennia
before Linnaeus Susrutha classify plants animals and life morphologically and gives a good
pharmacopoies for medical use . Greeks learned Medicine from Budhist India and they therefore did
not practice dissection . They were therefore concernrd more with the humoral theories and balancing
of the Ayurveda physicians .In BC (310-250) Erasistratus did the first dissection in Greece .After that
we find a long gap and only . In 13th century (during Roger bacon Arnold Villanova period) we find
the next attempt of dissection in Greek medicine .Before 1410 the church did not give permission for
dissection true to the ancient Budhist tradition it adopted from Essenes .But in AD 1410 Pope
Alexander died suddenly and it was needed to know the cause of death .Thus Pope Sixtus( 4711484) allowed autopsy and permitted dissection for teaching students in Bologna and Padua
29

universities .In 15th century Antomo Bennevine(Florence) ,16th to 17th century Morgagni ( who did
3000 autopsies and wrote a 3 volume book ) ,Xavier Bitchat( 1771-1882) in 19th century Rokintansky
and J.H.Bennett and the father of modern cellular pathology Virchow ,and in 20th century William
Osler made an address for dissection,Anatomy ,Physiology and pathology in Europe as separate
disciplines .
At present in Pathology curriculum and syllabus a clause that at least 10-20 autopsies should be
performed by a postgraduate is a must .About this right from 1974 there had been differences of
opinion among eminent researchers . In American Journal of pathology (King 73.514.1974) states
that by completing a definite number of autopsy the candidate will be qualified or the discipline of
pathology/medicine will progress is just a misconception .He states the genius and attitude of the
person who does the job, for what purpose he /she does it,how much of analyzing power and
cognitive power as well as communicative power he has to learn and teach , etc are more important
than the number . Even with a single autopsy a genius student with the above qualities can become
qualified and even with a 1000 number of autopsies a person without such qualities remain what he is
. And an autopsy should never be done to make a necessary number,or just to quench a personal
curiosity , and should be resorted to only when there is a need for a clinical problem solving ,and for
teaching the students or to enhance frontiers of biomedical research .
John Prutting of new York says that since man can never see all the secrets within the cosmos and the
body ,and the questioning has to go on forever and if we stop questioning our learning also stops.
Pathology is that continuous questioning . Every patient and every specimen is a problem solving for
deciding a diagnosis .Making a diagnosis is the problem solving exercise and it is done with a
specific goal of giving help (treatment/healing) to each individual . Without that step ,no treatment
can be done .Thus the intellectual journey of a pathologist is a perpetual quest for problem
solving and healing to follow and is highly individualistic for each patient .Every diagnosis is a
discovery .And at the end of every diagnosis/discovery the pathologist feels a Eureka within the mind
.Not once but many times we rediscover what we had earlier discovered as a new experience and as a
new problem . Thus Pathology sharpens our intellect in problem solving and decision making ,in
time for treatment to be administered .Some times I have a unusual experience of getting a diagnostic
problem solved in sleep /rather a dream like situation.When we have a rare case and we dont get an
answer and we think about in many possible routes and sleep over the problem this happens .And
when the answer comes in dream ,we go back next day ,take the reference books and verify whether
the diagnosis fits in and find to our surprise it do fit in and usually such diagnostic insights are
correct . In Amrita hospital when I joined I had two such cases .One was a baby with a Lymph node
secondaries from neuroblastoma which was undiagnosed and misdiagnosed as lymphoma and
treatment delayed and this came to me for second opinion and I could see that as a secondary from
Neuroblastoma but the child was beyond help at that stage .And one morning,when I looked at the
morning newspapers,I found her name and photograph with a news saying that following her
death,her parents had walked to a running train,hands holding together,ending their life .I could never
forget that child and the diagnosis I made which ended up in a suicide .But,even if I was not the
diagnostician,the same thing would have happened .
Another was a rectal polyp from a famous Judge ,from Cochin. . This was a straight forward case but
was complicated by toomany opinion gatherings .The slide was already reviewed by 10 people ,one
of them from abroad . All except the abroad pathologist had diagnosed it as Cancer and I got the
second opinion slide without this long history of opinion poll gathering .And I said that it is a benign
polyp . The justice called me and told me that you are the only Pathologist from kerala who says
30

that it is benign but a pathologist abroad had said the same opinion.This happened in 2000 .10 years
have elapsed .So far the judge is not having any sign of secondaries ,so we have to conclude that the
benign diagnosis was correct .
Thankam was admitted in Calicut medical college surgical ward with diagnosis of breast cancer .She
had two swellings .One in axilla and the other in her corresponding breast almost touching each other
.The surgeon had taken a fine needle aspiration from the breast swelling and sent it to Pathology and
under the microscope I saw too many eosinophils and a few epitheliod cell collections .And her
blood count also showed 80 % eosinophils .I thought this could not be carcinoma but may be
tuberculosis .And I went to the ward to see her .She was in the solarium .A dirty green blouse and
very thin cachexic appearance and two bright eyes on a pale worn out face and high collar bones and
malnourished body .She removed her blouse for me to see and palpate her lesions on breast . There
were no breasts at all in that emaciated body.The swelling on breast ,was actually a swelling on axilla
extending to the area what was supposed to contain a breast .And no pain on the swelling but soft
to touch .In first glance may be mistaken for cancer in such a cachexic malnourished person .But
fortunately for her that was not cancer but tuberculosis and she was discharged after removal of the
swelling and a course of antituberculous treatment .
All doctors in medical college are specialized in various disciplines and organs of the body .Students
in our time were fans of these supergiants .But when we became doctors we understood that they
were not supergiants but just ordinary human beings like me and you .The Monday conferences of
these super stars is like a drama well enacted .They give a problem case and make us come up with
all sorts of wrong diagnoses and finally with a deft quality of magician and with a narrative so
convincing and communicative they bring a rare diagnosis as if it was a easy one (with an
Elementary Watson ,dialogue) and make the students wonder at their power of knowledge .It is a
good method for teaching medicine and to keep up enthusiasm of the student in diagnostic problem
solving .That part of the training is doctor centered and essential for medicine . To this a patientcentered narrative of the problem solving is added when we start an integrated medicine through
Music therapy as a golden link and this makes problem solving easier for doctors and life
easier for common man and gives quality to healthcare .
Story of Savithri came in 1980s .She was from a Namboothiri family .She had an infertility problem
and after several years of waiting ,she lost her periods and every one in the family were happy .They
expected a new arrival in the family to continue the race .She had morning sickness .Her nipples
darkened and all signs indicated pregnancy .Pregnancy test was positive .But when she came for a
check up to Medical college the duty doctor said ,this is not pregnancy and possibility of a
Vesicular mole is to be thought of.And after a series of consultations and tests at the end of a
Dialatation and cuerettage ,a bunch of grape like things were taken out from her uterus and the
diagnosis of vesicular mole confirmed from pathology department . The gross appearance of the
material taken out is like a grapelike cluster .This condition is explained by Susruthasamhitha in
India before Christ . Susrutha says for women with Vandhya(infertility) there will be continuous
Puthragni(abortions) and instead of a child another rmaterial grows in uterus and thi she names as
Moodagarbha . He describes 8 types of Moodagarbha and in one of them only the grapelike clusters
are seen in the material .According to modern medicine also this is the description and in other stages
of the disease when the grapelike cluster disappears it grows to a grave serious condition called
Choriocarcinoma .Look at the fate of savithri who wanted a child badly and was praying for it and
who does not get it and Annamma who does not want another girl child but gets two instead of one
.Desire of two types and experience of two types .That is worldly life and its sorrows .Medical
profession gives us a very clear view of transient nature of life and its desires and is the best spiritual
life for a mind which analyse facts .
31

There had been a tribal group of Kaapalika in India who practiced butchery in funeral grounds and in
the places where criminals were killed by Governemnt laws .These Gypsi tribes who were the
ancient Rakshasa /Paisacha wandering groups used to travel widely and they even practiced
vivisection. The gypsies of this type was the influencing factor for Galen to start dissection . Veselius
was a pharmacist of Roman emperor Charles 5th . He said what Galen said about anatomy was from
dissection and vivisection of animals and are not true for human body . The modern system of
dissecting a dead body(cadaver) was started by Vesselius .His work Fabrica came in 1543 ,the same
year as Coper Nicus On the revolution of the celestial spheres .This is not mere coincidence
.European renaissance reflected the direct contact between India and Europe and only after 14th and
15th century we find true science in Europe .When Fabricas first copy came out Vesselius was only
28 year old .Since that time ,Galens work taught as gospel truth for 1400 years in Europe was put in
dustbin .
The teacher of Vesselius was Jacob Sylvius who did not relish the acts of Vesselius in criticizing
Galons authority on Medicine and he wrote to the emperor about his former student : I implore His
Imperial Majesty to punish severely ,as he deserves, this monster born and bred in his own house
,this worst example of ignorance ,ingratitude ,arrogance and impiety ,to suppress him so that he may
not poison the rest of Europe with his pestilential breath.
After that the teacher always called his former disciple by a nickname Vesanus , which in Latin
means a madman . But the last four letters of the word also has a twin meaning ,which is an
Anatomical insult . The medical students during Anatomy dissection become very adept in such dual
meaning usages ,especially the men students .It is a very ungentlemanly character . In pathology
department ,most of the staff members are females . Only very few males exist .And they are all very
gentlemanly and I have never ever heard them use such bad language or behave in a bad way . They
are all people who have internalized a lesson that when we cut organs of a human being ,we have to
respect the owners as our fellow beings . I say this in tribute to all my colleagues in Pathology
department of Calicut Medical college ,but I cannot pay that tribute to male colleagues I had at a
Private medical college . Vesselius had a habit of performing dissection on all dead bodies .He did
such an autopsy on a noble man who was in deep coma thinking that he was dead .But when
the body was opened the heart was beating and Vesselius was condemned for murder and King
Philip 2 had to intervene and reduce the punishment to a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for removing all
sins . While returning from that trip at his 50th year he died in a island where he was deposited by the
ships crew when they found that he was having a disease . (1564 in Sakintos island west of Greece).
The character of Vessslius as described by his teacher makes us think .Was he really like that .His
wife and daughter got married the same year he died and even they didnt mourn his death .He was
never loved by any one ,and in his younger days he was obsessively haunting every graveyard and
gallows and had a cruel nature which made him unloved even by his own wife and daughter . He was
the first Guru of modern Aantomists and modern Medicine whereas the first Gurus of Indian
medicine are all great sages loved and respected by all .
Disciple of Vesselius was Fabrissius and his disciple was the famous William Harvey who
discovered blood circulation in Modern medicine . At that time the professional association of
London Anatomists was called The Barbers and the surgeons company . And they were given
according to a parliament act ,4 dead bodies of criminals hanged ,for study and dissection for this
association.Even those 4 bodies were not used by the teachers . When Harvey reached Padua it had
glorious departmental heads Fabricius in Anatomy , Sabarella in logic and Galileo in Mathematics .
Fabricius ,who became Guru and friend of Harvey had discovered sunspots before Galileo .
Astronomy,surgery,barber jobs and logic were learned by the same person at that time. Harvey
started to kill all animals he saw and was destroying biodiversity by his study . Everything ,including
32

a pet parrot of his wife when it died . And he saw an egg in its oviduct and wrote : I always thought
Him to be a cock-parrat by his notable excellance in singing and talking and he also concluded that
being a she-parrot her cause of death is her inability to get a males love .That was his death
certificate for a pet parrot .What a silly certificate to give !
Look at his believes given below.
1.The intellect to sing and talk well goes with only male parrots and that was hisreason for believing
it to be a he .
2.Since there is an egg in its oviduct ,that earlier concept is wrong and it is a she
3.And if it is a female ,then the cause of death has to be lack of male company .
I have never seen such stupid statements in any Sanskrit texts on medicine .Harvey with all his
celebrity fame for discovery of blood circulation was a superstitious fool only . He never had any
medical ethics . His case histories were all disclosing the identities of his clients which is contrary to
Hippocratus oath . A judge called Lord Clark was the classical example of Harveys lack of ethics
.He was treated by Harvey for a retracted Penis and about him Harvey wrote : Men can degenerate
into hermaphrodites or women .
Bacon ,his contemporary was exactly the opposite of Harvey and thought medicine should go back to
the diligence of Hippocratus . Bacon was interested in the science of science . He knew that each
discovery is only one link in a very long chain of discoveries .And analyzing the entire history of
science oen has to get a wholistic picture .Instead of that ,making a single discovery and being proud
about it is dangerous ,he thought . After several centuries Poincare also wrote : Scince is built
up with facts ,as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science
than a heap of stones is a house .
This I write because research has become data collection ,writing a thesis for getting a postgraduation
and a rise in position and salary and that is not science but just a vocational method of earning a
livelihood . Science is beyond that . Not only modern medicine but several other branches of
medicine is facing such deterioration today .
The science of science has to reemerge as Bacon said . Whatever modern medicine has aquired
,different from ancient Indian medicine came after the discovery of Microscope by Leewenhock .
Anton Van Leewenhock was born to a basket weaver ,and was a draper by profession and it was his
contribution that revolutionized medicine ,not that of any doctor .Suppose basket weavers and
drapers say that microscope is our rightful discovery and medical people have no right to use it
,would that be true ? Should that be obeyed ? If not ,the claim of modern medicine that they are
progressive and all other sciences are not also has to be reexamined . What a draper discovered can
be used by all medical branches .What a physicist discovered also can be used by all branches of
medicine .If it is used by only modern medicine it is simply by chance only .But surgery is theirs and
they have a right over it . And all other branches of medicine can stick on to their medical side and
research and allow modern medical science to be authority of surgery ,because it is that branch which
developed independently in Western medicine (without help from physics,or chemistry ,biology or
even drapers and lens makers ) . The same can be said to the degree holders of Ayurveda.
The interesting fact is that Leewenhock got his hobby of glassmaking from bangle and mirrormakers
of Dutch East India company (the drapers were at that time specializing in decorating clothes with
glass and mirrors as in Rajasthan and Dutch East India company had introduced it to Europe).With
his one lens microscope leewenhock discovered that all organisms have organisms living upon them
and feeding on them .This was the same discovery Susrutha made when he said Jeevo
Jeevasya Jeevanam . About Leewenhocks discovery his contemporary poet (Irish) Jonathen Swift
wrote :
So ,naturalists observe, a flea
33

Has smaller fleas that on him prey;

And these have smaller still to bite them
And so proceed ad infinitum .
Leewenhock achieved his magnification power by uniting his crystal glass lens with a minute drop of
water wic has a magnifying power greater than his glass. And his measure was almost like an Indian
measure:
The standard measurement being a sandgrain which is 870 X or 0.18 mm
One hair = 100 X
One red blood cell = 7.2 X
One bacteria = 2-3 X
This person died at age 90 under the loving care of his daughter Maria in 1720. This humble person,a
draper and a researcher throughout his life and discoverer of Microscope is the real Guru of us
pathologists who made pathological diagnosis possible .
Iatros is a greek term for one who heals .And iatrogenic means that which is produced by healing acts
.The side effects of healing acts creates iatrogenic diseases and a pathologist as a peaceful observer
of entire history of development of his/her profession views it wholistically and speaks out the
diagnosis so that the entire society gets a healing touch with that truthful scientific diagnostics which
is a theragnosis- aa combination of diagnosis and treatment together . Let our society be cured of its
disease of misunderstanding about science .The superstition created by science is dangerous than
superstitions created by ignorant people because of its powerful mass marketing

Village Medicine:
The village medicine is a continuation of a mental relationship between a family doctor and the
people of the village and I got its primary lessons from my own grandmother and my mother .Both of
them ( as well as the mother of my grandmother) never believed in modern medicine .My
grandmother ,as my foster mother thought that by giving butter daily (just as the infant Krishna did)
my intellect will excel that of all other children. And my mother also said that eating butter till age
8 is the secret of my intellect .Giving baths in medicinal waters in which leaves and barks of trees
were put ,and regular vegetarian diet was my schedules while I was with grandmother (until age 8)
.When I was bitten by a scorpion from my fathers house, my mother went to the garden, collected
some green leaves, made it into a paste and applied it on the wound and said it will go off within 24
hours and she was right .And when we children had a thorn pierced onto the heel /sole of feet she
will make a paste of turmeric and cooked rice and apply it as a poultice and leave it for one full night
and we will be surprised to see the thorn within the yellow paste ,the next day morning
.Honey,pepper,Thriphala,some ayurvedic aasava/arishta etc were always ready in our house
.Dhanuantharam for external application and for internal use also was in the medical store of my
mother always at hand. When we fall down and make a bleeding wound and come running to her,
she will take some fresh dusty material from the outer surface of a fresh palm leaf (of a young
coconut tree) and put it over the wound and the wound healed quickly .Only when it is out of her
control she asked help of a family compounder Mr David ,in whom she had faith .And only if
he says it is essential to call a doctor ,a doctor from Kunnamkulam was summoned .In
those days our village Punnayurkulam did not have a doctor .
I am talking about the preindependent and just after independence India and its villages and how
people knew what to do and were selfsufficient with their indigenous practices which were in
harmony with a agroecocnomy and natural harmony. Now we dont have it .My mother was like a
Jeevaka ,a physician during Buddhist period, who could identify any natural herb and its use as a
medicine .Modern housewives are not aware of such things .I was living in Punayurkulam till age 19
34

when I left for Calicut to join Medical college .When I see the white-collared doctors of today,I
remember my mother and grandmother who were not celebrity doctors but knew what is needed for
the healthy survival of ones family and neighbors .When her sister became famous as a poet my
mother preferred to live as a socially conscious woman helping neighbors, old helpless people , poor
families , education for children,and a vocational training of women ,and in establishing ankanavadis
for children etc .She remained like that till her end .From her attitude to life and its problems I have
learned several good points about a wholistic life and self-healing .
Family medicine is a long term experience. A family doctor in a village knows each and every
villager, not only their medical history, but their entire life history ,problems etc .He/she is part of the
village life and has an originality of the village culture. The British people who came to India were
impressed by this system and when they started NHS introduced the general practitioner as a family
physician .The people of UK still depend upon their family doctors ,and have faith in them and go to
a Doctor in a general hospital only when the family doctor refers them to such an institution. The
reason is that family doctors see the whole person and not a part of the person .Somehow India has
lost this age-old practice with modern medical practices .A person coming from an Indian
background (especially a village background) like me ,will naturally find it easy to integrate the good
parts of the practices of ancients with the modern research protocols of the new medicine .I also try
to look at things from an anthropological point .There are a few questions in Anthropology .A person
and a society in which he/she belongs .the similarities and differences of that person and society from
persons/societies other than his/hers, and how do these persons/societies develop a different world
view but with several similarities ? What are the geographic features that determine their medical
behaviors ? Only when analyze the Indian and European geographic features and the medical
profession in both areas ,we understand the strength of Indian indigenous approaches for Indians as a
geographic regional group .That is ethno medicine .Only 200 -300 years have elapsed for the
commercial marketing of modern medicine as the gospel truth and the only solace for healthy living
.And we find in all European countries including Britain (from where India took the western
practice) trying to introduce complementary wholistic medicines ,especially of China and India .The
only obstacle is in India where a few commercial institutions and people who still spread and thrive
on the malpractices of certain types of medicine .And modern medicine practitioners are the toppers
among them .In India just as in Britain there are two main streams of treatment
1.The general practice /Family medicine
2.Hospital based medicine
Ayurveda,Sidha,Yoga,Homeopathy etc are also in the scenario .The commercialism and competition
between these practitioners is the problem ,and not of the sciences themselves .The more and more
one understands about life ,disease,deaths and problems of society ,and about medical practices of
different sorts and healing traditions what one understands is that there is no contradiction between
these various systems/opinions but the individuals who get benefit out of each discipline are
brainwashing others for personal reasons .After all ,in this vast expanding universe a human being is
just like a subatomic particle .And to live in harmony with the cosmos,our environment we have to
learn and follow its rhythms ,manifested in the seasonal clocks in the geographic region which is our
home is only common sense. A famous cancer specialist ( Rachel Naomi Remen) said : Perhaps the
most basic skill of the physician is the ability to have comfort with uncertainty ,to recognize with
humility the uncertainty inherent in all situations, to be open to the ever-present possibility of the
surprising ,the mysterious, and even the Holy ,and to meet the people there.
Man try to weigh,explain,and control every thing including cosmos and subatomic particle. Yet there
is something that always defy that effort .All healing arts and sciences might have experienced this
35

limitation at one time or another .And all healers might have known it too .Is there a herb that prevent
death ,as Mrithasanjeevani as explained in Ramayana ? Ayurveda speaks of such a remedy with sage
Sukra ,a person who lived in Bhrighukatcha ( the modern Broach) ,who was the preceptor of Asura
tribes .The plant was brought to Lanka from Himalaya according Ramayana .A few German
scientists claim that they have seen a plant that grows only in Himalaya at 36 0 N in Lanka near 00
equator .The prayer Mrityormaa amritham gamaya of Indians was for a deathless eternal life .But no
medicine or medical science has found it possible for the physical body to exist forever and all efforts
of modern medicine to prolong life has resulted only in prolonging the misery of life and it has failed
miserably in giving quality life .The reason for popularity of alternative medicine is due to this very
fact .Yoga and Upanishads and Ayurveda and music of India gives quality life to all .It has to be
resorted to prevent disease, to increase our immunity, our harmony with nature and for our self
healing to take place .
Arthur Conan Doyle said about family physicians :- He goes from house to house ..and his step and
his voice are loved and welcomed in each. What could a man ask more than that ?
Is there such a ideal doctor ? Not now in modern world .The busy doctor who cannot even listen
properly to what the client has to tell,beaurocratic slowing down of all processes ,the person reduced
to a case ,and to an organ by specialists, the toxic side effects which produce new diseases of which
even doctors do not know what to do and how to deal with, the malpractices with pharmaceutical
companies and laboratories even encroaching to patient care and research with lot of bias, and the
learning to get out of legal problems first and then only think about patient care as far as big
institutions are concerned-can we ever find a ideal doctor who listens and finds a solution for the life
problems of each individual ? Can the healing art ever give a quality life for all citizens alike ? Is it
not the duty of each one of us to have selfhealing knowledge ,rather than depend upon a doctor to
cure us unless it is absolutely indicated ? My answer to such questions after prolonged experience
and research into the matter is an integrated approach through the golden link of music therapy .The
music therapists as family links in each village ,and in each busy hospitals can record all personal
data ,and in case needed this narratives can be of help for the later stages of life of each individual
.This will accumulate in each geographic region as data and will help not only the patient but also the
doctors in dealing with a disease with a client-centered fashion. The integration of medical practices
through music is a solution for our national integrity and peace as well .In integrated medicine all
indigenous medical practices have equal status .And music acts as link between these practices and
the western medical practice .
When a individual develops an imbalance in mental or physical environment ,disease happens. To
get back the balance one should know the environment from which the individual comes, the society,
its practices, its beliefs, its food habits, the geographically available food ,the economic condition of
the family, the cultural and art practices and hobbies which gives mental peace, - and none of these
are taken into account in modern medicine which is at present a doctor-centered and hospitalcentered practice with no importance for the client .This mechanical way of medical practice is the
reason for our problems and to reduce it and then solve it completely we have to transform our
healing medical practices by integrating medicine .The belief that just by modern medicine the
balance can be brought back is the greatest superstition we have developed ,thanks to
commercialized mass marketing of its advocates for 300 years .Modern neurophysiology,
neuropsychoimmunology etc have actually proved the unscientific nature of such a blind faith in one
type of medical practice .
By employing music therapists as family counselors and narrative therapists who collect the musical
life panorama of each individual in a village/town we also provide employment for younger
generation so that they do not get into illicit relations with people who are a threat to the nations
36

future and solidarity .The youngsters if provided with a proper aim in life and a means for livelihood
and a satisfaction that they are helping society and nation(and world) will be taken into a mainstream
nation building programme .But for this they need proper training .Especially since they have to enter
each and every home in a locality as a best friend they need a ethical training and a medical training
regarding certain problems .This training has to be started first with training of a faculty who are
qualified to teach .And a development of a research team for quality control .Thus we have a long
way to go in implementation of this programme .

Black and white ,adrenal and melanin

What is objective and what subjective ? The dreams ,hopes and music, and God are mythology and
subjective for the modern technocrat and academician. Biomedical science is speaking as if it is the
only answer which is scientific. And astrophysics and neurophysiology is everyday proving contrary
to the biomedical measures that the dreams and hopes and aspirations and arts like music do count in
a positive life and is as objective as the biomedical scientific data .How did a dream of Srinivasa
Ramanuja about his family deity Namakkal Devi give him knowledge of the magical squares ? How
could Kekule dreaming of a coiled serpent discover the benzene ring? How Poincare and Jung
were able to translate their dreams into realities ? How could an imaginary trip of Einstein over a
sunray lead to a famous formula of energy ,mass and velocity ?Are these inventions and discoveries
myth or science ? If they are science how could the cause that lead to the effect be classified as a
myth ?
Once a European medical student was looking at a union of ovum and sperm of a starfish under a
microscope .He described it as The cells mingling in silent ecstasy on a tiny microscopic slide
.And surprisingly that night he dreamt not of life ,but of dead bodies .Because the life and death
creation and dissolution-are only two sides of the same coin .The same student while he was looking
at a picture of female generative organ in Grays anatomy and the caption below it as It is a fibro
muscular tube with stratified squamous epithelium remarked : To call such an organ as a fibro
muscular tube is like Latin poetry or a thanthric rhyme .This is his subjective view on a objective
way of description. But what is subjective about his remark is objective when several people share
the same opinion and a data of that is collected and presented in a reputed journal .So is there any
difference between subjective data and objective data ?
In Africa population registration Act came in 1950.Then the people were divided as black and white
scientifically based on skin color .Then each was again sub classified as Europeans, Africans ,Asians
and Chinese etc .This scientific census of black and white and resultant separatism was reflected
even in medicine .Only after 30 years Cape Town hospitals could remove the bad effects of this
apartheid .Fortunately Indian hospitals never did have such a scientific separatism based on
morphology of skin color .Yet there is an academician population in India who apply every science
in Europe to Indian situation and theorize and by such theories and their marketing make separatisms
possible everywhere .Though the European way of taking census in Colonial India did make a
separatist feeling among Indians ,and it still survives ,it never reached the dimensions of South Africa
to reach hospitals .Christian,Hindu,Muslim,Adivasi ,Brahman are not different for an Indian hospital
.All are patients/or just cases for a medical professional. All the cell share same function, same
structure .The structure of genes, of subatomic energy functions everything is same .The body as well
as the Atman has no class and caste here .This was so from the period of ancient Ayurveda which
37

was practiced by all alike from tribal to Brahmin .The only difference between man and man is in
gender as far as gross physical body is concerned. In mental power even that does not exist .
I have not seen a polar bear except in National Geographic magazine and channels .It is very white
and is a carnivore .And the common tropical bear is a black animal and usually satisfied with
vegetarian diet ,honey etc which is plenty in the tropics and only occasionally it resorts to eating
flesh of small animals .The body color is due to its geographic location with less of sunlight that
stimulate meaning production for a polar bear and its eating habits as carnivore is due to its
geographic lack of vegetation in icy land .The black color of tropical bear is due to melanin from the
excess sunlight it is exposed to and the biodiversity of vegetation in tropics makes it satisfied with so
much of food that it needs not search for a prey every day as the polar bear do for surviaval.So the
geography and food availability and the sunlight have made the difference between man and man .If
we understand this growing more food and sharing it with all for reducing the habit of violence
which Indian ancestors did will be explained more .
From 1962 onwards the hospitals in Cape Town of South Africa had separate wards for black and
white people .Once a junior medical doctor who went to a whites ward for taking case history found
a black man there .The man was about 50 years .Twice the age of the young doctor. But what he told
the youngster in a fearful and suspecting voice ,as if frightened of everything was not a medical
history alone .It was a sad story of a whole life . The man had been born and brought up in Yorkshire
in England and came for a job to South Africa. Gradually he felt he was experiencing a sort of
tiredness and his body was loosing the ability to carry on day to day activities even.Diarroheas were
a normal occurrence of his life and he could not eat anything for fear of it .Then ,to his horror and
disbelief he noticed that his body is changing color. First his palms ,then forearms and slowly face
and all exposed parts turned jet black .He unbuttoned his shirt and showed the young doctor a bare
white chest and golden hairs on it and pleading : See I am not a black man .I am a white person like
you .I am not even an Asian or an Indian. I am white just like you The man was more concerned
with proving that he was white ,than getting treatment for his problem .When the medical student
was about to leave ,he caught the coat sleeve and said : Dont go .Please .I have to show you a lot .To
tell you a lot . He then opened a valet bursting with papers .A set of old family photos a group of
white people and in the middle a thin lean white boy and pointing at that boy he was saying : That is
me .That is me .Then a British birth certificate. several hospital cards from England ,and a driving
license with a green card showing his place of birth .The membership certificates from a sports club
in his native place and his family doctors certificates ,records he obtained when he retired from
military service of Britain, and even a certificate from where he worked and at last a green plastic
rectangular identity card marked White person.
That was not medical history ,but an identity crisis that he was facing that the student got from the
man .He had been telling the same story to bus conductors who threw him out of the bus, to post
office people, to cinema ticket venders ,to policemen, to neighbours,and his life was nearing its
twilight and everyone thought he was mad and no one believed him . He was thrown out of every
place, institution and could not go to a barber shop ,municipal swimming pool or restaurant for
whites .He could not travel in trains or buses. Even his boss told him: Come back when you are cured
of your illness and then I will give back the job.
In 1950 a Immorality Act was passed and according to that if a black marry a white it is illegal
mixing of races and because of the fear of being arrested ,he and his wife at first stopped going out
38

together at daytime and then had to stay in two separate places .It was a sad and long story of
isolation, simply because he had lost his white color and turned black.
A series of tests were done on his blood and a disease called Addisons disease was diagnosed .The
lack of functioning of adrenal cortex was the typical reason for the entire symptom complex. Even
the slowly accumulating case files making a big bundle since no doctor can diagnose the Addisons
disease is typically described in text books yet missed always .It is a loss of cortisol hormone which
leads to the blackening of exposed parts .The diarrohoea,tension,anxiety and stress are all part of it
.The moment the disease is diagnosed ,the patient became a interesting case since it is a rare case
.The man became an object of study and every doctor and student came to watch him and discussed
in front of him about him as if he has no emotion of his own and in conference halls he became a
sort of exhibition object .The student who took the history and watched all these happenings wrote :
It is difficult to forget the look on that dusky ,terrified face as he sits hunched in his bathrobe in the
middle of this tableau ,illuminated under a fluorescent sky, searching in auditorium vainly for a
familiar face ,his hands nervously clasping and unclasping as eminent physicians drone on and on
about him.
This is a common experience for each medical student and it is taken as part of our study .But a study
has to be humane too is usually forgotten at least by many .Only a few show some humanitarian
consideration for the poor rare case who is after all a human being .
We find several entertaining news in media and records in books .The smallest man in world is a
hypo pituitary dwarf and he has a story of a disease .The tallest man in the world is a hyper pituitary
gigantism with another medical history .A persons medical and life history makes a narrative
stranger than fiction . Why did I say this story here ? because of many reasons. I took up functioning
tumors for my thesis for MD and came across several undiagnosed prolonging problems of hormone
imbalances and abnormal hormone productions. That is one reason. And another reason is to speak
about the apartheids based on body color .And finally ,a very personal reason. My husband had a
problem and in his late stages of life we had faced the problem of Addisons disease in a different
way .It was a story of lifelong Vitamin deficiency ,called Rickets which he had from infancy (but
which we didnt know almost until the end) and culminated in a highly disordered functioning of all
his endocrine neuropeptides ,precipitated by habitual food idiosyncracies .
By nature Bhanu was a tense and anxious individual .But he was an astute diagnostician and had
diagnosed very rare disorders even without any X-ray or blood tests just by clinical acumen and
treated them and brought many people back to life and had a strong social sense with which many
poor people had opportunity to regain health and a vocational opportunity .He often used to say that
all genius doctors die of undiagnosed rare diseases like our Medicine professor G.K Warrier and he
too would contact a undiagnosed disease one day and as if the prediction came true he developed a
strange complaint by about 1980 .He was having diarrhea which became uncontrolled even with
all sorts of drugs given to him by allopath doctors and Indukantham kashayam from Coimbatore
Aryavaidyasala .He became very tense because of this and lack of food for fear of diarrhea and lack
of sleep over the thought of disease was making a toll on his health . His doctors sheets and
prescription notes were increasing day by day and biopsies and endoscopies and barium meals and all
sorts of blood tests and stool tests were accumulating day by day with no positive results .Every one
of his own colleagues thought that he was getting some compulsive obsessive disorder .And Irritable
bowel syndrome too. One day Bhanu noticed that his palms are turning black and told me that he
39

may be developing Addisons disease which shocked me .And we went from doctor to doctor and all
said that it is a farfetched diagnosis and no blood test was available for proving it . Bhanu said the
black person that he is ,only the blackness of palms is enough to make a diagnosis (since skin is
black it will not show what texts say ,which are all based on white patients) but no doctor listened
.And in 1992 when he finally went into a coma following a hypoglycemia which is part of the disease
complex ,the blood test became positive but valuable 12 years had passed and he was in the last
stages of his disease .What he had diagnosed early in his own case, he could not prove even to his
colleagues and he had to succumb to it without getting treatment in time. The hardest part was that
when he asked for leave following his tired feeling or when he wanted to get a duty off due to
tiredness ,every one of the colleagues thought he was malingering to avoid night duty .His problems
were more than his disease with such a situation .He had a identity crisis and a professional problem
and also an anxiety problem regarding his immediate family (me and his son ) ..Along with all these
tensions and stresses he pulled on with his normal life till the last few days .It was when the
flourocortisone ,prescribed by Professor of Medicine and specially shipped from UK by his
childhood friend Unni ,was given(to correct Addisons disease) he developed its side effects of
osteoporosis and could not walk without a stick and lost interest in living .Till that date he wanted to
live and the spirit of life was kept alive .Three days before his death he said that to develop such
massive osteoporosis he might have had rickets in his infancy and clinically otherwise it is
impossible to develop such a side effect with such a short time .And when we enquired his
stepmother told us when she came as a newly married bride Bhanu was 10 or 11 year old ,growing
alone without his mother and was very thin and lean and malnourished and had bow legs and a
Vaidya from Kuzhoor had asked her to give a spoonful of milk with shells (containing Calcium)
grinded into it and to give daily massage on legs and she had brought him back to health by that
procedure .Then ,Bhanu asked me to check his mouth and see whether wisdom teeth are there . And
we found that he had never had wisdom teeth and a classical case of Ricketts progressing to
osteomalacia with fluorocortisone was diagnosed instantly .The calcium and calcitonin metabolic
error and its balancing for survival was going on right from his infancy and all his adrenal symptoms
were due to a continued stress on that system,and aggrevated by the fastidious food habits of refusing
to eat green leafy vegetables and fruits (enhancing vitamin deficiencies).It was a battle started at his
cradle. It seemed ,Bhanu was happy that at last he could sort out his diagnosis ,and what bothered
him as an astute diagnostician was not his survival,but a correct diagnosis which fits in with the
signs,symptoms,lab findings as well as history of disease. The third day after this diagnosis he died
fully aware of his condition and talking so much about so many things and happy as ever ,and
planning for a change in place and profession from Calicut to Palghat .The death came at night in
Medical college Hospital,when a hypoglycemia happened in sleep and all of us were asleep too . And
that was a story of a different kind with Addisons disease .It was a manmade malnutrition history in
infancy that progressed in spite of all medical knowledge and facilities and consultations,
undiagnosed for such a long time...Not a case of Apartheid as in the western doctors experience,but
of intense stress and strain for the sufferer and his family .Thus in personal life we had an Addison
experience .
Among adivasis of Kerala there is a group called Karimpala which is a rare race that is facing threat
of destruction .They are black in color .The western India has Parsi people who have white skin .We
had a very interesting experience in Calicut medical college blood bank in 90s .A patient Kelan was
admitted in ward and whichever blood was cross matched we found it was not matching and
serological studies showed that he has a Bombay group blood which is characteristic of Parses . The
40

Karimapal have a system of intermarriage between uncle and niece and Kelan also has such a family
history .His family history was taken and his relatives tested and found to have Bombay group .So a
white skinned Parsi of west India and a dark-skinned Adivasi of Kerala has the same blood group . A
study in Chotanagpur on sickle cell trait showed that adivasis,and others like Brahmins, Muslims etc
also have the same trait and in fact the trait is a protection against endemic malaria and the endemic
marriage system is a protection against endemic malaria which the people of a geographic area
devised for maximum survival of the race initially . The calculation of many children also was
probably for the sake of getting at least a few alive by a Mendelian rule .Such practices which are
anthropologically devised locally by a people have to be understood first and they are to be
distinguished from religious customs imposed by a sect .Geographical anthropological cultural
characteristics of India is varied due to the vastness of country and its own geographic pattern
differences in disease and health and survival of races accordingly .
When I watch the temple pigeons and count them ,in my childhood ,I used to see the grey ones
always exceed the black and the white ones and a few are white with black or grey dots and a few
black with white dots .The same pattern is seen in Mumbai ,when I count the pigeons that visit the
beach ,in Juhu ,in a calm silent dawn.Today I counted 25 grey ,with 4 black and a single white one
.Yesterday it was 30 grey ,with a single black with white dots on wings and six black ones . The pure
white and black are always fewer in number ,and the dotted ones also are less ,when compared to the
grey usual common ones .So ,Mendelian observations of a plant or animal in a greatly biodiverse
subcontinent like India ,in ancient times ,as the Vedic literature denotes need not be considered as a
impossibility .Human observations and scientific thinking is very ancient . And to segregate people
on basis of colour,and religion is a very recent development in human culture

Enthusiasm Finding the God within

In 1980s a ship anchored at Calicut port .That was a Russian ship and it was not coming to Kerala
but had to come because one of its crew developed a vomiting and abdominal pain which became
intractable .He was too pale beyond his skin color which was naturally pale. And there was blood in
his vomitus .He was diagnosed as having a condition called Aplastic anemia by a doctor in the ship
and needed blood transfusion and that was why the ship came to Calicut . The man was admitted in
Medical college .He needed a person with knowledge of Russian language to communicate and the
Artist photographer of Pathology department Sri Punalur Rajan was his constant companion and
translator .In the medical wards ,to confirm Aplastic anemia diagnosis a blood and bone marrow
smear was taken and sent to Pathology department .At that time I was in charge of the Hematology
section and naturally they came to me. In blood smear there was a pancytopenia lack of normal cells
of all varieties which was in favor of aplastic anemia .When the marrow smear was kept under the
microscope ,I was shocked to see that no normal marrow cells existed at all ,virtually .All were
replaced by groups of cells as if clusters of grapes ,filled with a mucinous material pushing the
nucleus to one side giving a signet ring appearance .That was classical of a secondary infiltration
from a mucin secreting adenocarcinoma of the signet ring cell type from stomach .It is usual in a
hematology department to see marrow infiltration by tumor cells .It is not a rare occurrence .But this
one was very rare ,because entire marrow was infiltrated .I remember that Russian guest ,whose
marrow made such a memorable event in Pathology department for study of the postgraduates .The
man was sent back to his country according to his wish ,to see his people and have a peaceful death
seeing his close relatives, kith and kin .When a disease comes and when one knows that the end is
near ,all people whether in west or east, whether white or black, whether man or woman ,behave in a
way that is true to their nature .Then all the needs for enacting a role is lost and they show what they
really are and from my experience ,a man facing death is more or less like a child .They return to a
41

childlike innocence ,require the most trusted faces around ,love and kindness, loving words ,and
loved music and all cherished shared memories and also a sort of peace come over them .At that
stage if we make them isolated in a hospital ward ,we are doing a cruel act .Music therapy attempts to
find a solution to such problems of society by giving a compassionate listening, narrative side to
the patient-centered family-centered care which modern hospitals cannot give .And for this we have
to train music therapists in several ways .The training of family medicine ,humanities and patience
need time and cannot be attained just by being a musical expert.
A musician may be a good musician but he/she need not be a good music therapist is what I mean to
convey by this statement .So both doctors and musicians have to work as a unit, as a team for helping
the national goal and the society .And this needs some legislation for a code of conduct and expertise
.When any musician and any doctor starts claiming that I am a music therapist, the value of such a
system is diluted because of the selfish motives of personal gains and one has to determine the
qualifications needed for a music therapist and integrated approach needed by assimilating
indigenous and western practices of medicine and for this one has to write text books, set models and
do faculty training etc .All such things were experimented in my later years with my early year
experiences with life, death and music and medicine .
To adjust with life means not to loose enthusiasm for life .What is enthusiasm ? It was a word which
was taught to us in class 6th ,by a aged teacher Aboobacker master .He had a creased skin over his
face, and a crackling chappal and a dark blue shirt and long shawl on his person .He came to the class
with a smiling face and wrote on the board in bold letters ENTHUSIASM and explained it with
several anecdotes and stories and meanings and that was meant to be a English class cum Social
studies class which he taught us .At the end when he left the class he told us You can forget
whatever I teach you in the coming hours .But never forget this word and this class in your life
because this is the secret of your success in life .When I left the school after completing my SSLC ,I
went to the office room and asked him to write something in my autograph for me. He smiled the
same disarming old smile and wrote what he thought of me as his student Pious ,diligent and deep
in thought; may you ever shine as swarnam .
I was only 14 years then. And I didnt know what pious and diligent meant and I had to look into a
dictionary to find out the meaning .
Diligence as noun means : 1.earnest and persistent application to a matter in hand; steady effort;
assiduity 2.Attentive care; heedfulness 3 In former times a large public stagecoach (from French
diligence speed )
As adjective Diligent means 1 Industrious,hardworking;2 characterized by painstaking effort see
synonyms at busy ( Middle English from old French ,from Latin diligens) loving,attentive,careful;
from diligere to single out ,choose, esteem highly ; love; disapart+ legere ,to choose ,gather
,diligently (adv).
These are the dictionary meanings of the word diligent .
Pious : as adjective 1 Having or showing reverence and earnest compliance in observance of
religion; devout 2. marked by conspicuous devoutness .3 professing a strict traditional sense of virtue
and morality ;high-minded; pious instructions of parents 4 well intentioned but having little
likelihood of being realized .Used chiefly in the phrase of pious hope.5 Archaic .Filial reverence
;dutiful
42

Enthusiasm : 1 A keen interest or excitement 2 eagerness, zeal 3 ardent fondness 4 subject of

activity that inspires a lively interest .5.Archaic .An ecstasy arising from supposed possession from
God 6.A religious fervor synonymous with passion (late Latin enthusiasmus from Greek
enthousiasmos :inspiration from enthusiazein to be inspired by God ;from enthous ,entheos
possessed, inspired by a fervor /interest in God(Theos) . A enthusiast is a person ardently inspired
and preoccupied with a particular subject (like a cricket enthusiast as a phrase) a sort of visionary or
Godly zealot of inspiration .
At 14 year old stage I was a very quiet girl ,always immersed in my studies and I didnt show any of
these qualities ,as understood by myself (but now I do understand that these qualities do exist in me )
but that old teacher had foreseen and predicted my nature at that tender age itself and that shows how
he was observing hi students .He was a good teacher to have understood that character in me .Several
years after ,in 1990s when my book on astronomy was released ,one of my teachers Sri .K.M Bhojan
remarked that I had been a quiet student and in the office staff room they (the teachers ) used to say
that this child looks like a Muni ( a sage) and now with this book coming from her pen I am not
surprised .She must have been preparing for this book even from her school days .Probably it was
this what Aboobacker master meant when he wrote those words in my autograph .Recently I read a
book from British council library in Chennai and in it the word enthusiasm is described as the God
within us. That force which eternally keeps us interested in life and its manifold phases in a
compassionate way , that resides within us as Power of Atman is enthusiasm and that makes one
aware of a duty to entire world ,to nature, and makes one diligent and pious and makes one shine as
gold .That is the entire life story of any human being who awakens to a inner truth and beauty of
existence .
Doctor Cecil Helman,s book Suburban Shaman has its 12th chapter called the winter leaf. The leafs of
winter sheds and the earth looses its greenery .He shows the story of a Indian lady Varsha,settled in
Britain who had strange dreams associated with her broken marriage and how he as a psychologist
could not help her but a quack Vaidya could .He says the usual practice of psychiatry to label such
people as paranoid schizophrenics, or as depressive illness, or as just a thought disorder or paranoid
ideation makes a poor individual ,a poor human being put into a taboo of a jail where he/she is
isolated forever from others. This sort of marginalization in psychological disease naming
(nomenclatures) into a set of mental illness does not happen with the vaidya ,he notices. What did
this modern doctor from Britain think of Vaidya of India .We will see in his own words : Vaids.I
have read somewhere that there are several hundreds of these Indian traditional healers in Britain,
working among the South Asian communities .Practitioners of the ancient medical system of
Ayurveda,derived from the Vedas, the Hindu Holy books written in Sanskrit about 4000 years ago.
Studying anthropology I have read too about the complex views of health and illness and how both
are believed to be due to the subtle interplay of and balance between different elements especially
between the Bhoothaas,the 5 basic elements of the universe ether,wind,water,fire and earth and the
humors and organs ,that they form within the body .Apart from this ,I know very little about these
Vaids ,except that with their ancient wisdom and their holistic view of illness they should know how
to deal with this type of situation better than any western doctor .They will treat culturally what is
obviously cultural .After all ,they have had thousands of years of experience of doing just that (pp
92-93). What happened with Varsha after she met the vaid was less interesting than what happened to
the psychiatrist after he met Varsha .He dreamt that night several colors and several flying forms
were flying past him just as his paranoid patient had seen .There were also brown dogs that bit ,and
degenerated old plants, and black thorns and his body was bleeding from all such things and when he
43

woke up he felt what he did to his patient was not correct and someone in his dream was trying to
give him the correct answer which he could not decipher or could not hear properly .
Thus even a psychiatrist is a patient of paranoia .He could not understand his own dreams and he
realized that truth ,at least . Dreams give clear message only when you are having a clear mind and
not with a muddled mind . Alpha waves are necessary for its understanding .The patient came back
after one week to him and he found that she was less fearful and less anxious and she was wearing a
Raksha ( a black thread) for protection from bad dreams given by a vaidya .Varsha said that all the
curses inflicted by her divorced husband and brother were taken away by the Vaid .What made him
wonder was that the vaid could cure her ,while he himself could not .After several weeks the colors
returned to her and she started to smile and live a normal life and the Vaid had made her confident
that she is now free from all the illnesses and bad dreams and her previous past life with her husband
.She started to pray daily, to wear a sparkling bindi and beautiful saris and when the doctor found her
last she was normal than any other normal human being and she didnt have any problems at all.
Next spring the doctor met an Indian friend in a restaurant and told him the whole story and asked
what had happened and how could this be achieved by Ayurveda.The friend told him the person she
went to was not even an Ayurvedic physician ,but a Quack who pretends to a ayurvedic vaidya and
gives prayers and black threads for cure . The mystery was how could prayers and a black thread and
a few reassuring positive words cure a persons worst fears and allow them to lead a normal life while
modern psychiatric drugs makes them addicts, good for nothings and a taboo with a name of
mentally ill .
Each doctor is a human being only .They are not superheroes at war with diseases of others but just
children playing with a sword having too sharp an edge . They too have personal and professional
stress and tension like any other person. And they are unable to solve even an iota of such problems
.How can they solve problems of others then ? The professional tensions and problems every doctor
faces are manifold .Some of them are
1. Would my diagnosis and treatment go wrong ?
2. Will I miss a diagnosis so that my treatment will become inappropriate
3. close relation to death and illness making a lasting negative attitude to life
4. when the boundary between minds of the clients and doctors become thinned out ,becoming
merged with their mind is a problem of psychiatrists and psychologists and not of other doctors .
5. feels the power of ones knowledge and also the limitations of it
Among all these day to day stresses and a busy practice ,the doctor is at constant war with his own
inner self and a constant tense atmosphere within .His internal tiredness come from a constant face to
face sight and dialogue with sorrows and death .Cecil Helmans statement that a quack magician and
a doctor are both a superhero at war against the enemy Disease is thus shocking and false . A doctor
should never make a friend or a acquaintance a mental wreck by negative thinking .But unfortunately
modern medicine is doing just that with its mass propaganda .Not one individual but entire society is
made patients by media hype of diseases and the all powerful modern medicine .(which it is not ).The
story of an old woman ,a patient who helped a doctor to feel the positive thoughts of life is
interesting. Her flowers ,her kind words and kind heart made him feel safe .This doctor wrote that
what he wanted was just to relax, and rest his tired head gratefully on her old shoulders and sleep
well again as if a small child .The old people sometimes give that relaxation to younger generation
44

.But unfortunately in the modern nuclear family the older individuals are kept outside the immediate
family circles .What we really loose is not only for ourselves but also for our younger generations
.The old woman, a patient becoming the mother and psychologist to a busy psychologist , knowing
his moods, his needs and without wearing any superhuman mask entering his heart with her kind
words and deeds and sometimes with flowers accompanied by a loving note with it or a homemade
vegetable specially prepared for him as a loving son That type of relation happen in family
medicine and narrative medicine and it is good for both doctors as well as patients and the family to
have such friendly relationships .And I would love to introduce such a family medicine training into
MBBS course so that each student gets the share of such loving tender experience .When I gave a
plan for a adoption of Amrithagrama in Amrita institute of Medical sciences I had this in mind .But
this was a old plan which I submitted to Calicut Corporation to be implemented in Calicut Medical
college about 20 years back and which was put in the dustbin by Governmental red tapism .And
Amrita institute took some interest in what I had to say and even instituted the sadbhavana lectures
on Saturdays in the curriculum shows how private institutions are able to recognize the need and the
Governmental red tape doesnt .This is what we should realize as a nation .We have to recognize the
needs of society and also the plans which will achieve those needs at least partially and try to
implement them and not discard them as myths or dreams .All achievements had been dreams of
individuals carefully executed after several trails and errors and then modifications to remove errors .
That is what is my diligence and pious enthusiasm had taught me .I may not live to see my Integrated
Medicine Plan implemented successfully; I know that because of the machinery of our red tapes and
our perpetual lobbying powers marginalizing the truthful voices . But that does not matter at all. I
know that since my views are selfless and for the betterment of entire society, at one glorious
moment , some one will read all these dreams and make it a reality ,may be after my death,
posthumously . I am very positive about that since what is good for the entire world will be
recognized by the world in the end if not today, tomorrow

Quackery,modern medicine and its business roots

While I was studying in 4th standard ,a drastic thing happened which shocked the village . There was
a small but very deep pond near our primary school which was the nightmare of all parents and
teachers .They always told the children not to go near it for fear of an accidental drowning . One day
,when we reached school we found a small crowd around the pond .We too went near and had a look
.Something small was floating on the surface and men and women were saying :poor little thing
.When the head master saw us ,he sent us packing home saying that today the school is having a
holiday .What had happened ? A woman from nearby homes had a child in her illicit contact with a
man and she had a child and she had thrown that poor little newborn baby into the deep pond and
killed it . The woman was identified by villagers and she was brought to my father for making a
decision .I was shocked to see the woman as the culprit,because she was standing there in the crowd
and saying poor little thing ,along with all other villagers!
How was that possible for a human being ! The man who was responsible for the illegal union was
identified and he was asked whether he is willing to have her in marriage . He was willing and they
married quietly and lived forever together begetting many children legally and the story of the sad
little being was forgotten by the village . That is in 20th century Kerala village . To deal with a
problem in a mature wise way .We must have worldly wisdom for that .
We will go to the medical history of 1650 England .Anne Green killed her illicit newborn baby and
the law decided to kill her by hanging and the verdict was executed. The Iatrochemist Thomas Willis
of Oxford had to perform an autopsy on her after the execution of the verdict . He opened the thorax
and found that she was still alive and resuscitated her back to life ,because he thought as a doctor he
45

has to bring back life,and has no right to take it . This event spread asa fairy tale everywhere . Both
Willis and his students requested the Government that she has hd her punishment and she has to be
set free to live as she likes and the Governement allowed the request .Her lover came and married her
and lived forever with her with many children . This is the 16th century England story . But Willis
became famous not with this but with his book on Chyme. He wrote that in stomach the food
transforms to chime and then it has circulation throughout body and functions depending upon its
nature . Do you know that this is the copy of what the Ayurveda texts have theorized about Aama ?
Stomach is called Aamaasaya in Sanskrit because of this transformed food or Annam. And Thomas
Willis took this and changed the name Aamam to Chyme . I just say such histories for all of us to
think and analyse ourselves . If Europe hadnt come across the science of Ayurveda of India by 16th
century through direct contact with India ,the modern medicine or modern astronomy would never
have had a renaissance and we would not have had the modern science.It is always on the shoulders
of older scientists ,the new scientists build their ideas and that is what we have to understand from
what Bacon said about a wholistic view of history of science ,instead of glorifying a single discovery
.
Lock was a proponent of Empiricism and he became the doctor of Lord Ashley in 1667 ,and late ron
of Lord Shaftsberry and lord Chancellor .But Lock never had a medical degree .So with modern
standards he was only a quack doctor .But Lord Shaftberry too had no degree to qualify him to
practice law but was appointed as judge .Lock did not know how to do a surgery .Once Lord
Shaftsberry developed an abscess full of pus and Lock had to incise it . So he called a barber surgeon
and asked him to incise the part which he pointed out .The barber surgeon incised the part pointed
out by Lock .Lock put a silver tube through it and pus drained out through it .Shaftsberry was
wearing that silver tube till his death .
What we find in such histories of modern medicine is that ,the ignorance and knowledge of medicine
was like a pendulum in 16th century Europe and most of the time the pendulum was pointing to the
ignorance part .Doctors did things which they themselves didnt know much about and many of them
were mere quacks doing treatment from heresay and without any previous experience .Many quacks
like Paracelsus,Lock and numerous Barber surgeons or merely barbers were controlling 16th century
medical science in Europe . Till 18th century ,the main treatment of the surgeons consisted of
bloodletting with a leech (which again is a ageold practice of Ayurveda surgeons) .When ignorance
and selfishness go hand in hand it is not science but a marketing strategy to make money that is born
. The science born out of illicit marriage between these two is quackery and several wolfs
(businessmen)wearing the skin of goat (science)are thus propagated . This is true not only of modern
medicine but also of modern Ayurveda practitioners and other indigenous medicine practitioners who
mass market their products rather than do research and improve the science .
In 18th century the medicine grew as something unaffordable to common man and just for rich Lords
and many quacks were in demand and their chemists sold medicines at exorbitant prices and became
millionaires . They conquered world markets and gave propaganda and thus the modern medicine
became very popular among all continents in a slow but steady way and all other indigenous methods
considered as quackery by them.
In 1790 a Medical scholar Isac Swainson wrote about this : In physic,all changes..have been forced
upon regulars by quacks.All the great and powerful medicines are discoveries of quacks .
Swaison was also a draper like Leewenhock.He got a patent to market Velnos vegetable syrup for
tuberculosis and sold yearly 20000 bottles and majority of it was bought by doctors who sold it for
twice the price to their patients. And Swaison purchased a house and big estate in London. He made
a very big botanical garden of herbs in his estates which was superior to the Royal Botanical garden
.All the quackers,doctors and merchants became rich by this method and modern medicine became
46

very popular in west by the wealth and prosperity of these people and it is this what the modern
medical men are also after .
Josua spot ward(the name spot was a nickname due to a birthmark on his face) was a seller of spices
and he became the most rich and powerful quack by selling his Wards pill and drop . He had
purchased the recipe of this from a Bhishak (Indian) for a small sum and did a mass scale production
. The pill contained antimony which produce vamana( vomiting) and reduce fever .The drop makes
virechana .(diarrhea) .A drop and a pill together gives both vamana and virechana and cleans the
system of any toxin that has entered the digestive tract . All of us know vamana and virechana as two
processes ayurveda always advocate ,but not with metallic antimony ,but with herbs . With Wards
antimony pill and drop the gout of Henry fielding( a writer) was cured and this gave much marketing
possibilities which were utilized well by the draper .Lord Chesterfield became its ambassador and
recommended it to all his friends and acquaintances.Once the doctor of George 2 diagnosed the
lesion on the thumb of th eking as Gout .But Ward diagnosed it as mere dislocation and made it
alright just by massage .(what in Kerala we call as Uzhichal ).The king gave him a free house and in
all the Royal Navy ships Wards pill and drop was made compulsory .Within a short period he
became very rich and he built 4 hospitals .
Ward was buried in West Minister Abbey and about him Alexander Pope wrote:
Of late,without the least pretence to skill;
Wardsgrown a famed physician by a pill.
At that time quacks were called Empirics ,which means those who have learned from experience ,but
do not have a degree of their own .(But ,remember even a person has to learn from experience after
getting a degree .)Locke thus became the first among the empiricists of Europe and Bishop George
Berkeley (1744) followed the path of Locke . But Berckley had learned Newtons classical
astronomy,and was a very ethical person .Yet he was asking everyone to drink water with tar for all
illnesses from bleeding cancer to ,colour changes,swellings,fever,allergic skin lesions etc .That was
his panacea for all illnesses .
Without pretending that I am a doctor with great degrees Ward became famous with his marketing
business abilities. The modern quacks we find have a degree ,a very sophisticated acting that we are
above all and we are the best scientists,and yet know nothing about their own science ,how it
developed and where it stands in the present context of information and communication and how
people rate and value it . Open our hearts to all knowledge . Do not shut it .Let wisdom come to us
from all doors and let us analyse and take what is needed and what is good for posterity and for life
on earth . That is the only duty of each citizen of the world . Whetehr a doctor or not ,we have to do
this duty for the sake of protecting life on earth.
Botany,politics,romantic poetry,medicine,mathematics,good communication skills,teaching
skills,oratory,bringing out 8 books in 8 years consequtively what is the relationship between these ?
And what is its relation to Medicine and Neurophysiology ? Why should such a question be asked in
a pathologists diary ?We will find an answer in Albrecht von Haller born in 1708 in Burn ,a Swiss
town.By about 45 to 50 years he had achieved all these .Learning new languages,writing romantic
poetry and novels and writing a 67 volume of history of science and several long letters on such
matters with many people including Linnaeus .But Haller never accepted Linnaeus views and made
his own nomenclature for the morphological classification .It was a life of continuous learning and
teaching and lack of tolerance of fools . Later on in his life he had gout and pain in eyes and kidneys
for which he was given opium and to which he became addicted .One person who has remembered
Hallers honesty,hospitality ,in depth knowledge ,and a very happy meeting with him was Cassanova
. The terms irritability of muscles,Sensibility of a nerve came from Haller .In Europe the first person
47

to discoverthat all nerves reach spinal cord and brain was Haller . Thus he started the
Neurophysiology of modern medicine .
Why do I ask these questions . Because I think to have such a multiple intelligence and a
prathibha(genius) is the real evidence of functioning of the entire brain both left and right brain
functioning in balance .And also because I have found from numerous Sanskrit texts including the
veda the concept with which Haller came out with-That all Naadi end in spinal cord (sushumna) and
in brain and this is the major discovery of India and a philosophy developed by all Yogins of the land
for several millennia .Music therapy,Chakra and yogic Samadhi all are around this one discovery and
Ayurveda has a very important part in giving this knowledge to the west .So too the acupuncture and
its flow points are developed from this ageold theory of India and it spread to both east and west (As
Kabbala of jews) from time immemorial .This is a history of spread of knowledge and of a perfect
wholistic understanding of science as a series of discoveries in cascades by each region and there is
nothing to glorify one and to make others belittled.Each and every wise person has contributed to
growth of knowledge in each and every region and all of them are Guru/teacher of the science and to
accept it wholeheartedly and pursue the science torch is what one needs in next generation and for
that the individualistic practice-oriented doctor oriented medicine has to think in a client-oriented
community oriented,world-oriented ,life-oriented way and that is what my message is with all my
works and speeches and programmes .We have to make our science and art free from selfishness and
cleanse the system of all its illnesses .We can do it if we just think,analyse and sacrifice our ego for
the sake of the world as a whole .

WOMEN IN SCIENCES
In the history of mankind ,women were always underrated and have been denied
access to proper education and exposure to the scientific world .They did not get
equal opportunities, like men ,to work in the research activities. But the situation is
changed now. Many women have proved that they are at par in intelligence with
men and they shine in research projects and sometimes outwits them.Opening out
with the problems the women in sciences face in their fields of activity and
stressing the unexplored talents of women in sciences,the present discussions
woulddefinitely help to encourage women professionals to actively involve in
research activities by shedding the fear and uncertainty ,which in turn will help us
to better our status in society as scientists and thinkers.
As a continuation of the subject studied as women in medical sciences, I had sent a
questionnaire to a few eminent women scientists and answers from a few of them
are given below .
The discussions focus on four vital questions and their answers .
*1.The future of women in sciences.Research challenges and opportunities.
*2.Shortage of qualified female academicians
*3.changing the status of women in sciences.
*4.some of your personal experiences in your field of work.
48

Participants are Dr Sathiavathy ,the director of ICMR ,Dr Ayisha Guharaj ,

Director of Medical Education Kerala State ,Dr Sara Vargheese ,pathologist and
educationist from Vellore Christian Medical college,and Dr
(Mrs)M.Lalithambika,Scientist .The questinnaire was prepared by Dr Suvarna
Nalapat.
1.The future of women in sciences research challenges and opportunities.
Dr Sathiavathy:
During the last two decades the number ,range and scope of women scientists
in India have shown a definite upward swing .In most science fields ,women
have been exposed to enough opportunities and challenges particularly after
reaching a certain level/status in their chosen field,depending on their own
drive/ambition and ability to exploit opportunities.
A. In the field of general science particularly related to teaching,however
there still seems to be some kind of discrimination against women (in science as
well as other areas)mainly because of the traditional distrust towards womens
ability as well as a lack of selfconfidence among women themselves.I do not
believe however that there is overall shortage of qualified academicians.In my
personal view,whenever such a shortage has occurred it is mainly at the higher
executive level and not at the lower or middle levels.It is mainly because women in
India ,are still saddled with the dual responsibilities of handling efficiently their
career as well as homes.An efficient woman executive(scientist or otherwise)is
expected to run her home as efficiently
,whereas this is not expected of a man(efficient or otherwise)!!! Many women
therefore curb their ambitions and even sacrifice their careers to allow the husband
to reach the top of his career(by not opting for promotions,refusing transfers ,or
even resigning the job if circumstances so demand.)
B. Women scientists in general and biomedical scientists in particular have
come to occupy important status and also play significant role in the
mainstream of S&T activities in the last two decades.At present,there are
quite a few women professors and heads of departments and a few heads
of organizations /agencies and even women vice chancellors in India.While
individual experiences of women scientists may marginally differ from one
situation to another and from one field to another ,in general,however ,women has
been recognized as a force to reckon within the scientific field.In the field of
medical sciences ,from the
49

outset,among the clinical disciplines ,two areas were traditionally identified as

eminently suitable for women viz.,obstretics and gynecology ,and
paediatrics(which basically deal with women and children as patients).It is only in
the last two decades that women medical scientists have dared to venture into the
hitherto maledominated
clinical disciplines ,such as general surgery,cardiothoracic surgery
,E.NT,Radiology etc.In the field of basic medical sciences such as physiology
,Anatomy,pharmacology, pathology ,microbiology,biochemistry etc however ,there
has been no discrimination between the sexes.There is no forum /body dealing with
the problems of women medical scientists in India,although there are a few bodies
exclusively for women scientists ,in general.The future of women scientists in
India ,therefore,has to be shaped by the women concerned themselves.
Dr Ayisha Guharaj:The general consensus is that women cannot do much
in science and research.Research is the sheet anchor in the scientists career.The
academic pursuit is maintained only by posing research questions.A womans
identity as a scientist is the least outspoken in the contemporary society.She is well
earmarked for many other jobs,which needs the soft touch and tender care the
nursing, receptionist, confidential assistant and such jobs.The traditional role of
women is to reproduce and to be the nodal unit of the family .In addition to this,the
working women has to concentrate on her official duties also.Neither in the home
nor in
the office she is free to have a relaxed and academically searching mind to develop
herself as a scientist.Added to this is the patriarchal relations of the society which
suppress the needs and freedom of women.In the midst of these familial and social
life the scientist woman has to develop her career.Thanks God!Still there is a long
list before us of those: a few examples are Madam curie,Sheila Sherlock,cicely
Williams,Barbare Machuthode etc.Though the list is very long ,on scrutiny we see
that a few of them are unmarried or at least have an extraordinarily understanding
husband.]Because women in general have more concentrating power and
perseverance,women scientists make better achievements than their opposite sex
inpar.Because they know the family problems better,their approach to scientific
queries is more humane and their social commitment ,deeprooted.This results in
covetable academic achievements ,because they are the least politicized ,their
research
findings are the least biased.Research about women in science should critically
analyse the patriarchic dominance of man in society.May be in medicine,
psychology, engineering,and agriculture.In all these fields ,patriarchal influence
should be questioned.The scope for further research is unlimited.Special problems
50

faced by women scientists limitations,familial lives,social lives,negligence and

discriminations and the basis of gender ,special advantages in doing scientific work
all should be studied in depth.
Dr (Mrs )M.Lalithambika:I feel the future of women in scientific research
is definitely bright.The best brains both men and women choose mostly science as
their field of interest-medical,engineering or basic sciences like mathematics,
physics,chemistry,life sciences etc.But 95% of them ,once a career is chosen,as a
teacher or an employee in a factory or an industry loose interest and opportunity
for a research career.Only those who are employed in Research organizations
pursue research seriously.In many research organizations like Indian Institute of
science
, Bangalore,IITs,NCL,Poona,VSSC Trivandrum the percentage of women
scientists is steadily increasing.(These are some organizations I am familiar with.).
Dr Sarah Vargheese:Future of women in sciences especially in research is
very promising.
1.The policy of government of India is encouraging women in various walks of life
is conducive for research.It is very suitable for the Indian women since it could
combine their dual responsibilities of home and the job especially if some degree
of flexibility is given and if the goal is achieving objectives and not work place or
time.However help and support from the organisation so that the family unit is not
affected should gain priority in such jobs.The long term effect of granting this
support wil be
beneficial especially with the small family unit.
2.The mental makeup of the Indian woman for hard work ,discipline and
dedication certainly suits job related to research
3.The highly qualified women could be encouraged to take up assignments ,and
projects in research so that it may not affect the dual responsibility of the home and
job.
4.Educated women are increasing in number especially in the metropolitan cities
an dtheir talents are not being tapped by the maledominated society.
5.opportunities are many especially when research and development in various
fields like industries an dother academic activities are manifold and it is for the
woman to find out about these areas and accept it as a challenge ,and on the part of
government organizations to plan out such activities for women.
2.SHORTAGE OF QUALIFIED FEMALE ACADEMICIANS
51

 Dr Ayisha Guharaj:The general feeling in our society is that certain

professions are for women an dcertain are for men.A few examples of those
earmarked for women are nurses,airhostess,
teacher,receptionist,stenographer etc.Among these ,the university teachers
are the ones to become academicians .Many of the female academicians
have proved themselves to be the best academicians.The
academicians like U.R.Ananthamoorthy are quiting from the administrative
positions whereas the females retain such posts showing better patience and
tolerance. Even in the same profession as for example the medical
profession,there is a feeling that Forensic medicine ,surgery and orthopaedics are
specialities where females are poor performers .But nowadays females have proved
to be excellent in these professions
also.Many have written standard textbooks also.Some institutions are in shortage
of sincere and honest academicians and the departmental work becomes a sheer
mess.The weakness of men academicians serves the departments to the
bottom,.Some of them are alcoholics.Some are too socialthat they are never seen
in the department.Some are too busy politicians that they seldom get time to do
their professional job.At least few of them are too much politicized to become
equally controversial also.These weaknesses which create a lot of chaos in the
department seldom affects the female academicians and the only way to save our
academic departments is to bring them to the top,.
Dr Lalithambika:Since our society gives a lot of importance for marriage,the
girls first preference is to get married.For a proper alliance a permanent job
(which should be transferable in certain cases and nontransferable in
others)is preferred.Once married,they are confronted with lot of family
problems.They are not able to continue the pursuit for excellance.this is true
for ladies in every field,and particularly in the academic activity,where
pursuit for excellance is essential for a successful career.
Dr Sarah Joseph:There is certainly shortage of qualified women
academicians because:
1.The whole system is maledominated.
2.The social academic credibility for women is in a way full of pitfalls.
3.The family responsibility and the drop in joint family has lead to the
small family units so that the dual responsibility of the women lead to
problems so that many women are not able to realize and achieve their goals
with their talents.
3.CHANGING STATUS OF WOMEN IN SCIENCES.
Dr Lalithambika:Womens status in science is improving.In fact it is worth
52

mentioning that in the Kerala science congress held in February 1990,at

Trivandrum ,more than 50% of the technical presentations were by ladies In the
Indian science congress held held recently among the four honoured scientists ,one
was a woman.
Dr Sarah Vargheese:Yes.There is certainly a change in the status of women
in
sciences but still the maledominated society do not give adequate social standing
for women scientists.Moreover the women too,shy away from such academic
fields due to family responsibility and poor support from their spouses and from
the society.The social set up in India is still way behind and only very few women
utilize their education and talents.
Dr Ayisha Guharaj:The status of women in society was of a provider
,protector
and caretaker in the family.In the primitive tribal society women were center of all
worship.In the matrilineal society the women was the center of property
inheritance. The feudalist class considered women as a material wealth-the
beautiful ladies as chauffeurs of the upper class lords and the working class women
as the oppressed group to work and procreate a neverending capital.The
industrialist society also tries to exploit women by considering her as biologically
and socially submissive.Even in the present day transitional society ,stories of
torturing womanhood is a very common reality around us.The womans oppression
is justified by the supposed biological
inferiority.The major civilizations have fallen down and the universe is under the
influence of western culture and modern science and technology .The global threat
of nuclear catastrophe exists.The problem of overpopulation,the gap between the
haves and have-nots ,the healthy and the unhealthy,and the exploiters and the
exploited,are becoming more and more wide.Overpopulation,industrial
technology,and overexploitation of nature have contributed in various ways to
degeneration.Thank God,a woman only wrote the book the silent springwhich
discusses a part of this reality.The feudalist way of oppressing the women is still
seen in certain parts of the society.It is said that what is called Masculine and
Feminine psychology is not so much rooted in biological difference between man
and woman but are essentially
consequences of the social order prevailing under patriarchy.Thanks to the
feminists,though not to the extant of extreme fetichism ,it has certainly explored a
few social evils to the light.The story of Rip Van Vincle was brought to light by
the feminist group only.Other factors contributing to the upliftment of status of
women are universal education ,trade union movements and reservations for
women in the public sector.
53

4.SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN YOUR FIELD OF

WORK
Dr sathiavathy: As stated earlier,the personal experiences of women
scientists
depend upon the specific environments and situations/circumstances in which a
particular woman scientist worked during the formative years of her career.I did
most of my postgraduate and postdoctoral work at the Banarus Hindu University,
Varanasi, (which is rather a backward place in common with other parts of eastern
U.P)where women do face considerable difficulties due to male chauvanism.I did
encounter harassment firstly because ,at that time,I was not married(which was
considered strange by UP.Wallas)and secondly my earlier research on Gum guggul
was considered to constitute a breakthroughin scientific evaluation of Ayurvedic
concepts /remedies and therefore aroused considerable jealousy ,rivalry etc.It was
mainly a sense of commitment ,strengthened by a determination to succeed against
all odds that made me go through this difficult period.This experience
,however,endowed me with adequate toughness and prepared me for the future
challenges in my scientific career and to know what a successful career woman
need to expect throughout her career.
After getting into the mainstream of biomedical research as a career ,in India,while
I myself have not faced any specific instance of discrimination as a woman
(particularly in promotional avenues ,opportunities etc)there have been occasions
when I am left with a distant feeling that a woman scientist is not always given due
credit for her own merits/abilities,but is subjected to a sort of supercilious reaction
from male colleagues that because one happens to be a woman ,success has
perhaps been easier .Thus even when a woman scientist has reached the top by
her individual merit,there are instances where her colleagues (male as well as
females)pass it off as due to the use of feminine guiles,influenceluckor other
factors not related to ones individual
merit.I am afraid however that partly this is due to the behaviour and attitude of
some of the woman scientists themselves.
To one like me ,who was born in a family of several children (mainly male
siblings) sex differentiation was never encountered as a problem at home or even
in education to the undergraduate level.It is only after reaching a particular
level/status that I became conscious of being a WOMAN SCIENTISTAND
HENCE TREATED DIFFERENTLY. Strangely ,however,in India,men do not
normally express surprise when they meet successful women scientists occupying
a top position.In my dealings with male foreign scientists ,however,I was always
been amazed (and Often annoyed) by their expression of surprise ,disbelief and
even shock when they realize that they did not expect to meet a woman in that
54

position!On such occasions ,when I asked why the gentleman was so surprised,the
incredible answer was that,but in all your letters,you sounded so efficient
,confident and professional.like a man! More often than not,however ,in the
course of my routine work,I am not conscious of the fact that I am a woman
scientist.It is only instances of male chauvanism and female rivalry that remind me
of the fact that I am a woman scientist!
Dr Sarah Vargheese:On an overall basis ,I would consider my personal
experiences as fairly fruitful.In my early academic life,there was certainly
preferential treatment towards men so that there was delay in my academic
career.However ,gradually though there was considerable family responsibilities
and male dominance in the activities ,I was able to partially express my talents in
my professional life.In the administrative set up though there were some problems
initially ,gradually there was considerable cooperation and I would say confidently
that there was absolutely no discrimination towards me.In fact I would put it as
better co-operation due to psychological reasons from men towards women.This
does not mean that there have not been problems especially in the family front
which occasionally has given me a sense of guilt because I am
working.However,this might have occurred even if I would not have been
working.These learning experiences of
a working woman with dual responsibilities certainly calls for greater talents
,abilities,and hard work and with support from the family ,political setup and the
organizations more women could contribute to the progress of science.
Dr Lalithambika:I started my research career at IIT Kanpur,accepted a job as
scientist in National chemical laboratory,Pune (one of the laboratories under the
council of scientific and industrial research).Nearly 10 years back,I took a transfer
to regional research laboratory .Trivandrum .In all these places ,I got all
opportunities a man could get.Never di dI experience any discrimination.As per the
charter of the laboratory presently I am working in the utilization of the local
resources (clay and other ceramic raw materials).Since my group can transfer our
funding to industries the industries appreciate our work .This gives job satisfaction.
Dr Ayisha Guharaj:The most memorable occasion in my community health
practice was an event of health education to the train travelers.I repeatedly
contacted them ,and advised them to stop tobacco chewing and smoking .Just
because of my counseling they stopped smoking and changed their lifestyle.Some
of them are still in contact with me .I think changing the lifestyle by at least one
person by the influence of me is a great achievement in my life. Similarly I had the
experience of sharing the suffering of the people ,when a gastroenteritis epidemic
exploded in the area.I was alone and the only medical person available
55

there.Within a short time ,I trained the local persons and even without any facilities
I could organize to start intravenous fluid for the needy.
Thus I could prevent mortality and further morbidity.The exposure to such extreme
poor in their time of suffering was an exciting experience in my life.I still
remember how the anxious and deadly faces became normal and lively after
rehydration. The next noteworthy experience in my life was that of winning the
confidence and respect of my colleagues in Medical college ,calicut.When I took
charge as principal,the institution was full of different groups of people (students
as well as staff)with opposing ideas and diverging relations.I spite of this vivid
circumstances ,I could develop confidence in my associates and delegate much of
my responsibilities to them so that I could lead the institution to much work and
prosperity.The most referable instance of this was a survey done by the medical
students.The medical students and even a part of the regular staff were motivated
to do the survey.They were popular in the campus as the most mischievous
group.They have successfully done the survey.This work gave insight to the fact
that even the most mischievous student if engaged in some good work can be
changed to a good student.

WOMEN IN MEDICAL SCIENCES

(Article published in Calicut Medical college Magazine 1991.)
It was only in 1972 that the New york Academy of sciences conducted the first
Ever conference for working women scientists.The second was conducted in 1978
by the association of women in sciences.(AWIS)constituted in 1971.The 1972
conference studied the lives of twelve distinguished women scientists.In a seminar
conducted in 1979 ,apart from essays and symposiums ,the presentations of
postdoctoral women on their outlook about life were also included.All of the
participants were of the view that such discussions and meetings certainly help in
assessing the problems faced by working women.
Alice Kemp described Christine,one of the known 16th century feminists asat
the dawn of the 15th century ,she stood like a Janus ,loking eagerly into the future
and the
past.she represented the changing era.However their writings showed their affinity
towards orthodox .At the same time she could be seen struggling for the solution of
innumerable unsolved problems with a free thinking.She is viewed as the
personification of changing times.
56

We salute the glittering services rendered by the eminent doctors of Salerno

Medical college in the 11th century and the lady doctors of the ancient Egyptian
civilizations.It is generally said that ladies are as good as gents in each and every
science. .But is this
really true?The Toqavalli published Democracy in America in 1830. Out of the
705 pages ,only 6 pages were earmarked for science.However he was kind enough
to spare 8 pages for women.But discussions were mainly on women as wives.A
little was discussed about women in education.
Till 1960 admission was denied to women in Thomas Jefferson hospital.Admission
to the Hopkins medical school was open to women only when a conditional aid
worth of five lakhs dollars was offered by Elizabeth Garatt Anderson.Admissions
were prohibited to women in 28%of medical schools in 1934.Even in 1944,9%of
medical schools were labeled as exclusively for men.There was not even a single
lady doctor in any of the hospitals of America .Till 1978 there was only one lady
doctor as a professor in the department of Medicine in England.
In a list published in 1921 consisting of scientists in America,504 were women out
of which 50% belonged to biology and medicine.The percentage never remained
constant.If it was 11 %in 1960,on elapsing 16 years in 1976 ,23.2% women were
still working in biological sciences.Majority of them were in biochemistry,
biology, genetics, anatomy,molecular biology and immunology.It is seen that lady
doctors preferred paediatrics ,microbiology,preventive and social
medicine,gynaecology etc.The statistics about US medical schools revealed that
their contribution as academicians were meager.

57

Table1.Percentageofmenandwomen
asacademicians.
Professional/academic
post

Men%

Women%

1.Professor.
.

96

2.Associateprofessor

91%

9%

3.AssistantProfessor

84

16

However the semiskilled work force in the medical area was largely contributed by
women.If you would construct a pyramid,75% of the base will be occupied by
women
working under these categories with only 1% at the top positions.It would be
interesting to analyse this strange reality.Olison assumes that it could be because
women are easily controllable by authority and power.But Brown have the
following observations.
1.women work more for lesser pay.
2.Unemployment is severe in women.
3.Generally women lack the following:
.higher education
.freedom from daily routine household work
.respect from political and community leaders
socioeconomic reasons limit job opportunities to women
compared to other areas women are well paid in these services.
From medical students in San Francisco (1976) URSA (urban rural system
association) data revealed that women are less business oriented.The reasons
why boys opted medical education were
.financial security
comfortable life
dignity of service.
Whereas women were interested mainly in
58

.dignity of the profession.

.freedom
.the adventurous inspirations to serve.
The following figures are based on a survey conducted by a group of our
students in 1987( table 2).
Table 2.motivational factors in medical students survey 1987 (calicut medical
college)

59

ion

Male%

Female%

sstoserve

16.48

6.9

lsecurity

6.51
13.03

ofprofession

10.73

3.45

od means

15.71

0.38

erest

0.75
10.73

19.02
2.72

tal

0.54

3.8

2&3above

6.52

22.28

dom

1.09

2.72

forresearch

0.54

0.0

rospectsofmarriage

0.38

8.43

Reasonunknown17.250.54
Noresponse4.338.59

0% women are interested in research and only 0.75 % men are interested
in research.No wonder our contributions to the field is meager. It reflects the status
of the present world of science of medicine.
Peter Principle.
60

The abilities of men are recognized quickly.Once recognized ,the effort and
enthusiasm to develop oneself gets retarded.This is called Peter principle.Even if
women put maximum effort to come at par with men ,it is seen that they get the
deserving recognition much later.This could be a blessing in disguise as women are
not coming under this peter principle.This will make them more creative and hard
working .It is because of this only that man needs the service of his wife at home
and a secretory at his office .In order to achieve the same level in terms of position
,woman has to work twice as hard as that of man.It was understood through a study
conducted in western countries that women who reaches the higher echelon will
have intelligence ,hard working nature ,curiosity for many things and ability to
analyse
meticulously compared to men because she has to struggle and overcome the
society in order to come upto that level. Even then as rightly pointed out by
Olsen,women are more envious ,intolerant and shows a negative approach to other
women in high positions.Women may tolerate another man who supercedes
her.However she will never allow another woman to supercede her.If anyone has
to achieve something ,then he/she shall get enough opportunities for development
as well as for sharing knowledge.As rightly pointed out by Olison,women
occupying the
higher slots ,on recognition of leadership quality in others ,instead of extending
their
possible help,try to put as much hindrance as possible.According to him,women
should be able to understand the potential of their women colleagues and work
together.Socialisation of women should really come from women rather than from
men.
Rosaline Yalow ,one of the Nobel laureates reminds us that for each and every
Achievement ,there could be setbacks.In order to make discoveries ,women have to
make very hard mental exercises for hours resulting in loneliness during that
period ,which is inevitable.As she climbs the steps she will have to stay a little
detached from the society.The reason is obvious.Neither time nor energy will be
available with her for gossiping etc.Selfconfidence ,courage and hard work
guarantee success to anybody.
IN KERALA.
1.Admissions are not banned for women in any of our medical colleges.
2.Pay and perks are at par with that of men.
3.In case of promotion woman is not considered a s backward.
4.Ladies in large numbers are graduated from our colleges .It was feared that
61

their number will come down consequent to introduction of the entrance

examination.But it has been proved that the assumption was wrong.See the data
and graph of Calicut medical college admissions (table 3)
Table 3 : Medical students-Calicut Medical College.
Years1957
90

Noof
admissions

Male

Female

Male%

Female
%

5758

51

36

15

70.6

29.4

5859

76

50

26

65.8

34.2

5960

104

82

22

78.9

21.1

6061

155

121

34

78.1

21.9

6162

150

118

32

78.7

21.3

6263

149

117

32

78.5

21.5

6364

176

134

42

76.2

23.8

6465

177

129

48

72.9

27.1

6566

192

144

48

75.0

25.0

6667

180

136

44

75.6

24.4

6768

83

142

41

77.6

22.4

6869

176

126

50

71.6

28.4

6970

181

116

65

64.1

35.9

7071

197

126

71

64.0

36.0

7172

185

128

57

69.2

30.8

7273

181

113

68

62.4

37.6

7374

184

124

60

67.4

32.6

7475

188

114

74

60.7

39.3

7576

189

120

69

63.5

36.5

62

7677

182

114

68

62.7

37.3

7778

189

112

77

59.3

40.7

7879

206

122

84

59.2

40.8

7980

202

119

83

58.9

41.1

8081

201

104

97

51.7

48.3

8182

201

125

76

62.2

37.8

8283

205

141

64

68.8

31.2

8384

201

143

58

71.1

28.9

8485

206

148

58

71.9

28.1

8586

202

110

92

56.5

43.5

8687

223

146

77

65.5

34.5

8788

200

226

74

63.0

37.0

8990

201

115

86

57.3

42.7

9091

187

122

65

65.3

34.7

5.We had women as principals and professors coming mainly from nonclinical
sides.In surgery and medicine the number of women are scarce.
6.The men and women in biological sciences and medicine are many but the
Substantial contributions to their respective fields of activity are less.
7.Legally and constitutionally speaking the women are given equal rights .And
63

in that sense the women/men scientists are not suffering class.We had
distinguished ladies as Director of Medical Education.All of them from nonclinical
side(A decade after this paper Dr Meenu Hariharan became DME so that at least
one from the clinical side has come to the highest academic and administrative
position)
In other areas of science also women participation is comparatively less with
respect to the population rates.The reasons are worth investigating .It could be
because of filters of society as pointed out by Earnst ,or the fights at different
levels suggested by Easthler.
Some argue that the condition of women in vedic period was pathetic.They say
that women like Maithreyi,Gargi or Ubhayabharathy were individual exceptions.I
have a very simple answer to them.Even today,the number of such women could
be counted on the fingers.But if one could manage to reach the top of the pyramid
after passing through various filters ,it means that she can be considered as one
among the many trying to get to that position.There may be a big que of women
having as much quest for knowledge as her.Whenever we remember a Maithreyi ,a
Gargi ,we have to remember unknown thousands of subaltern identities behind
them.
Why is that we didnt have a Nity Steevens or a Sabin among us?Why is that
we are not able to acquire a historical personality which could be remembered after
our retirement from service or even after retiring from this world itself?
I presume that the answer to this is evident from the survey results given among
the students in 1987.
Certainly the road available to women scientists is not covered with roses.But
they are being laid on the way ,she has already traversed.!(as Mahabharatha
says).
TABLE 4 Preclinical departments

64

subject

Anatom
y

Biochem Physiolo Microbi

istry
gy
ology

Patholo
gy

Pharmac Forensic
ology
medicin
e

Commu
nity
mediciei
ne

Academi 5
c

Male%

100

80

100

80

87.5

75

25

28.56

Female
%

20

20

12.5

25

75

71.44

Male %

50

66.7

57.12

50

33.3

42.84

16.6

50

Female
%

50

33.3

42.88

50

66.7

57.16

83.4

50

Nonacad
emic
Lecturer

Table 5.Clinical department

subject

Academicpost
M%F%

Nonacademic
Male%female%

Medicine

94.25.8

1000

Skin&VD

42.8457.16

Otherspecialities

1000

1000

Paediatrics

5050

4060

Ophthalmology

7525

4060

Surgery
(includesspecialities)

1000

1000

anaesthesia

5050

7030

pediatricsurgery

1000

1000

physicalmedicine

1000

1000

gynaecology/obstretics

28.5871.42

9.0990.91

References:
65

1.Annals of the New york academy of sciences.Volume 323.1979.

2.women in healthcare.Navarro.v.New England journal of Medicine
.Vol.292,1975,pp.3983.Productivity of women physicians.Heins.M.S.Smock,J.Jacobs,M.Stein.Journal of
American medical association.Vol .236,1976,pp.1961-1964.
4.Oleson .V.1977.Reconceptualising leadership-lower status women and the
exercise of power in health care settings.In proceedings of the conference on
womens
leadership and authority in the health profession.pp.43-53,dept of health,
education, and welfare.Washington.DC.
5.survey 1987 Report.conducted by a group of Medical students in Calicut
Medical College .
6.Calicut Medical College Calendar.1989.

MUNDANA,THE MUNDANE ,AND ILANKOADIKALS

MADHAVI:
Rejection of pleasure or assertion of womanhood?
(This paper was presented as invited lecture at Cochin university,
Department of foreign languages )
Ilankoadikal,a prince of the erstwhile Chera kingdom and the author of
chilappathikaaram was a renowned poet/singer /dancer/saint/monk who
lived in the second century AD.His epic tells us many aspects of early
Dravidian life and culture and of women in different strata of society of
that period.Of the many women characters in the epic ,Madhavi is taken
up here as a case study of feminist and feminine thoughts .Understanding
the place and role of women in historical past depending upon oral
traditions and literary sources is wellknown in the academic circles.(1).
According to tradition Madhavi is a devadasi born into a family of
prostitutes and is supposed to have lured kovilan away from his chaste
wife Kannagi .But ,reading the text one finds that the renowned author/
saint does not think like that.In this paper ,the characterization of
Madhavi by a male monk is taken up and related to the emerging feminist
theory and pleasure.
Feminist theory and pleasure-the twentyfirst century context
66

Modern university-educated women scholars are engaging with the politics

of aesthetic pleasures and addressing the accusation that the feminist
criticism is alienating and that it is ruining everybodys fun.(2).Srividya
Nataraajan ,a performing Bharathanatyam artist and a scholarly woman
wellversed in feminist theories as well as the traditional concept of rasa in
arts is one among them.In a footnote to her essay ,she defines pleasure as
follows:Pleasure covers the sense of mastery or control ,wellbeing or
selfaffirmation that arises from different kinds of involvement with the text
and the with the social context.The kinds of involvement ranges from
aesthetic one attuned to textural and aural effects in the text to a delight in
the narrative alone.From a critical and evaluational engagement with the text
and to a creative reworking of its creative fantasies.(Fn 2 ref 2).
The divergences between the stream of feminist thoughts include liberal
feminism (based on faith in individualism) Psychoanalytic feminism ,
interpreting culture in terms of individual psyche and collective socialization
:And Marxist feminist theories:feminist theories linked to historical /cultural
materialism which allow us to investigate a variety of cultural production
and practices like Bharathanatyam , classical music etc.One of the many
agendas these new age women explore include their identity as Indians
,interested in theorizing indigenous cultural experiences and practices and
their relation to literature.Investigating a cultural form like dance in Tamil
Nadu meant taking to account controversies about cast,religion,materialism
and femininity,questions amenable to materialist feminist analysis,the
question of body and body kinetics in performing arts,of tradition,pleasure
and aesthetics.They are questioning the feminist argument that pleasure is at
best selfindulgent and frivolous and at worst narcissistic and retrogressive
and pernicious.The question of womens pleasure in a patriarchial context is
so troubled and guiltridden that females end up projecting their own doubts
and censorship on the feminist theory .Pleasure affiliated to aesthetic comes
under the purview of philosophy the field of Kant, Abhinavaguptha,
Bharatha, Sankara ,Ilankoadikal and other traditional thinkers /philosophers
of east and west.Aesthetics is a privilege in the form of individual taste.To
resist this individual self,feminists tend to regard with suspicion all the
spaces that are defined by aesthetics.Collective moralism according to Cora
Kaplan has developed in the socialist feminist thought which stagmatise
sensibility itself.It is in this context of a new approach by twentyfirst century
women like Srividya Natarajan , we have to look at Madhavi ,the woman
and the performing artist and her thought processes.
67

 The subaltern question.

To consider the subaltern in the genre,one must distinguish between the
figure of women as subaltern and the question of subaltern
women(3).Woman as the subaltern is the universal woman in every culture
and history and in literature written and interpreted by men.Whereas the
subaltern women belong to the different classes ,castes ,races, occupations,
nationalities, interpreted and expressed by women of these respective strata
themselves . Madhavi is an interesting study material for any student of
literature and social history because she is the subaltern universal woman
interpreted by a man , possibly an androgynous male,who knew the
iyal,isai,and naatakam (literature,music and drama), the aesthetics of art ,and
who renounced his political power,comfortable life style,domestic family
life to become an ascetic himself. Hence Madhavi ,in his epic poem
represents his alterego,or twin female principle with the very same
quaklities,a character with Aathmaansa (part of self)of the author.Madhavi
belongs to the daasi cult ,a member of the vedic daasi clan and
representative of the golden age of Indian womenhood as Uma
Chakrobarthy perceives it ,but she is not the captured subjugated or enslaved
woman.(4).Instead she is a learned ,welleducated sensible free individual
with a voice of her own and who chose to lead a life of chastity with a single
man and the freedom to renounce pleasures and devote her life entirely to
the service of God.She was the daughter of a fisherman.It is surprising that
this low birth did not prevent her from rising to the highest post of Talakkol
and to special rights like the palanquin ,specific functions in the royal court
and in the temple.The low birth of her does not prevent the poet himself,a
kshathriya upper caste man and an ascetic,to call her Malaipparum chirappin
vaanavar magal(daughter of the divine ones,whose greatness is eternal ).The
katalooragaathai(the song on the beach)gives the evidence of her fisherman
birth. Kovalan tells her that her ancestors entering waves with the curve of
their boats killed fish and likewise she enters his soul and kills him with her
eyes.She belongs to the Parathavar race of the sangam age,the race also
called the Thirai veedar (people who have made the waves their home)and
also the descendants of Bharatha,the rishi concerned with the origin of
Natyasaasthra,.In either way she is an example of the common woman of
India,the subaltern woman.According to Natyasaasthra,(5)when Vishnu
danced four vrithys (Bharathy,sathwiki,kaisiki,and Arabhaty)originated from
him.Kaisiki is related to long hair of Vishnu and is the feminine laasya.It
was born out of saamaveda(music )which is equivalent to Vishnu himself.
68

When the poet says that Madhavi is the daughter of the Gods and is the
descendant of the Bharatha race and of Urvasi,he is saying that she is a
devadasi of the vaishnavite tradition.We find that her associates who erect a
tent for her at the seashore are parathavar(fisherfolk)and aracher (kings),
singers and dancers.
EDUCATION FOR THE SUBALTERN-JOBORIENTED.
What type of education did the subaltern get in those days? How did this
help her to earn a respectable position and livelihood? Learning and earning
from knowledge thus obtained ,being the most important tools of
empowering the subaltern this aspect becomes important.It is the knowledge
and position in society which gives the subaltern the courage to speak up
their thoughts and to express their indignation at what is going on in the
society.At the age of five Madhavi starts her education and by twelve she
has learnt and is ready to display her talents in front of the August assembly
of scholars .She had mastered mathematics(ganitha)writing skills,the five of
language(akshara or letter ,vaak or word,artha or meaning,vritha or
rhythm,and alamkaara or ornamental language )and the four of music (sruthy
or pitch ,swara or notes,raga or melody,and thaala or rhythm).Literature
,music ,drama ,dance and mathematics were the branches of knowledge in
which she was well versed.With this she became a Vaarasthree(a woman for
temple service) leading a life of vow or vratha in temple doing service to the
God.The devadaasi/daasa had a division of labour between them.
1.Thondu (service)which include charya and kriya.Servile tasks like
digging the temple tank or well ,collecting the flowers for pooja,lighting
the lamps etc are the charya.The performance of actual pooja within the
sanctum sanctorum is kriya.
2.Yoga and naana.Yoga is meditation on God.Naana is knowledge of
veda and its commentaries ,the Upanishads and other scriptures.
3.Thevaarappaattu.The othuvar(singers)sing songs called thevaaram in
which the origin of the place of worship,origin of the deity
worshipped,his/her greatness, are given in detail.(6)
4.singing and dancing in temples during festivals and other auspicious
moments ,fanning the deity etc.
These were the traditional jobs performed by the ancestors of Madhavi.This
does not mean that the job was one done by low caste people.On the
contrary , it was a privilege enjoyed by aristocratic females.Till the time of
69

Raajaraajachola we find that even highborn,wealthy women adopted such a

life,not because they were in need of money or power but because they felt
an urge to serve God in the true sense of the word.Rajarajacholans daughter
herself was a thevardiyaal(servant of the God),history tells us.
The teachers of Madhavi were renowned scholars.The dance teacher knew
both the aka and pura(the margi,desi)traditions and their modifications ,their
lakshana,porul or tatwa of the 4 purushaartha,different styles from alliyam to
kodukotty, kuravai, vary, abhinaya,mudra and all other subtle aspects of
Bharathakala.Kuravai is a group performance.Vary is a solo in which the
performer depicts the culture ,the geographic and national prestige of the art
form and his/her own efficiency and involvement in it so that the people
enjoy the aesthetic in it.Her Guru in music was an adept in veena,
mridanga,flute,vocal,margi and desi ,a vaaggeyakaara in his own right, with
composing skills ,who knew different languages of the continent ,a
composer in various languages without any error,and besides he was
enthusiastic and of good character .The kavi who taught literature to
Madhavi was a panditha ,well known in the land between Imayam
(Himalaya) and Kumary(Cape Comorin) who had crossed the ocean of
Muthamil(literature,music and drama) a nannool pulavan(scholar in
scriptures).Besides she had a flutist ,mridangist,and a vidwan in veena ,each
one efficient in their own respective fields as her accompaniments.
When Kovalan takes the garland given to Madhavi by the emperor of Chola
kingdom as a symbol(award)of recognition to her mastery over the
arts,Madhavi was only twelve year old.She was as innocent as a new
flower.She was waiting for her friend to give him her kalavi and
pulavi.These two terms have two different meanings.Gross meaning is the
paribhava(false quarrel)and anunaya(appeasing )of a loving couple. But
kalavi or kalvi also means vidya or education.Pulavi is poetry of the highest
order belonging to learned pandits and aesthetics.With the new arts and
knowledge aquired , and newly recognized the small girl was waiting to
show off her talents ,rather than to lure a man.She didnt even know that the
man is a married one.She was educating Kovalan in her arts but being too
feminine and of a tender age she fell in love with him and had to bear the
consequences of that relationship.
The poet tells us that when Madhavi took the veena in the early morning
hours at the seashore,there was a clear sign of her liberation from kaama and
entry into an ascetic life.The rising sun was saffron with a white halo of rays
70

, and looked like a bee which after spending a whole night within the flower
enjoying to its hearts content comes out ,with no more desire ,besmeared
with the saffron honey and pollens.
Kalavi and Pulavi in Madhavis songs
Kovalan is just another lovelorn ,passionate ,jealous,possessive male and
resents her performance in front of others in the court and temple.Therefore
when Madhavi gives him the veena and asks him to sing ,he praises Kaveri
as the symbol of chastity.Her husband the chola king embraces river Ganga
and Kumari.Yet she is tolerant and loves him as before.In his subconscious
mind he equates his own chaste wife kannagi to kaaveri and king chola who
embraces other rivers(as his empire extends upto them) as kovalan who
embrace Madhavi.Madhavi is a madhyamavargaganika,as explained in
Koutilyas arthasaasthra(7)and she knows how to read other peoples
thoughts (parachithagnaanam or psychology)and she gives a tit for tat.She
sang:
Iam a poor woman ,
The oath in front of Varuna was a lie.
How am I to know it!!
No wonder . Isnt our country
Surrounded by beetles
On either banks..
..
Kaveri,hail!
The mother of chola country,
The nourisher of earth,
Your eternal flow is the blessing of sun
The ruler of all oceans,
And the saviour of all souls
I know that secret.
The aesthetics and spiritual undertones of the comparison in this is
unmistakable .And it is far superior to the similie of kovalan.The ethics of
eternal dharma of the universe is unknown to kovalan whose individual
sensibility is at a much lower level than Madhavi.He misunderstands the
words and construes that she is in love with the king.Madhavi continues:
In the lovely face
71

Shining as moon
And red lips soft as flowers
Are the rays of joy
The pearls of smile.
Yet,why Arya,
You come here daily
With your pearls?
Can your pearls match
Priceless pearls of my smile?
Pearls are given by the ocean.
My country is the one
Where men bargain with peral
Beautiful women..
If women in parathavar homes
Living in vedic style
Have loose bangles and thin body(due to viraha)
What can a weak woman like me do
To prevent it?
If the swan mistook punna flower
For a star
And made punna tree its abode
The swan is ignorant
What can I do for that?
My country is the one
Where bees wander in everyopen blossom
Singing passionate songs.
I didnt know that.
The art of winning over a bee
With cups of honey
Is painful,and uncurable.
I am only a poor innocent woman
My city is Pukaar
Where sandcastles are broken by waves
And women with tears
Try to fill oceans with sand.
Women build sandcastles on seashore.When it is broken in a wave cry and try
to fill the passion waves of their men with broken sandcastles.But Madhavi is
72

different.She has an eternal lover,the ocean god varuna,the saviour who saves
her from the criticisms of society.She is his devotee.He is called the thiraineerin
cherpan(God of ocean ,) who is represented as sun.The passionwave of kovala
following her has erased the chariotmarks of her Lord,engraved in her
mind.Pretending love,erasing the divine mark of God,harming her,yet hurting
her saying that she is the cause of his passion,Yet she does not want to hurt him
or to take revenge upon him.Because she is an aristocratic woman. The
ocean(paramaatma)being her real lover ,and the jeeva (wave) with the fishy
smell of passion ,desirous of cleaning themselves of it, kisses the fragrant
flowers on the shores ,take away their fragrance,and goes back.The ocean,the
ruler of numberless souls(waves)persists forever,eternal.Madhavi recognizes
two types of waves.The smiling small ones which never gets into the nets ,
dancing in the faroff horizons and the fishy smelling ones which come near just
to dirty the shores and the innocent flowers .The latter type pretends themselves
to be clean and fragrant and blame the flower.She tells Kovalan that you belong
to that category of men and I am in love with God (divine men)who are of the
deep ocean wave type which is ever pure and devoid of passions.
Though she criticizes kovalan thus, the male behaviour and the society as a
modern feminist does,Madhavi is feminine to the core and loves kovalan and
wants to be with him always ,sharing life and caring for him.She is a
complete woman with her femininity telling her that her music ,dance and
knowledge and education have attracted Kovalan but the very same when it
touched a false note (while she was singing Thodi) had roused his ego and
repelled him from her.Her own aesthetics and dharma had been the ultimate
cause of their separation.Therefore she compares herself to twilight traveling
in a boat of sorrow ,traversing an ocean of fire.That ocean of fire is her lord
and hence she speaks sweet words of love and pleasure .This is the aesthetic
feminine side of her character.When kovalan leaves Madhavi forever the
poet does not approve of his act.He along with the seasons ask him to lok at
the beloveds face for once and shed his ego and return to her.He comments
that when Madhavi was looking for a bright future for kovalan ,he went out
hastily to before that mornings arrival,to Kannagi,who was waiting for his
death through a dreadful predictive dream of hers.Madhavi though the
system allowed to take another husband of her choice,remains an
ascetic,shaves her head,enters an ascetic order ,asks her mother not to teach
dance and music to her daughter Manimekhalai.Because of this
, Manimekhalai ,became an ascetic and a scholar too.Marginalisation of
women,popular culture.
73

Why did Madhavi and Manimekhalai embrace asceticism?Did it allow them

a freedom of movement in society? We will compare an almost similar
situation and process in the 19th century Bengal(8).The census of India
(Bengal 1872)tells us that the followers of Vaishnavism open their arms to
those who are rejected by all others-the outcastes,crippled and diseased,and
the unfortunate.Contemporary records abound with references to women in
villages ,widows,married and unmarried women deserting their homes to
join vaishnavites Akhara or monasteries . Here religious norms allowed
them a freedom of movement ,an access to all corners of society both high
and low and a certain liberty in their relation to men privileges which were
out of reach for rich and middle class Bengali womenof the time.The
vaishnavites went about singing and dancing.Some who were learned taught
in the antharmahal of the bhadralok.there were a few wellknown poets
among them.These Neri poets were pictured by rival male poets as vagrant
low caste women.Neri literally means shavenheaded vaishnavites.In the 15th
century , vaishnavite chandidas had a female disciple ,a washerwoman
Rammoni or Rami.She had tosuffer a lot of false accusations because of her
attachment to Chandidas.In the early years of the 19th century Jogeswary ,
the woman poet had written songs belonging to the Biraha type , expressing
Radha s woes at her separation from Krishna.The songs express the
womans dismay at her lovers infidelity,as that of Madhavi.Sumantha
Banerjee tells us how these baishnavites were marginalized by the menfolk
of the bhadralok by an intense campaign against women artistes and
performers.(8).Jogeswarys male contender Bhola Maira insulted her during
a public poetic duel,calling her a shameless Woman who had lost all her
proportions.We can see that in the duel between kovala and Madhavi also
the same thing occurred,kovalan calling her unchaste ,a killer of
men,kodumkaali,yamadharma etc etc.It was to prevent this type of
purposeful hurts by society that Madhavi gave up her aesthetic performing
arts and her knowledge .But we may ask,was she right in abandoning her
rightful pleasures derived from aesthetic tastes just to escape from the lures
of a substandard society?The attitude of the material feminists who abandon
every aesthetic pleasure vs the modern scholarly performing artists of the
present century ,who though feminists in their ideas ,take up aesthetics as
their rightful and natural sensibility and pleasure can be studied in this
light(10)
Mundanam and the mundane
74

Mundanam or shaving the head by ascetic women and widows is a theme

which draws attention because ,many university educated young feminists
are now shaving their heads to shock the males.Madhavi and Manimekhalai
had done this in sangam age.The poet says that men were shocked to hear
the news of the beautiful Madhavi shaving her hair.Madhavi and kovalan
were both worshippers of the God/Goddess of ocean.It was acult among
them to shave the hair as a sign of abandoning everything mundane.In
Mundaka Upanishad we find a similar notion.The pheonicians ,the historic
seafarers of yore had a cult of Goddess Astarte (Manimehaladevi of the
vaisya in sangham age)where the same custom prevailed.Whether sensuality
is attached to one s hair is questionable from the medical point of view.Yet
true to the belief that kaisiki is the lasya and music,from the hair of Vishnu,
many puritanistic ascetic orders and religions attach much importance to hair
and performing arts and for them abandoning the hair and covering the hair
,either always or during the visits to temples, churches, mosques is
indicative of abandonment of mundane passions and acceptance of divine
will.
Madhavi represents the feminist and the feminine,aesthetic and the pleasure
of aesthetic exerience ,but also the divine will,renunciation and spiritual
being .Being a female counterpart of the author of chilappathikaaram,who
was called aattukottupaatu cheralaathan (an adept in dance,rhythm and
music)and a supreme Sacrificer of mundane pleasures,the study of Madhavi
offers an excellent means of entering into the consciousness of the poet/saint
Ilanko adikal.
Bibliography.
1.Introduction 8&9.women in colonial India. Ed
.J.Krishnamoorthy.Oxford India paperbacks.(1990)
2.Ruining everybodys fun.Feminist theory and pleasure .Srividya
Natarajan &Rekha Pappu .238-255.Subject to change ed Susie
Tharu.Orient longman
1998.
3.Small speeches ,subaltern gender :Nationalist ideology and its
historiography. Kamala visweswaran.page 87.Subaltern studies 9.writing
on south Asian history and society .ed.Shahid Amin and Dipesh
chakrabarthy .oxford uty press 1997.

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 4.whatever happened to the vedic daasi?Uma chakrabarthy.pg 2779.Recasting woman .Essays in colonial history.Ed kumkum sangary
&sudesh vaid .Kali for women .reprint 1997.
5.Natyasaasthram of bharathamuni .commentary by K.P.
Narayanapisharody. keralasahityaacademy.
6.Hymns to shiva.Indira parthasarathy paterson
7.Koutilyas arthasaasthra . keralasahityaacademy
8.Marginalisation of women s popular culture in 19th century Bengal
pge 134-137.Recasting women .essays in colonial history ed kumkum
sangari and sudesh vaid .kali for women 1997
9.chilappathikaaram.Ilankoadikal.commentary by Nenmara viswanaathan
nair. Keralasahitya academy
10.Another stage in the nations life.Sadir,bharathanatyam,feminist
theory, unpublished thesis . srividya natarajan.central university
.Hyderabad.

PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN THE LITERATURE OF WESTERN

REGIONAL INDIAN LANGUAGES
Dr Suvarna Nalapat
Presidential Address . Kochin university of Technology and sciences . (
National seminar conducted by Kendra Sahitya Academy and Department
of Culture )
INTRODUCTION:
One of my colleagues once asked:Suvarna,How old are you? I said,may be
6000 years or may be older.When I think and involve in the intellectual
pursuits of research into the human history,I am ageless,timeless.When I
give a lecture or a speech , I am 60 years (chronological age)and when I play
76

with infants and children I am their age,and when I enjoy music I am

seventeen.In short , I do live in the present. Because of this ,my language
with different people appears different.But yet I am a total ,complete human
being with my own visions,experiences,missions in life and cognitive
,emotive functions wellbalanced.If I talk as a pathologist/ astronomer/
philosopher to this gathering or to my grandchild my language becomes
unintelligible to the audience.This makes a gap or a distancing due to lack of
communications. Who is the woman in literature? The Poet/ novelist/
shortstorywriter/activist turned autobiographist/prose writer/ social critic/
niversity research scholars who produce a high quantity of serious writing ??
And which are the western regional languages of India? Should not we
include kannada and Tamil and Punjabi , Malayalam and Hindi as well since
these are also spoken in the western coastal belt and the konkan coast? And
finally have I got any contact with the literature of the last two decades in
Gujrati, konkani,marathi and sindhi,the four languages selected for the
seminar? When I asked these questions to myself,I had a surprising answer.
Among all these insufficiencies there is a thread of unity ,flowing from the
rich traditions of India,of which I am a part and parcel and it is with this
feeling that I stand before you to deliver the presidential address..
:A cultures selfawareness in terms of its law,medicine and grammer is an
important precondition for awareness of its aesthetics.The knowledge of
medicine ,a system of management of pain ,of anaesthetics,of births and
deaths ,is interrelated to poetry ,a system of management of pleasure ,of
aesthetics and of creation(1)Thus wrote G.N.Devy in AFTER AMNESIA.
As a medical professional and an advocate of music as the panacea for all
human ailments and for holistic development of an integrated personality,in
an aesthetically anaesthetic medium of alleviation of pain and suffering of
humanity, I can vouchsafe that life becomes beautiful and artistic with
literature and music ,but communicating this new idea to the already
prejudiced society was not that easy or artistic..In 1991 when yamuna,a
student of mine , and me planned the calicut medical college magazine, we
had planned it with a humanistic and a womanoriented approach,( we
elected universal ideas,valuebased education,management of medicine and
of human life,the Gandhian ideals ,women in Malayalam literature and in
science subjects especially in medicine)and the magazine began with the
quote from Koran,I was as a germ concealed,Me Thy burning ray
77

revealed,and ended with the famous nationalistic quote of Tagore,praying

for awakening of our country into the heaven of freedom (2).
Every human being has a dream.When we think of our dreams,and
communicate them to the outside world,the dreams come true .To think and
communicate is to create.The modern Indian women are thinking,
creating,and are actively participating in every field where their male
counterparts are active ,yet they remain the marginalized.How does this
happen ? The reason probably is that we are separated by our concepts of
different classes,races,languages,cults and religions etc.Of these ,the
language is one of the barriers that keeps the Indians apart..As Herodotus(3)
said,the determinant of Greek identity is the Greek language,and he calls the
foreigners barbaroi (the babble of foreign speech)The Arab dictionary also
speaks of the nonarab speaking foreigners ae-je-ma(barbarian). The polish
people laugh at chechs saying that they speak polish as spoken by a 5 year
old boy or as if there is a potato in the mouth.Multilingualism of Mithradates
and Cleopatra (they knew 25 languages)is awed,respected and at the same
time feared by the foreign invaders like Romans.India being a land of many
languages , a trilingual pattern with the regional language,Hindi and English
as the communication languages and Sanskrith and Tamil as the oldest
languages for study of culture and heritage would be of use for meaningful
communication . Womens world ,a global free speech network of women
writers formed in 1994,has a 10 language research project with Asmita the
purpose of which is to identify how genderfaced censorship in a range of
social and cultural mechanism that invalidate womens experience and
exclude them from political discourse ,is far more pervasive and far more
difficult to control than official suppression.The silencing of women ,the use
of systematic force to ensure silence , is probably for maintaining patriarchal
power ,according to the five women who lead the research(4)
Krishna /devi cults (sociopolitical/spiritual implications)
Uma chakravarthy (Ref :5 pge 45) has conflicting opinions when she says
that the real fall of Indian women came with the growth of the Krishna cult
and yet narrates the contributions of saraladebi in Bengal and of Pandita
Ramabhai of Maharashtra ,to the contemporary society(the former called
Kaali since she was a challenge to males and the latter saraswathy because
of her scholarship ),both were highly religious and spiritually inclined.The
bhakthy traditions bring out the inner woman in Vaishnav traditions as we
will illustrate with Mirabai and Bahinabai.The 5 types of yogins
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(Prathamakalpika, madhubhoomika,pragnajyothy,athikranthabhavaneeya
and chithavimukthy) and the different stages of right cognition (yathamaana,
vyathiraka, ekendriya,vaseekara,aparavairagya and paravairagya) are
comparable according to yoga philosophy(6 .chap 4. ) and Meera practicing
layayoga through musical/lyrical creativity and naadalayayoga in onepointed
ekagratha of dhyaana was an advaithin,a yogin par excellance. Therefore,the
status of Meera did not fall,but arose with Krishna cult.This is true of many
a woman in India practicing vaishnav raagaanuga bakthy.
The Amma or Matha cult is very popular in India.Even during the nationalist
times there are several instances of the divine hand intervening in the
nationalist projects. The Devi movement in 1922 in Gujrat and the
ADIVASI upsurge following it is one example.The adivasis listened to the
devi(salahbai),even went into a trance,and followed each of the devis
commands.The main commands were abstain from meat and alcohol,take
bath daily,clean with water after defecating,release goats and chicken kept
for sacrificial killing,boycott liquor dealers and landlords.The devi asked
them to take the vows in Gandhis name ,to wear khadi cloths and to attend
schools.The collector of Surat district A.M.Macmillan noted that the impact
of the Devi continued and because they stopped the alcoholism there was
marked improvement in their economical status and the epidemic was
controlled..He could close 13 liquor shops in Mandvi Taluka and one in
Bardoli and one in Valod Mahal.The Devi movement in South Gujrat had
many features in common with the other parts of India during late 19th and
20th century.If we take up the social,economic,and political background of
such movements the meaning and significance of the reform programme and
the educational importance of it In 1922 the Mangala koli fisherfolk had a
smallpox epidemic and women of the tribe used to get possessed by the
Goddess with healing properties.These women possessed of the devi were
called salah(advice)bhai(women of God).Knowing this,the political
worker,the lady who was a Gandhian freedom worker ,and nationalist either
acted as a medium who raised the collective grievances of an ethnic
community ,enriching the consciousness of the individual and the group as
Richard Lannoy remarked and it was not a mere chaotic hysteria.(7).Or it
may be that she didnt act but the ethnic custom of the adivasis naturally
took her to be a salahbai.Almost similar feelings of the people are being
used by religious sects and business oriented people at present (even in
Kerala),and the value of it has to be judged very carefully ,weighing the pros
and cons of such movements ,the sociopolitical and economic implications
and the intellectual background etc.Are these movements expressions of
79

group solidarity and social cohesion and have acted as unifying forces for
groups under conditions of social disorganization?Are they representing a
serious attempt to establish a new moral order where the old one is destroyed
or is unsatisfactory?Have they acted as mediators between the greater and
little traditions of India as catalysts? Are they advocating unity and advaitha
of people through love and mutual understanding through a peaceful,
universal language or inculcating separatism and dwaitha and making
enmity between people,quarrels and wars? Are they functioning for
monetary purposes or for spiritual and sociopolitical and intellectual
awakening of the people?
Is it a resistive revitalization where synthesis of dominant and
subordinate cultures is poorly worked out,there are serious barriers
against integration,and movement develop into a state of violent
resistance?or is it an emulative revitalization where the synthesis is better
worked out,barriers to integraton are weak,or nonexistent,and the
movements are peaceful? Devi movement of Gujrat in 1922 was of the
emulative type. Any Godman/ Godwoman cult of India/or the world has
to be studied in this way,by the intelletuals and sociopolitical activists.A
serious and analytical study of such movements in this light,is good so
that both the movement(if the movement is good and worthy and
emulative )and the society will gain in the end.,by such impersonal
,intellectual studies.Creativity is not restricted to literature alone,but to
life,society,building of a great nation,preservation of worldpeace and
culture etc.As a woman concerned with such thoughts ,I stand before you
and speak.
Role of Academi in creativity and communication
K.R.Srinivasa iyengar wrote:It is not academis nor trusts nor charters that
can ensure the creation of great literature.An authentic work of literature
is a man speaking to other men.It is an exchange of pulses ,an unfreezing
of our petrified selves so that soul may commune with soul and diverse
minds can flow together.The quality of literature must thus ultimately
depend on the quality of the individual writer.The more men have the
courage to be lonely in their minds ,the more writers cultivate the
strength to withstand the pressures of politics,patronage and propaganda
or the lure of novelty and the gymnastics of mere techniques ,the more
are they likely to succeed in
80

transmuting their ambroisial visions into abiding art.(8) I believe that when
an author creates a work(which is a great thought )the academis should be
able to understand the merit of the work and to communicate it to other
national languages so that national and international integration should
happen.Translation into English/other regional languages will promote such
communication and academi can thus recreate the great work for
communication .Communication is a means of promotion of tolerance .
Tolerance comes as a natural byproduct of communication.Tolerant citizens
with unrestricted flow of thoughts are the foundations of a stable
,adaptable,robust and interesting society according to Malini
.S.Bhattacharya.(9)I would add to a mentally, intellectually and spiritually
healthy society
The works of saratchandrachatterjjee,Bankim chandra ,V.s Khandekar and
of Ashapoornadevi are well known to the readers of Malayalam through
translations.I must especially speak of the three novels of Ashapoornadevi
(prathamaprathisruthy, suvarnalatha and the story of Bakul)which represents
the precolonial,colonial and postcolonial status and aspirations of women in
India.
Gujrati is spoken in Gujrat,sourashtra and Kutch.Derived from Sanskrit,it
has intermediary stages of souraseni prakrith and apabramsa.Kutch or
Bhrigukutch of ancient Bharath is connected to the bhriguvansa to which
Parasurama belongs and Viswamithra related..And it is the land of
Krishna,(the archetypal personality embedded in the human psyche,)
where he built the Dwarakapuri.If we use the research method of
Bharatha ,with the triad of sruthy-thanthrayukthy,and anubhoothy and
replace the constrictive Hegelian dialectics thesis antithesis and use the
protovedic bharatheeya continuity theory ,(10) we will find that the
Chera kings belonging to the Karthaveerya dynasty are the 49th
generation from the
dwaraka kings (as in the Pathittupathu). The 15th century Bhakthi poet
Mirabai , singing the krishnageethis and padams thus is a part of us too.Why
was Meera delineated from her husbands household while they themselves
were Krishna devotees and were well into the Krishna tradition which is
thousands of years old in India?It was her inlaws who first compiled
ashtapadi as Rasikapriya which means they didnt have any objection to
Krishna and his devotion which is in the Indian archetypal psyche. But The
sociopolitical reasons were many.The attitude of Meera , questioning the
traditional widow customs and refusing to act as a widow,the acceptance of
81

Raidas,the leather worker,an untouchable as her Guru,and the relation with

the Mughal emperor and his court singer Tansen,are all sociopolitical
reasons which we can clearly understand.The fact that she refused to call
srivallabha acharya as her Guru and as an avathar of Vishnu was the reason
for the Vallabha sect to denounce her as a vaishnavi,three times in a
row..That was religious patriarchy.And the fact that she told the Goswamins
that there is only one purush ,and that is Krishna, also was intolerable to the
other men(though goswamy could understand her)and all these factors have
made Meera powerful,and popular and a legend,and that is why the
observation of Uma chakravarthy ,that women of India had downfall with
Krishna cult is not acceptable. Moreover Meera refused to behave as a
young Rajput widow is supposed to behave, claiming that her husband is not
Bhoja but the everpresent evergreen hero, Krishna.The revolt of Meera was
sweet and nonaggressive,emulative like the Devi movement of Gujrat during
the Gandhi era,and hence peaceful and good for the society.There are still
Meerabais in India(,10 ,11)and their life and work is studied and appreciated
by the foreign writers like steven Rosen and selina Theilman. (western
scholars). Indian Academies can do their share to do research on such
women who are different from the mainstream political activists of feminist
movement and have a discourse of their own.and their effect on the society
in which they live and communicate.
Kavisammelans and Mushairas are fairly popular in Gujrati literature.The
poems are written in the style of urdu ghazhals and recited at
mushairas.Ghazhal means talking to the beloved.The theme is love,either
spiritual or erotic.The rekthy or raagabhaava to titillate the males in the
kothas,was a later development .Mushaira being an integral part of the
ghazal universe is an interactive space where orality and texuality are
interspersed with musicality.The padams of Meerabhai have a feminine
idiom of spiritual love while the Umrao Jan by Mirza Ruswa (first published
in 1905)is that of the Tawaif of the Lucknow courtesans erotic love .Amina
Yaquin (the beloved re-presented.16th European conference on modern
south Asian studies dept of sociology.Edinburg uty.) observes that 90 years
later women poets continue to be haunted by the success of Umrao Jan
brought closer to public memory by Bollywoods cinematic adaptation.The
visibility of women writers exploded with the progressive writers
movement and prose queens rose to the top she observes.(13).The aesthetics
versus political feminism ,art vs science/logic is finding it difficult to come
to terms with such conflicts .
82

In the same conference Lalita du perrons paper on Thumri observes the

equal devotional and erotic component in the Thumri Thumri also is a
courtesans music .It uses the Braj bhasha,the dialect spoken by Krishna and
the gopis in the vrajbhoomi, and hence has the ubiquitous presence of
Krishna ,the lover,employment of themes and imagery are familiar from
early Bhakthy poetry and the devotional element persists and survives to the
modern age.In it I can find a combination of chaayavada and pragathivaada
in equal doses.(Indian romanticism with aesthetics and Indian progressive
thought with concern for the socially oppressed.Chayavada is a cross
between early romanticism and vedanthic synthesis.Pragahyvaada between
late romanticism and Marxian dialectics)
The whore-virgin stereotypes as Lucy Rosenstein speaks of the conflict
between the erotic/devotional emotions ,questions even the idealized form of
the naayikaabhava (shringar)tradition,because hard core feminists cant
accept that .The romanticized view of woman in a mans home and heart in
the poetic canon does not appeal to the hardcore political activist.Yet,the
shringar has the most aesthetic quality and one who is wellversed in
aesthetics would definitely apprecite the value of it in literature and
music.Ghazhal and romantic music is a very private emotion in a
universalized style and all devotional literature and music is divine in this
universalized sense.They cam e from the countryside folk traditions
(subaltern)and became urbanized during the Mughal period ,found a place in
the Guru hymns of the Sikhs and sufi colonial postcolonial poetry in Punjab
and is very popular during the modern period of globalisation.The
association of the bhakthy musical/lyrical traditions with subnational
ethnicity,nationalism ,and global awakening gives it a special place in
literature in modern times. The socalledLiterature of knowledge in
Gujarati,is very valuable.The gujrat vidyasabha,Maharaja sayajirao uty
,chunilal Gandhi research institute,bharatiyavidyabhavan ,Forbes gujrati
sabha have brought out authoritative texts of old manuscripts. The new
modern humanistic movements of search of personality found in the journal
Pratika(allahabad 1946)and the parimala group of writers brought out the
prayogavaada or experimentalism. (14)And in the modern times university
educated scholarly women are definitely experimenting with life and society
and finding out answers to their individual and collective problems and to
the problems of society and the world.
83

 The marathi literature is rich in the saint poet traditions. Gnaneswar,

Namdeo, eknath,Tukaram,Ramdas,Muktheswa r came in a row enriching
the tradition.The common man sought the heroic ballads and the erotic
lavani (like the puram and akam in Tamil)17th century vaishnavite
Bahinabhai lead an ordinary life of a housewife, involved with her
household duties,and Mary Gee(15) calls it the ordinary life of an
exceptional woman ,or the exceptional life of an ordinary woman,both
terms appear to be apt for many of us.As far as I am concerned,a simple
ordinary life and the exceptional intellectual,mental(cognitive,emotional)
pursuits and the spiritual awakening makes us valuable citizens of the
world.Only such people can save the world from disaster,in the present
condition.Bahinabhai did not discard her clothes like the Virsaiva saint
Akka Mahadevi.She did not merge with God as Aandaal (Tamil )or
Meera(Gujarat)She did not announce that Giridhar is her true husband
unlike Meerabhai.Not renouncing marriage or motherhood,not discarding
the duties (karma)of the ordinary life,she composed
autobiographical/devotional hymns revealing her anguish and uncertainty
regarding her duties as a wife,and her devotion to her Guru and to
God.The abhangaas in her early period of life are showing this dilemma
very clearly.Thus Mary finds out that the most honoured woman saint of
Maharashtra was a victim of domestic violence in her early life.How she
dealt with such conflicts and how her spirituality and theological
imagination allowed her to survive ,Mary looks into the religious
,sociopolitical context of Bahinabais life.Her dream vision of Tukaram
at the age of eleven and the recognition of her as a saint by Jayaram
goswami and the insults she had to suffer for it from her husband etc are
described in the Book vaishnavi,edited by Steven Rosen(11).Sudra saint
Tukharam as
sadguru,vitthal as God,her compositions have strong advaithic streaks For
her,sadguru and God is one and vitthal as Hari is her brother,sahodara.While
her husband had a very structured patriarchal upbringing,she was influenced
both from the teachings of Marathy bhakthy literature and the teachings of
advaitha and this lead to the different responses to the domestic crisis in their
life.
I think ,the life of Bahinabhai teaches us that worldly life and spiritual life can
go together ,without conflict.Indifference to worldly life does not mean
withdrawal from it,but a honest ,good,exemplary living within the world.
Drawing strength from ones spiritual knowledge is different from escaping into
84

religion ,which implies weakness.Woman is sakthi,and she need not become

weak and immerse in religion,but can draw her strength from cognitive,emotive
functions dormant in her spiritiual life ,and that was done by Gargi,Maithreyi
and ubhayabharathy.But where are these great womens works ?Did they ever
produce any great work?or even if they produced ,did those oral traditions not
preserved,or got suppressed due to the fact that they didnt have any good
disciples/or because they were women?We dont have answers. And my work
on Prasthaanathraya is the view of a woman,a working woman,leading a very
ordinary domestic life and a with a highly aesthetic flavour for a richly musical
premabhakthy traditions of India ,and gurubhakthy,vishnubhakthy and
upanishada combined (given in my spiritual autobiography-patheya). The sufi
literature of Punjab is rich in jelal(power or sakthy),jemal(beauty or soundarya)
and kemal (wisdom or shivam)The village life,the rustic language of love and
wisdom flowing from the sufi is rich in sidhabhasha or sandhyabhasha of the
sidhayogins of the vraj and is comparable to the premabhakthy of Indian
musical traditions.
The silent strong asserive and accomodative aesthetic musical language of
Meerabai and Bahinabhai,of andaal and of the other vaishnavi women has to
be viewed in this new light,applicable to the 21st century women who have
developed both cognitive and emotive functions equally,and who have a
university education and means of livelihood of their own and a freedom to
choose what she wants.,and what she can contribute to the society and to the
world.Education need not always be equated with culture since all educated
people are not cultured..Modern Woman is not a traditional passive sufferer
who needs sympathy,but a cognitive,emotive human being,who can give
love and compassion and wisdom and knowledge and save the society and
the world from disaster..
According to Bertrand Russel three passions that make human life
meaningful are, overwhelmingly strong longing for everlasting love,search
for absolute wisdom, compassion for the suffering world(premabhakthy,gnaana and karuna) All these are combined in Indian cultural
heritage,and the scientific /intellectual acumen of a Gargi,the Nonattachment
and thirst for knowledge of a Maithreyi and Manimekhala, the virakthy and
love for Guru and God of the different saints,are all to be viewed by the
academics of the modern universities in a different light,instead of repeating
the same old pallavi that it is brahmanical and conservative.The fact is ,it is
not at all brahmanical or conservative,but very practical and for the common
85

man,and for everyone who wants to live a fruitful happy life in

society.,serving their fellow beings.
.
In later Marathi literature Even the puritans/nationalists leaned on the
romantic for gratification and allegory.Ravikiran mandal .a group of poets
allowed love to bloom into a domestic virtue Ramabhai Ranades
autobiography provides a portrait of her husband M.G Ranade Mrs Malathy
Bedekar (intimate truths of the woes of the awakened woman)Mrs Geeta
Sane ,ms mukthabai dixit,kamalabai tilak (stories of middleclass
homes)kusumavathi deshpande (poetic and critically balanced sketches)are
other women who came out with autobiographies.
Konkani literature
Konkana,the name of Renuka ,wife of Jamadagni and mother of parasurama
is given to the konkan coast and to the language spoken by a few and the
written traditions of konkani is still very young though the oral tradition is as
old as the western coast and the Bhaarath itself. But Jamadagni was the son
of a woman from Bengal/Bihar area .Her name was Sathyavathy ,also called
Sona and she was the sister of sage Viswamithra ,a learned
Rajarshi/Brahmarshi of vedic times .Thus the west ad eastern coasts of India
were in wellknit integrated unity from Vedic times.
Renuka was a princess married to a very angry ,saintly husband and had a
suppressed emotional life because of which she was attracted to the erotic
emotive plays of the royal prince and for which she was killed by her
husband and a dutiful son.Though she was given a second life,and given the
status of the mother of the entire Bhrigu/naaga dynasty ,the fact remains
that she was a victim ofdomestic assault .The story is a eyeopener to us that
behind every devi figure and cult is a woman who has suffered a lot in
life.since Renuka belonged to the Goudadesha and her husband Jamadagni
to the saraswathidesha the konkan coast is also the Goudasaraswathadesa.
The coastal region of the Bhaarathdesa.It is as old as the oral traditions of
India.
And for sindhi,I have to make a comment about the captions of my major
works-sudhasindhu ,brahmasindhu and padmasindhu.Sindhu is ocean
.Bhaarath was called sindhuhimachaladesa or sindhudesa by foreigners and
Heradotus calls the soft linen from sind as sindhon.It was Sindhu which
became Hindu (sindhia-India)by the peculiar pronounciation of the foreign
traders of the west.The great traditions and dravida civilizations that existed
86

in Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Lothal are the relics of the cultural heritage
of the whole of India.
We need better communications for better understanding of each other for
better international and national integration and if the academies can take
up translations of worthy works (which will promote culture and
goodwill,national and international integration)it would be welcome to
all.And I thank the sahityaacademi and the Kochin university for giving me
this opportunity to raise my thought processes in front of an august
gathering of fellow women writers.

References
1.G.N.Devy:After Amnesia .Orient longman,1995,pg 64-65.
2.Calicut medical college magazine 1991
3. Globalisation and gender.Development perspectives and intervention
:prepared for women in development and gender equity division ,policy
branch of Canadian International development agency by Angela keller
Herzog. discussion paper 3 by Thomas Harrison (UTY College London
.Herodotus conception of foreign languages)
4.Womens world A global free speech network of women writers
(1994) The gender and censorship project in India .A ten-language
research project with ASMITHA
5.uma chakrobarthy :Whatever happened to the vedic dasi?
orientalism,nationalism and a script for the past. Pge 45 .- Recasting
women .Essays in colonial history.ed Kumkum sanghari and sudesh vaid.
6.cultural heritage of India.Sriramakrishna math publication.
7.Adivasi assertion in South Gujrath:the Devi movement of 192223,David Hardiman:subaltern studies 3 .writings on south Asian History
and society(3).ed Ranajit Guha.oxford India paperbacks.
8.Indian writing in English.Sreenivasa Iyengar Contemporary Indian
literature,a symposium .Sahitya academy New Delhi1957.
9.Freedom of speech in cyberspace in India:Malini S.Bhattacharya:
http://cseser.eng.scu.edu/student/webpages.
10Protovedic .Bharatheeya continuity theory of
languages,S.Kalyanaraman &
MayureshKelkar.Thursday.Nov3.2005.http://protovedic.blogspot.com/20
05/10/protovedic continuity.
11 Vaishnavi:women and the worship of Krishna,ed by steven
j.rosen.Motilal Banarasi das publishers.
87

 12.The spirituality of music,Selina Theilman.A.P.H.Publishing

corporation.2001.
13 The beloved(Re)visited:16th European conference on modern south
Asian studies.Dept of sociology.Edinburgh uty.Amina Yaquin.
14.Prayogavaada.http://languages.iloveindia.com/hindi/html.;also ref
no:8,pge 87(Hindi literature,S.H.Vatsyayanan)
15.Bahinabai,the ordinary life of an exceptional woman or,the
exceptional life of an ordinary woman of Columbia uty and the director
of the Hinduja Indic research center..,Mary Mc Gee (Ref no.11)

HERALDING WINDS OF CHANGE:

How Nalapat NarayanaMenons Malayalam translation of Victor Hugos
LES MISERABLES transformed the Kerala society.
(On 7.10.2000,Vijayadasami day was the 113th birth anniversary of
Nalapat.It was the 75th year of his translation of LesMiserables .This paper
written to commemorate the occasion was presented later in the Department
of foreign languages ,at Cochin University).
.
In history we often find perceptions of some beings translated to the aims of
many.To analyse how the perceptions of Victor Hugo through his translator
Nalapat ,influenced the pre-independent youth of Kerala ,we have to first
analyse the Indian scenario at that time.
The Indian Scenario.
For practical purposes the Indian scenario can be divided into four
eras.(methodology followed by M.K.Naik in his A history of Indian English
Literature.)
1.From vedic times to 1857 revolt
2.The winds of change (1857-1920)
3.Gandhian whirlwind(1920-1947)
4.Postindependent Era.
Nalapat (1887-1954)belonged to the second and third era with the fag ends of
his life spanning over to the post-independent period.During the winds of
change phase ,the Indian ethos gradually underwent a seachange from the shock
88

of defeat and frustration and the trauma of inferiority feeling to a newfound

selfawareness and confidence.The confident authenticity of Vivekananda
,Aurobindo,Tagore,Tilak,Gokhale and Ranade vivified the sociopolitical
scene.Indias rediscovery of identity became a vigorous and
allabsorbing quest and she learnt enough from the west to progress from
imitation to assimilation and creation.
During this period ,Nalapat established his confident but silent discourse and
identity .He learnt Sanskrit ,the veda,jyothisha,occult sciences,became a
member of the Theosophical society (1917),translated Edwin Arnolds light
of Asia,wrote biographies of vivekananda,Dayanandasaraswathy,Vallathol
and went to Almorah to take up renunciation,and took an active part in
Indian National congress and its activities.He had translated even part of
Leadbeaters occult writings dealing with visualization of angels with kirlion
photography.An ardent vedanthin and theosophist ,practitioner of truth and
nonviolence throughout his life,a solace and strength to the women and
children in his family and around,he combined the personality of
thinker/poet/philosopher/scientist/reformer rolled in one.He had internalized
the Indian Rishi and the Budha ,before he came across Christ in the form of
Monsieur Francois Bienvenu Myriel, in Les Miserables And he lost no time
in recognizing in Monsieurs model Christ ,his own ideal rishi and the
Budha.
Gandhi returned to India in 1915.In 1920 the nationwide nonco-operation
movement was launched.Nalapat,an ardent Gandhian ,chose to stay away
from the movement because he had started to translate his magnum opus the
very same year.The decision to translate Hugos classic (Nalapat named the
translation Paavangal,which means the poor)at the most historic moment in
the Freedom struggle of India shows his commitment to to the cause as well
as his personality ,as E.M.S.Namboothiripad,the Marxist thinker has rightly
put it.To Nalapat,like Hugo,the Republic was the mother of all citizens.And
he wanted to educate the young men and women of his times on Hugos
philosophy.To change a degenerate political and social system ,the cleaning
up should start at individual level and then spread horizontally.Collective
thinking of society is a late manifestation .Romanticism,relism,liberal
humanism and the revolutionary ideas of Hugo were ideal tools to be used to
educate a decadent society and sow the seeds of action in its youth.Nalapat
used it in the most needed hour of Indias history.The preface of the
translator reads thus.The proud boundaries created by men are of no value
89

to God.National histories may differ.But human history is always the

same.The book ,as Hugo puts it,will be useful to any society where
ignorance and misery prevail,where women sell themselves for food and
shelter , where children lack love,home and education.
Social influences and the womens issues
In the neighbouring Tamilspeaking provinces E.V.Ramaswami Naicker had
become a strong influence and was raising a Dravidian /feminist discourse. The
selfrespect marriages conducted by him were asserting the Dravidian concern of
gender equality .Gandhi stressed the need for emanicipation of women and the
downtrodden.But many did not consider the womens issues seriously.This was
not the situation in kerala.The women of the lower castes were comparatively
better in status than the Brahmin counterparts.There arose a series of
reformations in the Brahmin society in which the Dravidian matriarchal
equality rights were granted to women.The social activist instrumental in this
reform was V.T.Bhattathirippad.He was influenced by
Nalapat and Hugo as we see from his autobiographical writings.
V.T.Bhattayhirippat wrote:I was aware of the state of women in my own
community. Early widowhood resulting from marriage of little girls to old
men.How can I stop it?Who am I to stop it?Again to quote him,I was
gropping in the dark corridors of
Brahmanism.Nalapat took my hands and brought me out.He taught me that
the aim of my life should be destroying that corridor.From that day onwards
I understood that if a Brahmin joins hands with a shoodra there wont be any
catastophe.I was in front of all revolutionary events in the Brahmin
community,like removal of ghosha(purdah),mishrabhojan(inter-caste
dining),widow remarriage ,and intercaste marriages.But Nalapat was behind
all these .V.T.Bhattathiripad cites examples from his own experience to
prove the revolutionary behaviour of Nalapat and his family,including his
own mother.He also quotes profusely,references from Paavangal in his
autobiography.Hugo knew that one could assess the level of civilization of a
man in society by his/her actions to women ,children and the weaker
sections of society.His Monsieur Beanvenu and Jean Val Jean were
examples of this excellent civilized behaviour.They loved and served people
irrespective of class, gender, political/religious beliefs out of compassion
.Hugo and his translator wanted this to happen in their society.And in
fulfilling this aim,V.T.was chosen by Nalapat ,to create a social change.
90

 Political influence-E.M.S.Namboothiripad
The social impact made by Les Miserables was direct but the political
influence was indirect.E.M.S.Namboothiripad,an active member of the
yogakshemasabha (a council of namboothiri Brahmins of which V.T also
was a member)and the Indian National Congress in its early days and who
turned socialist/communist/Marxist ,was responsible for the political
impact.Though located in his classical Marxist position , E.M.S attempted a
wholistic approach while looking at Nalapats personality.He observed that
Nalapat ,conscious of the need of the time ,as a true social thinker
revolutionized not only the Malayalam prose style prevalent at that time,but
also the viewpoint of a whole generation of Malayali youth ,including
himself.The revolutionary whirlwind in Hugos mind was transferred
through the mind of Nalapt to the new generation and E.M.S. feels that
Nalapat had succeeded in his endeavour ,judging from what followed in the
political history of Kerala.According to E.M.S , Paavangal hastened the
revolutionary pace in Kerala and evoked intense social changes.It made
young men and women active participants in the process of social change.
The aim of Nalapat ,as E.M.S rightly guesses,was not a movement with
extreme leftist ideology and like Hugo ,he was not a proponent of a bloody
revolution as that of France.Here the speech of swami Ranganaathaananda
,made in Sylhet,East Pakistan ,inMay 1949,can be recalled.Speaking on the
role of religion in politics he said, Behind the government ,the
constitution,the state ,lie the society ,the matrix of all forces,the womb of
constitutions,and revolutions,placid like a calm lake at one period,erupting
like a volcano at another.A moving,changing,struggling mass constituted of
ego-centers belonging to varying levels of intellectual ,moral,and spiritual
evolution.Political revolutions and even social revolutions engineered by
politico-economic forces ,such as a socialist or communist revolution of
these types may upturn states and shake up societies.But only for some
time.After a few years ,the impulse looses its dynamism and societies
resume their even course as before with only slight modification and
changes.This was the lesson of the French Revolution ,as is also the lesson
now becoming slowly evident of the mighty Russian revolution.The price
we pay is out of all proportion that leads us to view a violent revolution as
the product of historical necessity or as a factor of social progress.The only
revolution initiated by a great spiritual teacher and the ideology and
movement proceeding from him,gently but steadily ,shapes human desires
and emotions and judgements in terms of certain lofty and spiritual values
91

realized and taught by the teacher.It alters the ratio of social forces through
profound transformations in individual men and women and effects an
allround refinement in human morals and manners.
This profound change induced by Bienvenu in Jean Val Jean and its effect
on many individual lives(of Fanteen,Cosette,Fushalwang,Javert,people of M
city)is the theme of Hugo.Nalapat being an advocate of nonviolence ,was
never in favour of bloody revolutions ,which proudly shows up the list of
their martyrs to exploit public sympathy.His path was more spiritual and in
this he resembled Bienvenu.
Literary Influence.
Prof. Joseph Mundassery (the first Education Minister of Kerala and noted
literary critic) Kuttykrishna Maarar (literary critic) and Novelist
P.C.Kuttikrishnan amomg others, have remarked how the style of
Malayalam literatute was revolutionized by the translation of
Paavangal.Mundassery saidIt made thoughtless people think,silent people
talk.A critic ,M.R.Nair alias Sanjayan said that the elegy
Teardrops written by Nalapt is a first class poem by a second class
poet.Probably this is the best example of a longlasting comedy of the entire
Malayalam literature.On this remark,a series of critics and academics have
wasted time,quoting this wherever they could,and argueing whether Nalapat
was first class or second class.But none of them seems to have realized that
Sanjayan has taken that phrase to criticize Nalapat from Nalapats own
translation of Hugo.In Les Miserables Hugo describes the battle of waterloo as
the first class victory of a second class general (Lord Wellington) and Nalapt
had faithfully translated it.This phrase was taken from Nalapat,to criticize
Nalapat,to compare him with other poets of Kerala by Sanjayan.This , if we
look at closely , is a real tribute in disguise,to give the poet the satisfaction of a
last laugh. Maarar,the eminent critic ,who never had any direct contact with the
western literary methods was benefited by his contacts with Nalapat,and
evolved a system of criticism in Malayalam ,based on the western style and
benefited the branch of Malayalam literary criticism.
The use of colloquial language styles in novels and short stories is perfected by
many writers in kerala such as Uroob,M.T.Vasudevan Nair,Madhavikuuty.This
style of using Malabar colloquial language was first introduced into Malayalam
literature by translation of Paavangal by Nalapat .Hugos use of soliloquy and
92

freeflowing narrative has come to stay in Malayalam literature after Nalapats

translation.
In 1925,when the first edition of Paavangal came into print , the society was
awakened.The young men and women of the time took up the challenge .At
present ,in the time of separatist forces ,Les Miserables gives us an
intellectual and humanistic solution to our problems.The silent discourse of
Nalapat ,like the character Bienvenu in the classic he translated ,gives us
new insights.The year 2000 ,marks the 75th birthday of the translation.The
message of Hugo is still valid to us,the Paavangal of India and kerala,who
still suffer the atrocities on the poor,downtrodden,the child and the
women,and this book and its ideas come and knock at our door to awaken us
from a slumber and make us elect only those who are morally perfect and
humanistic to our powerpositions,in politics,in society and in all departments
which deals with the nations economy,education and defence.

Part 2.Nalapat Balamani Amma -An old Radha

from Punnayurkulam

93

Matriarch of verse
The Hindu.Metroplus.Monday ,January 8th ,2001.

(Balamani Amma,graceful poetess , also has a persona worthy of

emulation.Within her lives a Rishi and philosopher ,says her niece
Suvarna Nalapat, of her illustrious aunt.)
The month of Karkidakam is sacred to the Goddess Lakshmi.The asterism of
Ayilyam (Aslesha) is the divine day of the naagaas.On that day,a girl was born in
Punnayurkulam,a small village in Kerala,amidst the chantings of verses from the
Raamaayana.That was the elder of the two nieces of the philosopher-poet Nalapat
Narayanamenon.Born on the auspicious day of the Devi,she was called Lakshmi
by the elders,a name soon to be forgotten and replaced by another. Narayanamenon
called her Baala ,the name of his upaasanaamoorthy, Baalaparameswari.Her
sister,born in the same month, after two years, on a visakham star was named
Padmavathy ,a synonym of Lakshmi , sacred to Budhists,Jains and Hindu alike but
soon came to be known as Ammini.The two sisters always went together
everywhere and people in the neighbouring houses used to say Baalammini(Bala
and Ammini) is coming.Later this twin name was transformed to Balamani and it
stuck to the elder sister , the qualities of Lakshmi ,Saraswathi and
Balaparameswari rolled in one.That was the beginning of the mother of Malayalam
literature ,the philosopher-poet Balamani Amma.
As a child Balamani was very intelligent and wanted to know many things.She had
a very good Guru and mentor in her uncle, Narayanamenon. Even as a child , she
wrote poetry and she was given J.Krishnamurthys At the feet of Thy masterto
read .She later wrote about it.She read it sitting on a natural swing made of a sturdy
creeper on a mango tree ,immersed in imagination and ecstacy ,slowly enjoying the
sweetness of Krishnamurthys philosophy .Her love and regard for her uncle,
grandmothers, sister and parents and to the household aides and children are
legendary.
In her lived a rishi and a philosopher par excellance who studied the scriptures,a
theosophist , and a Gandhian and a human being who always stood for justice and
nonviolence. In all these her Guru had been Nalapat NarayanaMenon .She wrote
that a single teardrop of compassion is any day better than a thousand gold
coins.The dominant emotion in her poetry is considered to be the celebration of
motherhood by many a critic.But this is not always true.The thread which one can
94

find in all her poems, from 1957 onwards ,is the line of positive thoughts.She
always knew that she had the potential to break free and spread her wings at any
time.She wrote well before any feminist movement began in literature,that a
womans eyes will not be blinded to the subtle truths of swadharma,the duties of a
world citizen,by the presence of fumes emanating from a narrow kitchen.A woman
can do both duties efficiently.
She told us plainly that lack of high ideals,replacements of values by wealth and
worldly things will only make us more economically backward.When human
beings sleep on the road and children quarrel with each other for a morsel of
food,and women are traded for money,we say that it is the will of God.This shows
our deviation from swadharma and it is this insult which we have to remove from
our records.This is the ideology she imbibed directly from Les Miserables ,of
Victor Hugo,translated by her uncle. I had the good fortune to grow up under her
tender love and high ideals and to see the simple life amidst riches .My earliest
memories of her were when she came to live with us at Nalapat house , when my
grandmother was very ill.She and my mother(her sister) used to sit in my
grandmothers sickroom and I as a child was always in that room because I did not
want to part with my grandmother . I used to being pampered by my grandmother
and always cried when it was time for my bath because I insisted that my
grandmother alone should bathe me.It was then Valiyamma who offered that she
will take grandmothers place. She took me to the bathroom gave me a nice
bath,chanting soft manthraas , which I later came to know was the
Lalithasahasranaama, her favourite. She was cleansing my body and soul by the
soft loving hands and the soft manthra.
Before putting me to sleep,she told me nice lenghthy stories from Andersons fairy
tales.We always wrote to each other.In her last letter she had enclosed a poem
Maravi(forgetfulness/Loss of memory)for me to read.When I read it,I knew that
she was about to severe all ties with this mundane world and its ways of
life.We,medical scientists,call it Alzheimers disease. Later on,When I read out a
verse from her own poem, Nivedhyam,she told me that it was beautiful,and being
beautiful ,must have been written by Vallathol.She had forgotten that she was its
author. It was she who taught me to be silent when someone abuses or tries to
shock you by words or deeds ,because silence is more powerful than words.It was
she who taught me that truth will win ultimately.
Poetry from sickbed
95

In 1975, I had a fracture metatarsal bone and it was at that time Valiyamma gave
me Arshagnaanam and the Pulitzerwinning novel Angle of repose to read ,with 19
books from Ammamans lost library and several letters and diaries belonging to
him.She gave me a four page note about how sickbed had been the most creative
spot for her.
Here,I am translating that note into English.
( Poetry from sickbed
Balamani Amma
I feel the best time for creative poetry is a sickbed.That free imagination,that
scholarly activity of brain..From where else one can get them?I am not saying that
poems I wrote from sickbed are my best ones.But they were not bad. The first two
poems I wrote from sickbed were Our mother (Njangalude Amma)and Rogini (The
sick woman).I dont remember which came first.I didnt actually write them.I was
remembering them,rather.The verses rose one by one,in mind.That was in 1947.In
Calcutta.I had a typhoid.And was unconscious for a few days.When I woke up,I
saw a new world.A rare beauty and brightness for everything, which was there
never before.I could remember everything that had happpend in my life so far,very
clearly and with meanings.
I had been meditating with concentration on my Upaasanaamurthy Lalithambika
,and reciting her sahasranaama ,even before I fell ill. Probably because of that,I
could see a sparkling form of Devi,in my heartspace when consciousness
returned.As days passed by,what was a broken picture became a continuous flow
of light of consciousness.I had to be in my bed for some more days.My duties as
wife,mother and housewife were taken away.I could not help my little children in
any way.That created a little bit of sadness.But what is the use of being sorry for
what one has no control over.The endless space of rest has to be utilized to the
maximum.The doctor had allowed me to read fifteen minutes each in morning and
evening.Just like the thick jam prescribed twice a day,I awaited those 15 minutes
eagerly.I enjoyed the books with a satiation unparalleled.In tired states light books
will create negative emotions to our mind.Therefore my reading was concentrated
on the best and deep books.I could meditate on God through those books.
Most of the time was idle and empty.I had a feeling of an owner viewing his/her
huge palacial building with massive halls but with scanty or without any
furniture.Thoughts and images turned to poetry.The doctor had said ,no taxing of
your brain.But would the mind that had become conscious listen to that and sit
idle? Its pendulum,once the key is on,go on oscillating.The past memories of a past
96

life,the daydreams,the fears and many other-It gets banged with all these.It is better
to concentrate on a creative thing than leave it to wander aimlessly .
Thus,the situation and the Moorthy of the Devi which was flooding my heartspace
with light became inspirations to creativity.That was quite natural too.The ideas for
both the poems,and their verses came to my fields of thought simultaneously.They
were flying around with soundwaves several times ,with changes in wings in
colour and form everytime they come.I understood that even without a paper and a
pen,one can write a poem.I do not think that in any other situation I would have
been able to do that.A few lines ,I recited to my daughter who once in a way,came
to my room,and made her write down .In the expanse of that timespan,this
creativity was a hearty play for me. In other times,when we have enough time to
spend,just like money,we have a feel that we are exploiting it from others.But for a
sick person,time is entirely his/her own.To cry,fear,to see daydreams and for
whatever.If one wants,the best time to analyse ones own character and personality
,and to make changes in it.It is not the water you draw from a deep well ,with a
single bucket ,laboriously.The flowing water at ones own feet,nature asking you
to take enough from her.Then only we understand ,how little we can take from that
treasure.How little is our capacity to take what she offers.
Among the two poems I started to write Our Motherfirst ,but finished it last.But I
cannot understand even now,why it was not on the upasanamoorthy,lighting up my
heart.On one side ,the bodily ailment,and on the other,the sorrows of being unable
to perform ones daily duties ,the desire for those experiences again,just like the
satiation to food after a prolonged solitude and fast .through .These must be the
reason ,which made me bow to the Mother at Kodungalloor,the Goddess of
Mahaavikaara(great passions)through that poem.The call of desire after the
prolonged tiredness was expressed in that poem asWhere life,Where beauty,and
where bliss?
The other poem was rogini. It is a external and internal expression of experiences
of the sick state.This was completed very quickly within days.When the illness was
completely over ,I wrote them on to paper.In the daily progress notebook of the
nurse ,wherever there is space ,I scribbled the verses.The same time ,also found
creation of another poem ,Vandanam.It is about the illness which gave me a new
life and also on the Jagadambika,who from a previous faroff imagination had
become a daily presence by then in my life.I wrote it without any touch of
exaggeration.
Years after this,in 1959,I had a Chickenpox infection.I was in the second floor of
my own house at Punnayurkulam.My husband and children were not with me.I
didnt have any pain or tiredness.But being an infective disease I had to undergo a
97

quarantine for almost one month.Lying on my bed with books and papers strewn
around I spend my time.Sometimes reading,sometimes prayers , sometimes
writing.I could see through my windows the windswept coconut trees and ripe
fields of paddy.Beautiful evenings and twilights will peep in.Rains will come
heavily and go back softly and smoothly.That disease gave me the effect of
a kaayakalpam.The poem Pinneyum(Again) was written at that time.You will not
find the pains and sorrows etc of Rogini in this poem.The surroundings were so
different,and the mindset was so calm ,in that timespace.Still even on that
cot,where duties never encroach,the memories of duties were encroaching and it
gave the shadow of sorrow.
The last poem written on a sickbed was Unarumpol(On awakening). That was in
1963.From Calicut ,I had a severe fever and headache.Doctor came and after
taking medicines I drifted to slumber.As usual,I was seeing dreams of common
things and occurrences.When I awoke it was 2 at night.I was lying on the cot near
an open window.I saw the starry sky and a moon watching over me through the
window.Just like someone looking at me with a lamp in her hand.I felt a deep
sense of bliss and rest.Enjoying that blissful state I lied down for a long time.The
thoughts of death and afterbirth were formed in my rested mind.Is not death a kind
of deep sleep? God is preparing white soft beds for the human soul everywhere.
Wont I dream of this worlds experiences even after death? When I open my eyes
after several years ,in a new body ,this earth will be holding her sun up as a lamp
and will look at me .I was so sure of that experience.
In that position itself,the words (Paanjuvannen pragnaye pulkiyorurakkameOh,sleep,that came speedily and hugged my consciousness)of that poem arose in
my mind.Since the idea was very clear,they flowed in order.I was reciting them
when I fell asleep again.Next day morning ,from bed itself ,I made the first draft of
it with necessary corrections.When completed it gave me satisfaction.Usually all
the creations do not give satisfaction to the creator.
That poem sings on the earth which always enquires the energy of life ,and sustains
it ,and on the jeeva which can live with its roots fixed only to earths surface.If the
touch of earth is reaching the underground flows of sleep through dreams,it enters
the depths of death,as rising imaginations and fears too.The symbols of wings of
crows ,which are given food on a pithrukriya(ancestral death ceremony),and the
grass of karuka(Darba/kusa grass) used for the bali (ancestral sacrifice)denotes
those depths.
I have read somewhere that accidents are your friends.Diseases are sometimes our
best friends.The value of each rare moment of life is understood by a person in
sickbed.For a poet ,the rare ability of that state is a great experience.
N.Balamani Amma)
98

Women writers in Malayalam

(Author:Nalapat Balamani Amma. Compiled by her niece Dr Suvarna Nalapat)
(In 1975,Valiyamma thrust into my hands a manuscript of about 72 pages,neatly
typed in English and told me this is a work done several years back,and is the only
English work that she had done.The pages were yellow and of the 72 pages,70 and
71 were missing . These pages contained her writings about Sugathakumari,her
most favourite poet.The only other two pages missing are the notes on herself,and
only these two poets herself and her pet favourite poet-she kept to herself is
something astonishing.There are about 49 of the women writers in this manuscript
and the opinion of Balamani Amma on some of them are interesting..The
manuscript was written before novelist Rajalakshmis sad demise,because in it she
is mentioned to be involved in writing a new novel.And when the manuscript was
written,Leelavathi Teacher was a lecturer and had not scaled the heights of her
career as Professor and orator/critic/Author. So also ,Madhavikutty had not written
her famous autobiography . Since this is Balamani Ammas centenary year I am
trying to organize these unpublished materials which she had left with me. The
typewriting was probably done by her husband V.M.Nair and also the translation
of what she had written in Malayalam.Probable that some of the ideas are his
additions.Why I think so is because of the style of English and also some of the
ideas expressed.
Women writers are comparatively few in Malayalam literature as in other Indian
languages.In old days,ofcourse little education was given to girls of ordinary
families and there was no chance of developing it further.Even the educated
modern housewife finds her day too cramped with duties and chores demanding
attention ,to devote time for literature and art. In the light of this fact ,it is no
wonder that our earliest women writers came from royal and Nair families where
literary education ,mainly through Sanskrit ,was usually shared by both sexes.
These ladies were also not encumbered with household chores as the palaces
maintained several servants as well as managers.So,they lived and moved in a
literary atmosphere,met and talked with pundits and poets freely.Their works ,
greatly influenced by Sanskrit poetry ,show an inherited talent and culture.
Suvarna Nalapat )
1.Manorama Thamburatty
Malayalam as a literary language ,developed only in the 9th century AD.Before that
writers in Kerala used Tamil and Sanskrit as their medium.Gradually Tamil fell
99

into disuse but poets persisted in writing in Sanskrit for a long time.Manorama
Thamburatty of the lineage of the great Zamorins,is the earliest known poetess in
Kerala.(1759- 1828).She lived in that troublesome transitional period when
intermittent wars among local princes and chieftains with invasions of Hyder Ali
and Tipu Sultan in succession,ravaged Kerala.Nevertheless literature was not
neglected.There were princes for whom a lull in the warfare meant literary
pastimes and cultural discourses.The Maharaja of Travancore,renowned as
Dharmaraja ,was formost among them.Himself a scholar and poet ,he patronized
many learned men from all parts of the country.Poets in those days were usually
scholars under patronage of some prince or chief.Aattakkatha compositions (for
Kathakali dance)were gaining ground steadily.But only a few simple songs in
Dravidian meters such as Patappaattu (song of the battle) bear the imprint of
the times.
Manorama Thamburatty lost her mother in early childhood.-soon after ,her family
fled to Ponani as Hyder Ali invaded Calicut,where she was born.At Ponani,under
the care of an uncle,Manorama was educated in Sanskrit.At the age of 12 she
became proficient in MANORAMA, a tough commentary on the renowned
grammer text Sidhanthakoumudi.So,she was thenceforth called Manorama,they
say.
Her first husband of royal lineage died young.When the second marriage with
Pakkath Bhattathiripad,a Brahmin , took place,Manorama was just 19,.It is said
that Bhattathiripad was not a suitable match for such a brilliant girl and their
married life brought about only misery. Her bubbling sense of humour often found
outlet through poems.There is a story about the young poetess.Among the
scholars who frequented the palace ,was an old poet Chelapparambu
Namboothiri.One day, when Manorama in her teens,was reading a vyayakarana
text, Chelaparambu came in.Without noticing the young girl,he sat before a
mirror ,and began to recite a newly composed sloka.
Methinks that grey hairs are bits of moonbeams
The sloka was promptly completed by Manorama to the astonishment of the aged
poet
That is why in front of them,
The lotus-petals of
Feminine eyes are shut
When Tipu invaded Malabar in 1788,Manorama with her husband and children ,
sought refuge in Trivandrum. There her talents were noticed and appreciated by the
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Maharaja who awarded valuable gifts to the poetess.She also had opportunity to be
in contact with several poets and learned men who flocked to the territory of
Dharmaraja, as refugees from other parts of Kerala.Among them Manorama with
her intellectuality,sweet looks and conversational talents was looked upon as an
incarnation of Saraswathy herself.She also obtained many worthy disciples
there.Teaching Manorama and Raghuvansa was her favourite hobby.The years she
spent in Trivandrum were perhaps the happiest ones in her life.The family went
back in 1799, after British rule was established in Malabar,and settled in Ponani.
Manorama composed many poems ,mainly mukthakaas(A sloka ,the meaning of
which is complete in itself) in Sanskrit.It is probable that most of them are lost,as
we have been handed down only a few.Perhaps she composed many poems as
occasion demanded ,but never cared to write them down.Her poetry ,as the known
models show ,is rather different from that of other poet compeers.No prayers to
various deities.No repetitions of Puranic stories in her poetry.No glory of a
Monarch sung in her words.It can be surmised that she had not the devotional and
religious temperament which characterized the literary men of yore.She was
original and forward in her views.
2.Umadevi Thamburatti
In the 18th century ,poet Kunjan Nambiar popularized Thullal Paattu(songs used in
the mono-dance Thullal).Composed in simple Malayalam ,profusely rhymed and
often sarcastic in tone,these songs were widely appreciated.Perhaps the first
poetess to take it as her medium was Umadevi thamburatty(1796-1835)of
Kilimanoor kovilakam.Her Vishnumaayaacharitham is a worthy piece of literary
art.
3.Ambadevi Thamburatty (1831-1886) of Kilimanoor palace ,mother of Raja
Ravivarma,the famous painter ,herself an artist,also had contributed to
Thullal literature by composing Parvathiparinayam.
4.Kutty Kunju Thankachi(1821-1905) (Thankachi was the title awarded to
women of some noble families in Travancore) After the British rule was
established in many parts of Kerala ,the longstanding internecine wars came
to an end.The clash of swords and boom of guns died along the palm-fringed
coast.Cultural development proceeded in speed.In Travancore the reign of
Maharaja Swathi Thirunaal ,a talented poet and musician ,marked the advent
of the new era.Introduction of printing(The first printing press in kerala was started
by missionaries) and educational facilities wrought miraculous changes in the life
of the country. In literature,Attakatha songs thrived and varieties of Dravidian
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meters like vanchipaattu(ferry songs)kurathy pattu(gypsi songs)etc were

popularized by poets.Such was the time when Kutty kunju Thankachi lived.
Throughout her life,she had been witness to the rapid progress of our literature.
Thankachis father,Ravivarman Thampi(Irayimman Thampi)was author of several
famous aattakathaas ,was the poet laureate of Travancore,during the reign of
Maharaja Swathi Thirunaal.Thankachi was exceptionally brilliant even as a small
girl.She mastered Tamil,Malayalam,and Mathematics in two years time and
thereafter started to learn Sanskrit ,literature,logic,and grammer.At the age of
14,she was married to Kunjan Thampuran ,a cousin.It was in the same year that she
embarked on a literary career.The young girl wrote and wrote slokas and songs in
Sanskrit as well as in Malayalam ,covering page after page in neat and graceful
handwriting.But ,Ravivarman Thampi,though himself a poet,did not approve of his
daughters cherished hobby.He dissuaded her from spending time on that,lest her
education might suffer.Ofcourse,she could compose songs after she completed her
education.Thankachi did not dare to oppose her father.For a time she curbed her
inclinations but afterwards took to the favourite pastime in secret.
Once Ravivarman Thampi,accidentally coming over Thankachis manuscripts,felt
proud of her talents .He took the manuscripts to the Maharaja ,his patron and
intimate friend.His Highness approved the poems and forthwith the young lady
was awarded praises and gifts.So Thankachi was set upon the path she chose with
the blessings of her father.One of her Aattakathaas ,Srimathiswayamvaram,
composed in defence to Ravivarman Thampis wish ,was completed only after his
death,much to the regret of the poetess.But years after ,she took it to the Maharaja,
who graciously arranged it to bestaged in his presence by Kathakali experts.It was
the first time an Aattakatha written by a woman was staged. At the age of 32,owing
to an incurable eye disease she had to stop reading.The eyes weakened to such an
extent that she had to dictate her poems.Even then Thankachi carried on her
literary work.Great was her output which including three aattakathaas,five
kurathipaattu (gypsi songs) many hymns and prayers and poems and mukthakaas.
Her drama,Agnathavasam,modeled on Sanskrit dramas,was a popular work.
Besides she paid homage to the royal benefactors by poems like Gangasnaanam
which describes the pilgrimage of Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunaal.As a child she had
been in constant touch with the palace where Ravivarman Thampi spent most of
his time.Life of the poetess covered the reign of four Maharaajaas.She had paid
respect to every one of them and in turn ,had been honoured and awarded by
them.Throughout her life,she was devoted to the royal family. Her poetry is highly
alliterative and musical.She used Sanskrit words freely but not to the detriment of
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lucidity.Wellversed in Puraanaas,she always took her themes from them.Among

her songs,Kiraatham was the most popular.Her hymns are sweet with devotion and
often full of rhymes.
In private life ,Thankachi was a model Hindu woman.She respected her husband,
was a loving mother to her eight children,and scrupulously observed the domestic
and religious duties expected of a housewife.She was also pleasant and witty in
conversations.She had been the greatest poetess of the century ,but common people
saw her only as a gentle ,beneficient lady with a beaming face. Before old age set
in,Thankachi became a widow.Her last days were peaceful.They were spent in
prayer and observance of religious rites.One of her sons,Sri Padmanabhan Thampi
,attained fame as an artist.He was a poet also.In 1962,Kerala sahitya Academi
honoured the memory of this poetess by unraveling her portrait in the Academi
hall.
5 Elamana Kalliani Amma
In thirties of 19th century,the movement called Venmani Prasthaanam was started
by the Brahmin poets ,Poonthottam,Venmani the father and his son,Naduvan etc
followed by two poet princes of Kodungallur.But roots of this movement lay
deeper,in the stray poems of Chelapparambu,an old Brahmin contemporary of
Manorama Thampuratty.This movement brought literary language very near to the
spoken one.Not only in Dravidian meter but also in Sanskrit stanzas.The rhyme on
the second syllable of each line of a stanza was widely adopted as imparting
harmony to the whole.The emphasis was always on the form,not on the content.As
this movement waxed stronger,the prevalent ideas about poetry were challenged.
Till this time ,it had been almost taken for granted that only a scholar in Sanskrit
was entitled to write Malayalam poetry.Now the literary atmosphere lost its
seriousness and uniting in unmixed ,simple Malayalam poems picturing familiar
things and people and correspondence in verse ,came into vogue.Literary pastimes
like instantaneous composition of poetry and samasyapooranam became popular.
(In samasyapooranam,the last quarter of a stanza is sung or written by someone.
The other parts are left to be filled by poets according to their tastes.Yet as to give
meaning to the last quarter written earlier). Elamana Kalliani Amma of
Thripunithura indulged in these hobbies successfully.She was born in 1831.The
literary gatherings at the palace of Cochin Royal family at Thripunithura in the
presence of Ikku Thamburatty were usually attended by her.She also corresponded
in verse with friends.It is said that she had written many poems but the box she
kept them in was destroyed by termites.We have only a few stanzas credited to
her.Kalyani Ammas daughter was married to a Maharaja of Cochin.Like many
ladies of literary taste ,she had been religious to the core and never passed a day
without the darshan at the Tripunithura temple.
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 6.Kalliani Kutty Ammachi(1838-1909)

Ayilyam Thirunal Maharaja of Travancore was greatly interested in developing
Malayalam literature .Educated in English,he knew that our language needed good
prose works for its vitality and accordingly wrote some.But his wife,Kalliani Kutty
Ammachi preferred poetry.(Ammachi means wife of a Maharaja of Travancore).
She composed many songs as well as stanzas.
Ammachi was the daughter of C.Kunjikrishna Menon,a famous figure in the
history of the state of Cochin.At the time of her marriage with the Maharaja ,she
had already been accomplished in Sanskrit literature and music.After marriage she
learned English and Tamil.With her learned consort,Ammachi went on pilgrimage
to several holy shrines in India.After the Maharajas death her health declined.
Childless and zest in life gone,she lingered upto the age of 70.Ammachi was a kind
and charitable lady wholly devoted to her husband.Her poetry is graceful in form
and content.The devotional tone is predominant in them.Among her poems Five
stanzas on chastityis the most appreciated.In this poem,she maintains that worship
of God,austerities,and pilgrimages are nothing to a woman.She needs only
devotion to her Lord.Nobility bows in respect;Beauty sweeps the path;Fame
carries high the gold-handled sunshade;And prosperity waits for orders,when
Paathivratya,the queen of queens ,walks through the realm of women.
7.Subhadra Thampuratti
After Kuttikunju Thankachi ,ladies of the aristocratic families took to the literary
field more often.Invariably they were proficient in Sanskrit.This ,with the
ritualistic atmosphere they lived in,rendered a religious flavour in their works.
Subhadra (alias Ikku)Thamburatty (1843-1920)princess of Cochin royal family
was a talented poetess who wrote both in Sanskrit and Malayalam.The works show
scholarly dignity and beauty of diction.Her Sanskrit works are mostly hymns. One
among them,addressed to her family God,Poornathrayeesa epitomizes the entire
story of MahaBhagavatha,in fourty stanzas.Her poems in Malayalam are simple
and mellifluous,the most popular one being Yudhakandham in Ramayanam.One
of her uncles ,years ago had written Ramayana as a song upto the Sundarakandam ,
but he died without completing it.Subadra Thampuratti ,to complete the work,
produced Yudhakandham ,her masterpiece.Other important works of hers are
Dharmanirnaya,Ashtamirohini , Gajendramoksha,Viswaroopadarsana etc.These
poems are all religious and sparkle with moral precepts wisely embedded.
Subhadra Thamburaatty,daughter of Koodal Aattupuram Namboothiripad,a real
pandit ,was married to Chennas Namboothiripad, a man of great learning.She was
a happy and contended wife,and a conscientious mother.Her children were brought
up with the utmost care.They were the first princes of Cochin to get higher degrees
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in English education.The poetess was of a pious disposition and spent much time
in morning ablutions,prayers etc.Afternoons she spent teaching the young
princesses of the family. The renowned poets Venmani,Naduvam and the princes
of Kodungallur were her contemporaries and friends.Sometimes she corresponded
with them in verse.Her favourite hobby was reading classics in Sanskrit. Subhadra
Thampuratty was an aristocratic lady of sharp features and slim figure.She was
independent by nature and never flinched from the path she chose.Vice in any form
, made her angry.
Her old age was not peaceful.Death of her eldest son and four brothers made it
rather tragic.She found solace in devotional rites and eagerly welcomed her own
death when it came.
8.Lakshmi Rani(1844-1909)
When Lakshmi Rani of Kadathanad Royal family was born,her uncle an astrologer
exclaimed,A scholarly woman is now among us! She was ugly and seemed
intellectually backward.But she was keen on the study of Sanskrit kavyaas.Her
parents,brothers and sisters died one by one and the unfortunate girl was bedridden
with paralysis for six months.Then the disease got cured,she started to attend the
literary gatherings at the palace.These soon refreshed her. Lakshmi Rani married
Madangarli Namboothiri.She was a very affectionate mother.It is said that her
hands were never idle,being always engaged in fondling her children or writing
with a pen.But,alas,among her four children, only a boy did survive.The griefstricken mother started to write Santhaanagopaalam, a kavya in Sanskrit,which is
her masterpiece.
Funny stories are told about her extraordinary powers of concentration.Once she
sat writing,when a sister came in and saw blood oozing from a wound on the
poetess body.Realising that the wound was caused by a snakebite the sister
screamed.But LakshmiRani ,just fumbled for the palmleaf she was writing upon
and said:Let the Karma take its course.Then she fell in a swoon.Fortunately the
attention of Vishavaidya revived her.
The poetess had a disciple ,Madhava ,by name. Oneday she scolded him without
any cause.Why are you so cruel,Madhava?Go away.I cannot bear the sight of
you.After this incident he never dared to confront her.Days passed,and once
accidentally they met in the temple precincts.Madhava promptly turned to go away
but LakshmiRani called him back in a penitent mood.She was eager to dispel the
misunderstanding between them.Then amazed Madhavan knew the real cause of
the angry scene.On those days,The Rani was composing the Santhaanagopalam,she
had identified herself with the Brahmin in the story,to such an extant that she
mistook Madhavan for Srikrishna(who is also called Madhava). Santhaanagopalam
is a charming little kavya.Though at the time,the pure Malayalam movement of
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Venmani and his associates was gaining ground in our literature,she preferred to
write in Sanskrit.Bhagavathasamkshepaalso in Sanskrit,is the only other work
she wrote.In old age she lost interest in literature.Repeating stanzas from
Narayaneeyam of Melputhur, or telling beads with Raamanaamam she spent her
days pacing along corridors of the ancient palace,-a slim,short,white-clad
figure,her forehead marked with holy ashes and grayish thick hair plaited high on
the right side of head.Her tragic life ended at the age of 64.
9 Rani Lakshmi Bhai(1847-1901)
Rani Lakshmi Bhai of Travancore was the first Malayalam poetess who had
English education.Born in 1847,as a princess of Mavelikkara palace,she was
adopted with a younger sister into the royal family of Travancore in 1857.There
she became accomplished in Sanskrit and music ,and learned tamil as well as
Hindustani.She was also tutored in English by a European lady.In 1858 the
princess married Keralavarma Koil Thampuran of Lakshmipuram palace wqho
afterwards became honoured by the name Kerala kaalidaasa,among literary
circles.A profound scholar in Sanskrit and English ,interested in literature and arts
he was the adored leader of the intellectuals of that time.He was not only a
promising poet,but also one of the pioneers of our prose,which had been in its
formative stage then.Kerala Varma,as a poet did not belong to the pure
Malayalam movement of Venmani school,which reached its peak in 1874.He
reverted to the more vigourous and majestic Manipravaalam style,using Sanskrit
words freely.But he stood for the rhyming on the second syllable of every line in a
stanza.He encouraged,patronized ,and helped every literary movement then
cropping up all along Kerala.He spotted out promising young writers and
promptly offered them advice ,praise or help which they most needed.No wonder
intellectuals accepted him as their leader.With such a husband,Lakshmi Bhais
intellectual abilities soon blossomed into activity.She composed several hymns and
songs for our folk dances.But only one of theseNalacharithamis published.It is
sweet and musical.
Due to some misunderstandings,the then Maharaja of Travancore,Ayilyam
Thrirunal separated Keralavarma from his wife and put him under surveillance
causing acute dishonour to the happy couple.It was then that the poet produced
Mayurasandesham,his most popular work.The poem was widely applauded.
Lakshmibhai also wrote a very poignant work Virahinipralaapamabout her
separation.But very few have heard of it. After the death of the Maharaja,
Lakshmibhai could join her husband.Assisted by him,she then worked for the
cause of womens education and uplift thoughout her life.In 1880 the coveted title
of C.I was awarded to her by Queen Victoria.
10.Thottekkat Ikkavamma.(1864-1914)
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After 1884,our literature grew rapidly both in volume and in variety.Literary

associations were found.Monthly magazines helped the language to develop and
branch off into new forms such as short story ,essay,novels which breathed the
vitality of English literarture.The affinity to Sanskrit also produced fresh
shoots.Keralavarma translated saakunthalam into Malayalam.It was soon followed
by several dramas,either translations from Sanskrit or original ones modeled on
them in which prose was interspersed with stanzas.A few musical plays like
sangheetha nishaadamcame out of tamil models.Prose plays on social themes
sounded a different note.The production of Aattakatha incessantly going on for
more than a century suffered a set back. The only drama written by a woman in
that period was Subhadrarjunam and its author was Thottekkat Ikavamma.By
freshness and beauty of diction it surpassed many others of its kind. Ikkavammas
father ,Chathu panicker,was a poet whom His Highness,The Maharaja of Cochin
had honoured by awarding a Veerasringhala (gold bracelet of honouir).Her
mothers family also had intellectual traditions.From early days,Ikkavamma was
gifted with unusual power of memory as shown by her learning by heart works of
Ezhuthachan and Kunchan nambiar,the famous poets of Kerala.She studied
Sanskrit but loved and respected Malayalam more.At 14,she married Karakkat
Narayana Menon,a Government official.Though Ikkavamma was not educated
in English ,all the refinement that modern education bestows,sheacquired from the
lifelong association of her partner.But he was indifferent to literature.
Ikkavammas children were properly educated.They attained high positions in
life.She had 12 of them but lost two in childhood.One of her daughters Gowri
Amma ,became a poetess.The untimely death of her eldest daughter ,wife of Raja
Vasudeva Raja of Kollengode,was a heavy blow to Ikavamma.Her own life ended
in 1914 at Madras,where she underwent an operation for some chronic disease.
All her important works were produced between her 22nd and 35th year.
Subhadrarjunam which made her famous ,was published in 1890,when she had
been about 28.Other works include Nalacharitham,a drama;Aaryasathakam,hymns
to Goddess Uma;Sanmargopadesham ,a thullal paattu,and an unfinished translation
of Kalkipuraana.Besides there are several slokaas,very popular,some of them
almost proverbial to her credit.Subhadrarjuna was rendered into Sanskrit by Sri
Ganapathy Sasthri.Ikkavamma invariably chose her themes from puraanaas.She
was formost among the ladies who took muse away from palaces into ordinary
homesteads.But she preferred to worship the deity with the same time honoured
offerings.Her unpretentious,lively diction had its own polish and charm.She wrote
prose also with the same ease as verse. Often in her poems a note of challenging
feminism is heard.At that time when women writers were rare,people had a notion
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that the literary works ascribed to women were all spurious.This naturally irritated
the poetess,as to make her exclaim in a poem,:
In the ancient days,Bhama waged war
And Subhadra drove the chariot
Now,queen Victoria rules over her vast empire
Why should it be that
Women could not just write poetry!!
Again:
Never,never,scoff at women ,
Are all the men gifted with virtue?
She was also sensitive to the beauty of nature.There are passages in
Sanmargopadesham describing the moonlight flooding earth,the cool fragrance of
spring nights,the breeze making ones heart faint,and bees swarming on flowers.
Ikkavamma was atheosophist.She had deep knowledge of Manthrasasthra and
astrology.Her serene bright face and spotless garments radiated purity.Her
conversation was lively ,cultured and instructive.She did not care much for
fame as a poetess.Her ideal was aspiritual guide who works for the welfare of the
world and helps mankind to scale great heights.And she believed that training to
reach this goal consisted of meditation.
Two literary magazines ,Lakshmibai and Kavanakoumudi ,one intended for
women and the other dedicated to poetry both started in the eighties of the 19th
century ,helped to bring out the literary talent of women in Kerala.Many were
the women who sang out their hopes , offered hymns,told stories and spoke about
their ideas through the pages of these monthly publications.The influence of
English was being felt over Malayalam more and more and prose became
respected as much as poetry. A few other women authors ,also deserve to be
mentioned briefly here.
11.Mangalassery Kochukunhi Amma(1855-1932)of Mavelikkara was a
poetess though comparatively unknown.She is the author of many songs
,including some lyrics.The elegy on her own sons death is noted for its
poignancy.
12.Kariveli Gourikutty Amma was famous as a poetess who produced fine
Mukthakaas.Her name appeared in magazines quite often.She was a
scholarly lady and had a finished style.Her important work is a champoo
, Santhaanagopaalam.
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 13.Paruvakkat Ammu Amma was author of Gograhanam,a kaavyam. As a

first attempt ,it was asuccess.But after that,it seems,she retired from literary
field.
14.Theravath Ammalu Amma(1862-1936)
The greatest calamity that can occur to a man is the breakdown of faith in God
This belief enabled T.Ammalu Amma,the most saintly of the woman writers in
Kerala,not only to endure gracefully a life which had been a succession of sorrows
and bereavements but also to make it bloom with literary creations,notable and
sweet.
Ammalu Amma was born in a respected family at Palghat,as the daughter of
C.Sankaran nair,a munsif.Dr T.M.Nair,one of the pioneers of the justice party in
Madras,was her younger brother.Trials of life began early in her case.Her early
marriage,divorce,death of her father,only sister ,and her own little son were hard
blows to her young heart.Reading and pondering over great works in Sanskrit and
Tamil,helped her to tide over these sufferings.The gentle obedient ,religious
minded lady gradually ripened into a wise ,patient and self-sacrificing housewife.
She married again a friend and neighbour named Rama Warier.
The event that made her an author took place in 1903 when her young daughter
died of fever.For months afterwards she was bedridden with grief.She spent her
time reading devotional literature.Meanwhile a book in Sanskrit,lent by a friend,
caught her fancy.Ammalu Amma wanted to make accessible to readers who do not
know Sanskrit,the noble stories of devotees in that book,Bhakthamaala.The
translation began.Owing to her weak condition,she had to resort to dictation.But
the progress of the work helped her to regain health.
The publication of Bhakthamaala brought Ammalu Amma to limelight.Her prose
style,sincere and mature ,was appreciated by intellectuals as well as by simple
folk.After Bhakthamaala,she translated shivabhakthavilaasam,and
Krishnabhakthichandrika , a drama from Sanskrit.According to the wish of
T.M.Nair,her brother,she rendered Light of Asia by Edwin Arnold,into Malayalam
prose.As Ammalu Amma did not know English,she had to do it with the help
of a friend.Another important work of her is the translation of vedanthic works of
Sri Sankara Acharya.From Tamil she translated two novels.In these also she
maintained the didactic value.She believed that literature should ennoble human
mind.It is sad that she did not write more original works.We have only two of
them.An anthology of didactic tales for children and a small book ,
Theerthayaathra, containing impressions of pilgrimages in the North India.Her
wide learning and deep knowledge and her clean cut ideas and thoughts lay
embedded in a few speeches she made from the platforms of the
sahityaparishad.
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In 1912,Ramakrishnapillai ,Editor of Swadeshabhimani ,banished from

Travancore, was welcomed into her household along with his wife and children.
Throughout their stay there ,Ammalu Amma had been a mother to them.After two
years they made their own arrangements but the ties forged between Ammalu
Amma and the Pillai family remained strong.But it was destined that Ammalu
Amma had to mourn the untimely demise of this adopted son also.Dr T.M.Nairs
death in England was another calamity she had to bear.In his memory Ammalu
Amma instituted a gold medal to be awarded annually to the student first in
surgery in M.B.B.S in the state of Madras.She also started a girls school at
Vadakkumthara ,Palghat ,in his name.
In old age her soul seemed steeped in the essence of devotional and vedanthic
lore,which she pursued throughout her life.With her the only earthly ties were
family affections.And they were being broken one by one.Among her five
children, only one daughter survived her.Suffering and growing wisdom made her
motherly.Motherly to every one who came into contact with. Janaki Amma,
daughter of Ammalu Amma,was a budding novelist.She died young.Ammini
Amma,her only surviving daughter has produced a biography of her mother and a
few other works.In choosing themes she follows her pious mother.
15.K.M.Kunhilakshmi Kettilamma(1876-1947)
Among the women writers who came into the limelight in early magazines ,
Kanarath Mattolil Kunhilakshmi Amma stands out as a gifted poetess.She was
born in a noble family of North Malabar as the daughter of a famous advocate ,
Kannan Nambiar.The studious girl was naturally interested in literary movements
of her time and started writing poems as a hobby.Her marriage with Thazhakkt
Thirumumpu ,scion of an intellectual ,aristocratic family provided her greater
opportunity to come in contact with eminent people.Mahakavi Kuttamath ,her
friend and neighbour ,was lively and influenced in stimulating the growth of talents
in Kettilamma.
For several years her position as the foremost poetess in Kerala was undisputed.
Her poetry,both in Sanskrit and in Malayalam,show mature handling of the theme
and unhampered ,flow of sweet words.She stood for Sanskrit meters with the
rhyme on the second syllable.Her important works are Praarthanaanjali,an offering
of hymns in Sanskrit;Puraanachandrika,stories from Puraanaas,and Kousalyadevi.
Besides there are many short poems published in magazines ,some of them on
social themes.Kettilamma had an enterprising spirit and a gentle heart.The political
as well as social upheavals of that time naturally were reflected in some of her
poems.
After the death of her husband and son-in-law ,she became world weary .
Thenceforth she lead a disinterested life.
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 16.Ambaadi Meenakshi Amma(1882-1960)Among our

women writers ,three sisters of Ambady family,Trichur,occupy prominent
places.However different their home environments ,the duties they undertook,and
the subjects they write upon(differ from each other)these sisters have some
distinguishing characteristics in common ,like intellectual vigour,social
awareness,and a refined typically Indian outlook.
The eldest,Meenakshi Amma was a scholar in Sanskrit.Her husband,Palliyil
krishnamenon ,a theosophist was a profound scholar in English.Both of them were
interested in vedanthic lore and occult sciences.They were als eager to share with
others the wisdom they drew from ancient reservoirs.Krishnamenon produced
sanathanadharmaa valuable exposition of Hinduism with its ideals ,ethics and
rituals.Meenakshi Amma chose to commentate on famous works in Sanskrit such
as Soundaryalahari,by Sankaracharya,Kaamakalaavilaasamsubhagodayametc.
All pertaining to the sakthi cult.(The favourite deity,Ishtadevatha of Meenakshi
Amma was Parasakthy)These commentaries show her insight into Thanthric
doctrinesas well as her ability to render Sanskrit phrases dealing with abstruse
ideas into simple ,fluent Malayalam.
Great was her interest in our literature.Once when the Sahitya parishad met in
Ernakulam,Meenakshi Amma put forth some useful suggestions for the
development of Malayalam.In social work also ,she took part earnestly.In
1949,she was awarded the welldeserved title Sahityanipunaand a old medal by
the sasthrasadas at Tripunithura.(A former Maharaja of Cochin who renounced
his throne and came to be reputed as Rajarshi -1852-1932- had founded the
Sanskrit paathasaala at Tripunithura in 1884,as a memorial for his respected tutor
Sheshacharya.Now this has grown into a Sanskrit college.His Highness ,the
Maharaja,when his shastipoorthy-age 60-was being celebrated made an
endowment of Rs 30000/-for higher studies in Sanskrit and of Rs 20000 /-for the
development of Malayalam.A committee was appointed to use annual income from
the aforesaid sum for publishing the best books ,old or new in Malayalam as well
as in Sanskrit ,and awarding titles and medals to scholars in both these languages.A
Sanskrit sasthrasadas lasting for 3 or more days is convened annually at
Tripunithura, where Pundits from many parts of India assemble;discuss and speak
upon various topics in different sasthras in Sanskrit.Anatmosphere of ancient
gatherings of learned men seems to prevail in the sadas.On the final day awards
and honours are bestowed upon those who merit them.Another Maharaja of Cochin
who died in 1946 also has contributed a sum of Rupees one lakh for the
development of Sanskrit education)
The death of Krishnamenon and the untimely demise of her eldest son were crucial
tests for Meenakshi Amma.But she bore them with dignified calm born of wisdom.
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Her other children who attained high positions in life ,eventually made her loss
sufferable.Her last words were:All my wishes are fulfilled.
17.T.C.Kalyani Amma(1879-1956)
One of the important literary events in the last decades of the 19th century was the
publication of te first novel in Malayalam,viz,Kundalatha.This novel is a
significant landmark in our literature as it reveals the growing influence of English
on the mind of the people.Unlike the Aattakatha a which are typical of kerala,and
the dramas modeled on Sanskrit,novel was an entirely western product.And many
of our early novels ,even some of the best contained in the core,howsoever
disguised ,themes borrowed from English.Kundalatha,though appreciated as a
new venture,was not greeted as enthusiastically as Indulekha ,which followed at its
heels in 1889.Indulekha attained popularity as it mirrored forth the mode of the
time.The portrayal in it of the middle class family with all its vanities ,superstitions
and simplicity of old generations ,with all the modern ideas and personal problems
of the educated youth ,is masterly.Indulekha is still widely read and enjoyed
because to hear the heartbeats of a great transitional period is a welcome
experience.
Indulekha stimulated the desire to read and write novels.They were the best
medium through which one can express his hopes and failures ,sorrows and
joys,without reserve.Original works and translations from English ,Tamil and
Bengali cam eout.Women did not lag behind in this venture ,as in the case of
dramas.There were voluminous novels produced by authors like K.Devaki
Amma and C.K.Bharathi Amma.But many contended themselves with translations.
T.C.Kalyani Amma contributed to our literature translations of two famous
Bengali novels ,Bisavriksha ,and Krishnakanthas WillShe also rendered many
of the Aesops tales into Malayalam.She wrote several essays and often delivered
speeches.Her prose was simple and graceful.
Kalyani Amma ,member of a noble family in Trichur,had little institutional
education.However she was educated at home under the supervision of her
grandmother who had been a famous Sanskrit scholar.In 1896 she married
T.K.Krishnamenon ,a promising advocate of Ernakulam.He was much interested in
literature.With him,Kalyani Amma studied great books and toured about the
country.He assisted her to enter the literary field.She began to attend meetings of
Bhashaposhini,the pioneer literary society and make interesting speeches.Once she
criticized the society for not enrolling women as its members.After the fall of
Bhashaposhini ,the meetings of the new literary association,sahityaparishad,also
were attended by her.She considered educatin and freedom essential to women ,but
aping the western manners she hated. The home life of this couple was almost
exclusively dedicated to the service of literature.Both of them wrote books
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assisting each other by compliments and criticism.In 1919,the sasthrasadas at

Tripunithura awarded to krishnamenon the title of Sahityakusalan ,and to Kalyani
Amma that of Sahityasakhi,with gold medals. Kalyani Amma was a good
housewife,and a pleasant companion.She always understood the problems of
young people and was attentive to their needs.After Krishnamenons death,Kalyani
Amma founded an annual prize for the best Malayalam book of the year in his
memory. Her daughter Janaki Amma,is an able writer in English and
Malayalam ,though she rarely exercises those gifts.
18.B.Kalyani Amma(1884-1959)
B.Kalyani Amma is widely known as the author of Vyazhavattasmaranakal,
memoirs of her brief married life.The sweet ,chaste love of two intellectuals to
each other ,the trials they had to endure as exiles ,the great affection of a mother
which brought solace to them,and the last farewell to the lifes companion ,
described in it ,are things a reader can never forget.More than an elegy ,with its
surcharged emotions as well as the noble restraint in its expression. Kalyani
Amma,daughter of Subbarayn Potti of Trivandrum,in her college days became
engaged to K.Ramakrishna Pillai ,editor of the journal ,swadeshabhimani.
Correspondence between them about a story translated from English by Kalyani
Amma paved the way to the engagement and later on ,to marriage.Kalyani
Amma,after marriage ,continued her studies until she graduated.
As editor of swadeshabhimani,Ramakrishna pilla wrote scathing criticisms on
several irresponsible doings of the Travancore Government.This resulted in the
confiscation of his press ,and banishment of the editor from the state.Kalyani
Amma followed her husband into exile.They lived in various places
,Kozhikode,Kottakkal and Madras.Kalyani Amma had to give tuition to get a
living.In Madras they met a friend ,Dr T.M.Nair,brother of Tharuvath Ammalu
Amma.At his suggestion ,Ammalu Amma invited the homeless couple to her house
in Palghat where they found a home and family.During the stay there,the tenderest
affection and respect grew between Ammalu Amma and the young couple which
lasted throughout their lives.Kalyani Amma and her husband always thought and
spoke about their adopted mother with the utmost regard.In 1915,Kalyani Amma
joined the Madras Educational services and was posted at the secondary girls
school,Cannanore.She settled there with her husband and two children.Soon the
greatest tragedy in her life,the untimely death of RamakrishnaPillai ,occurred.Left
alone with the little children,she worked hard at school as well as at home.She
persevered in literary work also.After becoming Inspector of schools she retired

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in 1939to stay with her only daughter in Kozhikode.The hardships she endured
throughout life,had weakened her body and roughened her temper.After a
prolonged illness this brilliant woman passed away.
Since his banishment and death,Ramakrishna Pillai had become a hero to the
people.After integration of Kerala,his mortal remains were taken to Trivandrum
ceremoniously.Kalyani Amma,who never set foot on her birthplace after the
banishment of her husband ,was invited to take part in this function and accorded a
hearty welcome. Besides the early memoirs,her important works are Mahathikal
(great women),Hygiene and domestic economyand two novels, Thamarassery
and Karmaphalam.She also has rendered At home and abroada novel by
Rabindranath Tagore,into Malayalam.Kalyani Amma had a lucid vigourous
style.Her series on hygiene and domestic economy ,that contain instructions every
woman needs ,were text books in Kerala.The novels emphasise on moral and
ethical values.Thamarasseri,the early one was widely appreciated.Like
Indulekha,this novel touches the problemsof the time.The haughty manners and
vanity of an aristocratic lady come into conflict with the love of her daughter for a
youth of excellent character ,rich with his own earnings but born and brought up in
a family of inferior social position.Love in such cases rarely comes at first sight.So
Kalyani Amma describes psychologically the aversion the young girl felt to the
hero mellowing into pity ,understanding and love by degrees.The novel though
based on an English model,was perhaps the best one writtenby a woman at that
time.Karmaphalam,produced late in life,did not attain popularity. The
autobiography of Kalyani Amma left unfinished by her is being made ready for
publication by her daughter Gomathi Amma who also is a wellknown writer.
19.Bhageerathy Amma Thampuran
Coming to the present generation,we pause twentieth century Malayalam literature
is a many-branched ,flourishing tree,its roots spreading far away invisible
sources.Women writers are not so rare as in olden days.Ofcourse,justice could not
be done to all of them in a short treatise like this.One has to confine to the
prominent authors and those who persist in literary work. Bhageerathi Amma
Thampuran(born 1889)is daughter of Prof Rajaraja varma,nephew of
Keralavarma.Rajarajavarma contributed the much needed grammer prosody texts
to Malayalam.He was also a poet of modern outlook who liked to shun trodden
ways and find new ones.So,Bhageerathi Amma Thampuran was brought up in
a literary atmosphere and loved books.After finishing studies in a preparatory
school,she got married.But continued her studies at home and became proficient in
Sanskrit as well as in English.Later on,she learned Hindi also.
Her first literary attempt was atranslation of some portions from the book,
Represetative Indians.An anthology of short stories ,a drama based on an English
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play,and some personal memoirs followed.Her magnum opus and the latest one is
a biography of her illustrious father written in collaboration with her brother ,
Raghavavarma.It is a great book about a great man,also a history of Modern
Malayalam literature during its important formative years.On February 1963,when
our Sahityaakademi celebrated the birth centenary of Rajaraja varma,an
honorarium of Rs 1500/-was awarded to the authors of this book. Bhageerathi
Amma Thampuran is a lady of plain dress and fine manners.She rarely attends any
gatherings.
20.Ambady Narayani Pothuvalasyar(born 1886)Mention has to be made of
Ambady Narayani Pothuvalasyar ,a grand old lady of Trichur.In young days
,with sheer perseverance ,she studied English ,Hindi and Bengali at
home.Besides translations of seethaavanavaasaby Easwarachandra
vidyasagar and kshatraprabhava (Dwijendralal Rays Ranaa Prathap)she
has produced an original work on Asoka.
21.B.Bhageerathi Amma,(1889-1957)younger sister of B.Kalyani
Amma,was ajournalist and editor of Mahila,once an ideal monthly for
women.She wrote about various problems of women.Her literary output
include Vignaanaprakaasam(light of knowledge)instructive tales and
Aanandavalli,a novel.
22.V.K.Chinnammalu Ammawas editor of the monthly Navayugam .She
had been a writer of great promise ,but died prematurely.
23.Thekkekunnathu Kalyanikuty Amma ,like Kettilamma,produced many
poems in Sanskrit meters ,on various themes.At one time,her poems
appeared in every Malayalam journal.But they are not collected in book
form.Omanakumari,daughter of this talented woman ,is a budding poetess.
24.Ambadevi Thamburatty of Chemprol Palace (1889- 1927),cousin of
keralavarma,was a born poetess.Her works include many hymns in
Malayalam ,a translation of Ashtamiprabandha(Sanskrit)into Malayalam and
sre e Bhoothanathodayam.She died young.
25.Ambadi Karthyayani Amma(born 1895)
Ambadi Karthyayani Amma ,sister of Meenakshi Amma,is not only a writer.Her
services extends over social and educational fields also.Full of energy and
confidence ,she attends important functions of different caliber ,and speaks
on various subjects with ease and grace.(Though her favourite subjects seem to be
literature and womens problems).She writes both in Malayalam and engish,
thought-provoking essays on themes like language and culture or Kerala
women in family and society,translates Beethovans songs and does social work
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as amember of Gandhi Vichaaraparishad.Her knowledge is wide,interests

varied,and intellect active.Punctual and prompt,she enjoys little leisure.
Daughter of Palliyil Kochugovindamenon and Nani Amma,Karthyayani Amma is
one among seven children .She was the first lady graduate of Cochin state.She also
won the prize in a essay competition of South Indian ladies on the subject Ideal of
Indian womanhood at present.
Karthyayani Amma joined Cochin educational service and retired after 32 years of
distinguished service.Meanwhile ,she did pioneer work in introducing Hindi girl
Guide and Junior Red Cross ,spinning and Kerala folk dance in schools.
She organized the first All India womens conference and was a member of the
executive committee,A.I.W.C.For seven years she had been its president.She had
been in the senate of the university of Kerala,is now a member of the
Educational advisory board of Kerala.As a member of our Sahityaakademi ,she
serves literature earnestly.And sweet as a flower among foliage,shines her home
life,wherein she is a loving wife and mother.
Karthyayani Ammas contributions to literature includes Tharangaviharam an
anthology of short stories original as well as translations from English,
Panchathanthrakathakal and Historical tales of Cochin and Travancoreboth
texts for children,and translation of Grand rebel by Dennis Kincaid,(produced
according to the instruction of National Book trust,Delhi),besides many unfinished
or unpublished manuscripts.The paper she had read at the symposium on
Ramayana organized by the Indian P.E.N ably records the influence Ramayana
wields over Malayalam literature ,proving that no other language has produced so
many literary works based on the great epic.
26.Ambadi Ikkavu Amma(born 1898)
Ambadi Ikkavu Amma ,sister of Karthyayani Amma,after passing school final ,
started her career as a teacher of little children.Her affectionate manners and
earnest work won the respect of every student.
Though her first attempt in literary field had been a translation of Chitra,the
immortal drama of Tagore,Ikkavu Amma,later on ,aimed at developing childrens
literature in Malayalam.Her translation of Tolstoys stories (a letter of appreciation
about it ,written by Mahathmaji ,she still treasures)and Letters of a fatherby
Nehruji,as well as the original works Garden of Children(Kuttikalude
poonkaavanam)and stories of children(Baalakathakal)won the first prize
awarded by the Government of India for childrens literature.
Other works of Ikkavu Amma,include translation of Mahathmajis
Anaasakthiyogawith Geethabodh,Sreeharshan,translation of an English
book by K.M.Panicker ,and Garden(Udyaanam)stories from Oscar Wilde.In
appreciation of Anaasakthiyoga,she had been awarded a gold medal by the
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Maharaja of Cochin.Science of housekeepingis an original work in two

volumes.Her style has simplicity and charm. Ikkavu Amma,learned Sanskrit in
early youth.Later she joined the first Hindi class in Kerala and mastered the
national language.She excels in music also.Her husband sri V.Karunakaran nair is
a well known writer and theosophist.Their married life is blessed with a rare
compatibility of ideals and two sons.
Ikkavu Amma is religiousminded and fond of devotional rites.Her home
atmosphere is often vibrant with recital of Geetha or Sahasranaama.(thousand
names of the deity).She partakes in the activities of Sri Sankara Theosophical
lodge at Ernakulam ,and assists her husband as much as he can in his work as a
theosophist.About childrens programmes in the lodge,she is most attentive.
27.Mary John Thottam(born 1901)
The lyrical form of poetry had been ushered in Malayalam by Rajarajavarma as
early as 1895.There were a few other poets also who used the form successfully .
The age of romantic poetry seemed near.But influence of classicism was still
strong in the minds of the leading poets.Twentieth century began with a crop of
Mahakavya modeled on Sanskrit kavyas.Each scholarly poet produced a
Mahakavya that contained long chapters with descriptions of cities , mountains,
seasons,etc.Of course,there had been scope for displaying ones talents and
imaginations in these works.This period lasted until 1817.But no woman wrote a
Mahakavya.Did she ever read one? Perhaps.
Eventually the romantic movement thrived,was nurtured by famous poets ,even by
those who wrote Mahakavyas.The emphasis changed from easy flow of words and
flights of grounds.Themes became more and more concerned with actual human
problems.Dravidian meters ,more musical and less tense,were accepted for
lyrics.Shortness is typical of this period of renaissance.Novels gave place to
novelettes and stories.And Mahakavyas to long and short poems.
Mary John Thottam is the first poetess of renaissant Malayalam.She is also the first
Christian lady who attained literary fame.Mary was born at a village Elanji near
Koothattukulam ,Trivandrum ,as the eldest daughter of Mr John and Marium.At
the age of fourteen ,when studying in a convent school,Mary wrote her first
poem.Since then she was regarded as a poetess by co-students,and she had to
produce several poems on feast days.It is said that her uncle,later on known as
father Simon,initiated her into the mysterious realms of literature. Marys early
poems reflect the abundant beauty of nature that surrounded her.But they often
contain reflection over lifes secrets.It seems ,as she enjoyed nature her mind
strived to perceive the divine essence behind ,as she grew ,shadows deepen and she
find worldly pleasures below.Then she sang:
Now I know what I have to know
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No more scruples
In my room ,with wick trimmed
I shall wait for my Lord.
At twentyseven Mary renounced the world and became a nun.Her farewell to the
worldis a beautiful poem wherein the heart-pangs of one who had to leave her
beloved people and familiar haunts are preserved,among silken folds of
philosophical thoughts.
It was years after she became a nun that her poems appeared again in journals
under the name sister Benigna.A perceptible change had come over then.The
frshness and emotional beauty of the earlier works were gone.They were
now songs of a soul free from strife.The devotional tone predominated and a strain
of humour was often discernible.Sister Benigna is an idealist.Her poetry has an
elevating influence.She chooses the highest sentiments of man for her themes.Her
important works are,besides Kavithaaraamam(garden of poetry)and Geethaavalli
(series of songs)anthologies of earlier poems ,Isaprasaada(Grace of Yesu)
Vidhivaibhava(power of destiny)Magi,Madhumanjari,childhood of Little Flower,
and Bharatha Mahaalakshmi.The last one is alife history of the Rani of Jansi,a fine
pen picture that has caught all the sunset colours of that heroic tragedy.
Men are offsprings of nature
Who always sigh and undergo change
But,
There is an eternal dawn,
Those who find it
Never more do sigh ,nor cry.
This seems to be the message sister Benigna gives through her poems.She has
written a few books in prose also. She still regards the pen as her best friend.
28.Muthukulam Parvathy Amma(born 1903)Parvathy Amma,
Muthukulam,member of Keralasahitya akademi since its inception in 1956,is
a well known poetess.She is ambitious and persevering.Both in prose and
verse ,she can write well.Her contributions to literature are many,as
Khandakavyam(a ling poem,short kaavya)prose dramas(Earlier draamaas in
Malayalam ,modeled on those of Sanskrit or tamil,were interspersed with stanzas
or songs.Drama in pure prose ,imitating English plays came later)and biographies
of great men and women ,besides the short poems on different subjects which
appear occasionally in periodicals.Poems of Parvathy Amma are more realistic
than imaginative.The words flow smoothly.Though versatile about themes ,she
likes to glorify ideals and idealists.
Parvathy Amma was born in a noble family at Muthukulam,Trivandrum as
daughter of RamaPanicker,a scholarly man,and Velumpi Amma ,a pious lady.She
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got education especially in Sanskrit ,Hindi and Malayalam and joined educational
service at the age of 18.Now,retired at the age of 55 ,still unmarried ,she leads a
life fully dedicated to literary and social pursuits.Her highest aim in life is success
through them.
She wrote her first poems hymns,to Saraswathy,and Guru at the age of 12.When
one of her first poems were published she was eighteen.Her works were prize
winners in many a poetry competition and she had been awarded gold medals.
Sri NarayanaGuru Swami,the famous spiritual preceptor,acclaiming the poetic
talents ofParvathy Amma,once presented her with a valuable silk.She is also
gifted with oratory.
With a solid faith in God and precepts of Sri Narayana Guruswami,Parvathy
Amma is always calm and cheerful.Face beaming with a friendly smile,she makes
a pleasant companion.
29.Paliath Omana Kunhamma(born 1907)
Paliyath Omanakunhamma,Chennamangalam has produced several good poems in
her youth.They are publishesd as two anthologies Kavanakouthukam(pleasure in
poetry)and Sreekrishnaanandalahari(waves of blissfrom Krishna)She also has
translated a drama of legendary theme from Sanskrit.
30.Kadathanad K.Madhavi Amma(born 1909)
Mahathmajis nonviolent war against British Government in India and his precepts
on life left their marks on literature..Need for a simple life and healthy activity ,
sympathy for the downtrodden,underfed masses,indignation towards the unjust
dealings of rich and powerful and hope for a better tomorrow were voiced by
eminent writers.In works of women also ,ranging from those of Kettilamma
,influence of gandhian principles which set astir a new social awareness is
perceptible. Poems of K.MadhaviAmma,Kadathanad,(Mrs.A.K.K.Nambiar)on
hunger and sufferings of poor people ,are quite touching.The poetess is sure that
poverty breeds all the vices.The need for erasing untouchability and HinduMuslim unity also has been proclaimed by her artistically.But she rarely uses
glaring colours in her penpictures.
Madhavi Amma started writing poems in early youth.She was encouraged by her
father,Kanna Kurup,himself a poet and scholar.He took the girl to literary
gatherings like sahitya Parishad(started in 1927.Annual meetings are conducted in
different places)and made her to read out poems.They were appreciated by many
critics. Madhavi Ammas poetry excels in preciseness and beauty of diction.Its
imageries are often taken directly from nature and peasant life.Even in
philosophical speculations,its lucidity is not lost.She is at her best when in
contemplative mood as in the song about reapers.This poem describes men as
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reapers jostling along the field of life,immense as future and turbulent as sea.For
them,the will is sickle,and dreams are sheaves of grain.Her works though rich in
quality ,is poor in quantity.They include,Kaalyopahaaram(Morning gift)and
Graamasreekal(graces of villages)both anthologies of poems and
Jeevithathanthukkal (threads of life)a collection of short stories.She has also
produced a book on the story of Othenan,the warrior hero of North kerala.
Madhavi Amma is gentle and calm by nature.She likes plain dresses.Her humility
is remarkable.
31Lalithambika Antharjanam(born 1909)
Lalithambika Antharjanam is a poetess and author of short stories.Both in prose
and verse,she is poetical and emotional .She excels in picturing love as well as
affection.Her imagination is alive with sympathy for victims of society ,even for
suffering animals.She began her career with poems but ,later on,turned to stories
which are the most interesting when they describr the life of Namboothiris ,her
own caste.Her style is noted for sincerity.
Lalithambika is the only daughter of Kottavattam Damodaran Potti,poet and
scholar ,who had eight sons.Naturally she got more parental attention than many
Namboothiri girls.She had not been sent to school but was educated at home in
Sanskrit.After a time,she learned English and Hindi by self-effort.At fourteen ,her
first poem was written.Once she sent an essay to a magazine without consulting
anyone.It was published in due time.This event showing her independent nature
,caused much amazement to the parents.
That was the time Namboothiris realized the tragic circumstances their women live
in and the cruel inhibitions society cast upon them.Young people came forward to
work restlessly for eradication of social conventions which victimized
women.Antharjanam was among those who served the cause with an energetic
pen.She wrote a drama about widow remarriage which was successfully acted by
Namboothiri youths.Her poems are coloured by the enthusiasm of those days.
At eighteen ,Lalithambika married Amanakara Narayanan Namboothiri ,an
educated gentleman who understood and appreciated her talents.Though burdened
with duties which a growing family requires,she continued writing ,her beloved
hobby.At present she is the author of two anthologies of poems ,Bhaavadeepthy
(light of feeling)and Nissabdasangheetham(silent music.-Valiamma has
translated as soundless music.) as well as nine volumes short stories revealing the
gradual development of her technique.
Her poems are essentially romantic.They condense in brief words an immensity of
feelings.The conflict between duty and love ending in success of love is ably
expressed through these lines in warrior in jail
My blood I poured forth to serve the country
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My tears that swell up,are only for Thee.

Poems she rarely writes now.But when she does,the result is never inferior to the
earlier works.Lalithambika Antharjanam is a member of our Sahitya Akademi.
Aristocratic in features,cultured in speech ,and fragile in healththis gifted poetess
usually walks into Aklademi premises with her husband.Her home-life at
Ramapuram, Trivandrum ,with husband and children all grown up,is simpleand
happy.One of her sons ,Mohanan,is an eminent short story writer.
(The nine volumes of short stories of Antharjanam are,
1.Adyathe kathakal(first stories)
2.Kannerinte punchiri(smile of tears)
3.kaalathinte edukal(pages of time)
4.Kilivathililoode(through the window)
5.Kodunkattilninnu(From the storm)
6.Thakarnna thalamura(The shattered generation)
7.Agnipushpanghal(flowers of fire)
8.Irupathu varshathinu sesham(After twenty years)
9.Mootupatathil(inside the veil)
(Here also two pages are missing from the original manuscript.It is possible that
the missing pages contained notes on Balamani Amma herself)
32.Mannathazhath Baaladevi
Poems of Mannathazhath Baaladevi are tinged with mysticism.Love in them means
not the usual feeling but the yearning of the soul for God.Of the humane for the
divine.Everything in nature inspires devotion in this poetess and attunes her heart
with the all pervading one.Her language is refined and sweet. Writing poetry is the
worship of muse for Baaladevi.She does it with the utmost reverence ,with body
and mind purified.Worship is the essence of her art.Worship of God,worship of
the earth,worship of our country.
O,Mother Kerala,Your golden dreams are we,
She sings.
Baladevi is daughter of Manakkulam Mukundaraja and wife of M.Balachandraraja.
The poetess now in her forties,had written several short stories ,all emotional and
idealistic ,in her youth.She has published only two anthologies of poems ,
Premaanjali (Love in handfuls)and Mareechimaala(Garland of sunbeams).
Premanjali won the Kalyani krishnamenon prize for the best book in an year.
33.Prof Meenakshi Amma,Konniyur(Mrs Raghavan nair)is a renowned
novelist.Her novels show a romantic rather than realistic trend.They are
written in refined language.The important ones are Neenta Nizhal(long
shadow)Atmabali(self sacrifice)and Pushpakam.In the first novel a new method of
unfolding the story through the heroines letters is adopted. The latest work of
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Meenakshi Amma is a translation of the Vikings in Helgelandby Ibson.It is

published by the central Sahitya akademi. In 1937,a society of progressive writers
were formed.It professed that writers should have an aim,the aim of the progress of
humanity.All the conventions and beliefs that retard the progress must be weeded
out.The duty of a writer is to exhume and bring out the evils in society as to help
the weeding ,not harping on their personal problems.The theory Art for arts
sake is sheer nonsense.
These ideas were not new.Writing on social as well as national problems was being
practiced ever since the satyagraha movement or earlier still.The difference was
that it has not been defined as a responsibility.The progressives took to painting
life in its blackest colours,opening way to a new realism in literature instead of the
then prevalent romanticism.Though dissensions among leaders caused the
progressive writers society ,their ideas survived shaping the future trends.
Meanwhile contact with European literature was steadily increasing.After the
second world war,new outlooks ,new concepts and new modes of presentation
were adapted into our literature also.Freudian theories ,with the post-war
determinism,had shaken the foundation of moral values.In Malayalam novels
again appeared ,and short stories thrived,more realistic than ever ,as they portrayed
psychological facts as well.
34.K.Saraswathy Amma(born 1919)
The first woman writer to reflect the changing outlook of the new generation was
K.Saraswathi Amma of Trivandrum.Her motto is freedom,freedom for women as
well as men.She stands for free love in her stories which unveil terrible pictures of
what shame vanity or other inhibitory moods may bring.Her satire is most
pungeant as it flays open masks of idealistic behaviours ,revealing the
unsocial tendencies underneath.In her stories love is not the benign,elevating angel
we com eacross in earlier literature.But a satanic force ,which if unappeased ,may
shatter ones life completely.Often her characters ,with their intense passions and
unrelenting cruelty seem treading on borders of abnormal psychology.
The author is not much concerned with niceties of diction ,but the stories have
originality and a rare fascination.Rushing to their horrid endings ,they grip the
reader by heart and pull along to the guagmire of cynicism.He feels that al the
values and concepts about life one has hitherto cherished,are doomed to fail.He
feels as if the knell of an era is sounded.
Works of Saraswathy Amma include,Sthreejanmam(life of women),kanatha
mathil(heavy walls),Vivahasammanam(wedding gift) premapareekshanam
(test of love),Itivettuthailam(Thunder oil)and Choolamaranghal (wayside trees),
all collections of stories ,besides Devadhoothi(the woman angel)the first
Malayalam prose play written by a woman.
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 35.Mrs Annie Thayyil(born 1918)

Annie Thayyil,advocate in Ernakulam,is an active politician who had been a
congress member in state assembly from 1945-1952.She has traveled
wide,especially in western countries including Russia.All the information
and enlightenment she gained from these experiences has blossomed into literary
creations.It seems there is no other woman who produced so many books before
age 45.Her contributions to literature include 30 volumes on different subjects. Her
first work was a novel Kochamminiwritten when she had been studying for B.A.
It was just one long story with a moral ,the fruit of her admiration for
Indulekha.After years ,she has written two more novels,one about a working
girls life ,and another about a doctors ,both showing a mature realism.These
letters are for you,is an interesting work in four volumes.In form of letters ,
impressions on diverse things and places are gathered up.The author has definite
views about everything which interests a modern woman from cosmetics to
politics.She has taken much care to write the letters in simple familiar language .
The contents reveal her broadmindedness with love for Kerala and its people.Other
important works are the Bible converted into stories ,and books on world
religions,the human side of saints,on Hungary ,Russia,and United nations.The
translations of war and peaceand Anna Karenina(by Tolstoy)Three musketeers
(Dumas)Tess(Hardy)Eternal city(Hall Caina)and Holy sinner(Thomas Mann)
proclaims the high level of her artistic taste and perseverance.At present ,Mrs
thayyil is engaged in writing a book on penal code as to make law easily
understandable to laymen.Quarter of a century,a novel in English is to be
published soon.Many of the books were published under her maiden name ,Annie
joseph.She got married just three years ago.
36.Sarala Ramavarma(born 1922)
Stories of Sarala Ramavarma are tinged with humour.Usually they seem to be
vignettes of simple village people or domestic occurrences.It is the comic sides of
things that attracts the author ,not the tragic ones.Handling the insignificant details
of an event as to make it interesting is typical of her works.Her views expressed
through them are those of a cultured modern woman who respects the ancient
heritage of our country.She adores art and beauty. Mrs Sarala Ramavarma is
daughter of a prominent writer and poet,Prof Sankaran nambiar,and niece of
T.C.Kalyani Amma.She is an expert in Kathakali Music.Sarala ramavarma has
published two collections of stories,Navamukulam(new blossom)and
kathaakadambham (bunch of stories).Living in Bombay,she takes part in literary
and artistic activities there.
37.Bharathy Udayabhanu
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It took the literary circle by surprise that Bharathy Udayabhanu ,who though a
graduate and fond of good reading had never been known as a writer ,published a
fine book like Adukkalayil ninnu Parliamentilekku(From kitchen to Parliament)
and it has won the award of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi for the best book of the
year. Smt Bharathy ,wife of A.P.Udayabhanu,a renowned politician and journalist,
was chosen as a congress member of the parliament.Though somewhat doubtful
about such an experiment after 17 years of housewifes life in kitchen and nursery
she did not fail to fulfil the expectations of her husband and the voters.Besides ,
contact with the bubbling boiling cores of the resurgent ,industrializing new India
mounded her into a popular author.To read her impressions about Indias capital,
the parliament with its multilingual members and the famous razor edge path of
neutrality are entertaining.Still more entertaining to perceive in the confident
quicksighted woman M.P moving among a melee of distinguished men and
historymaking events , glimpses of the eternal daughter of India with her
unassuming laugh,simple fears,pride about children and the fondest love for her
husband.
Second part of the book deals with impressions of visits to various places of
India.The modern industrial sites like Bhakra Nanghal,ancient shrines like Konark
and treasuries of Indian art like Ajanta caves.The responses such marvelous
creations of a nation ,ancient as well as modern ,make on a cultured mind,are
described minutely. Whether the years she spent in parliament made Bharathy a
politician or not,these two volumes has ,certainly made her a famous writer.
38.M.Leelavathy(Mrs C.P.Menon)-born 1927.
Only one literary critic we have among women and that is M.Leelavathy from
Chowghat. Since childhood days she had been a brilliant student.Graduated from
Maharajas college ,Ernakulam,she joined Kerala educational service.At present
she is a lecturer in Victoria college e,palghat.Very fond of literature and thirsty of
knowledge ,she had read and thought over the best works in Malayalam as well as
in English.Her essays on literary trends both in European countries and in India
,are thought provoking.Leelavathy is a good speaker also.Speeches or essays
stream out from her in dignified style.
She believes that writers should maintain a scientific viewpoint rather than a
romantic one.They should not be bound by the mental shackles of aged old
beliefs,either religious or social.Her published works ,except a book about
Florence Nightingale ,are translations from English.
39.Rajalakshmi(born 1930)
The development of our novels and short stories through decades was remarkable.
The emphasis gradually changed from the colourful descriptions and intricate plot
of earlier days ,to character development,then to delineation of moods and feelings.
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Man is often shown as irresponsible to his feelings or even actions ,as he is the
product of circumstances he could not control.Modern prose is growing more
introspective and thereby more akin to poetry. Rajalakshmi keeps the balance in
her novels.They are aglow with display of moods but not one sound of the school
bell is missed,not one appropriate detail evaded,in picturing the background.And
her heroines have strength of character which wins the battle at last.Her first
novelette Makal(the daughter)was a notable success.It handled the usual problem
confronting educated girls of middle class families the conflict between duty to the
parents and the call of youth and love.The skillful presentation of the theme and
the tragic note ringing throughout it linger in the readers mind forever.Her second
attempt ,Oru vazhiyum kure nizhalukalaum(One path and several shadows) a
novel concerning the life of a college girl and the illusions she encounters ,won the
award of Kerala sahitya Akademi for the best novel of 1960.
The diction of Rajalakshmis works is speedy and crisp.The lilt and rhythm of her
short sentences are in tune with the hurried pace of modern life.No other novelist
in Malayalam has fingered the sharp tender feelings of teen-agers so
understandingly. No one has ever caught the lively noisy impassioned atmosphere
of college so easily in words.She is the author of some short stories also ,one of
which got the award of Sahityaparishad in a story competition. Rajalakshmi is the
daughter of an advocate in Ernakulam,the youngest among four children.Graduated
as M.Sc (Physics)she works as lecturer in N.S.S.College,Panthalam.Particularly
fond of beauty ,she loves Malayalam and enjoys reading what she writes.She
believes that literary labour should enable one to earn his own living through it.At
present Rajalakshmoi is working on a new novel.
40 .Kamala Das(born 1932)
Kamala Das wrote her first short story when she was ten years old.The story ,
which appeared in a weekly ,was about a leper boy longing for other children.It
revealed the essential traits of her future works in miniature.A keen insight for the
tragic side of human life,and ability to enliven the background by the most natural
details. Kamala,eldest daughter of V.Madhavan Nair and Balamani Amma ,was an
exceptionally imaginative girl.She discontinued her studies after passing school
final from Calcutta ,married .K.Madhavadas ,an official in Reserve Bank,and
settled in Bombay.The cosmopolitan city afforded full scope for developing her
talents.There ,under the pen-name Madhavikutty,she started to write short
stories.
She has handled various themes and techniques successfully.The boredom-ridden
society life in city as well as the vain superstitious life in villages came under her
sympathetic gaze.Psychological aspects are emphasized in her stories.She can be
masterly in depicting the twilight atmosphere of childrens mind ,or invoking a
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weird sense as in the stories Red Mansionand scent of a bird.Many of her

characters are products of civilized life.Things like extramarital relationships
happen.But they are too refined to get jealous or angry.Be compassionate to the
weak,wayward humanityis the motto of her stories. The language she uses is crisp
and up to the point.Sometmes it is tinged with a Hulian humour .Sometimes
charged with poetical beauty.She has no pretences about problems being solved by
her pen.We simply write of the things as we see them in real lifefor
the happiness we get while writingshe says.
Kamala Das starts and finishes her story at one stretch .She seldom cares to correct
the mistakes or rewrite the manuscript.Once left unfinished ,the story may remain
incomplete forever.Sometimes she composes small poems in English which reveal
the inmost recesses of a poets heart.Poetry is very personal like the pain on ones
own finger.It cannot be completely shared with others,she believes.
With husband and two children Kamala Das now lives in Calcutta.Her published
works are Mathilukal(walls), Pathu kathakal(ten stories) Naricheerukal
parakkumpol (when bats fly)and Tharisunilam(wasteland)all collections of stories.
41. Short stories are written by many.Among youngsters Nandinikutty is a
promising storyteller.Her stories are about Brahmin families and their social
problems like dowry.She pictures village life correctly ,the domestic
tragedies touchingly.
42. and 43 .Stories of B.Saraswathy have maturity and dignity.There are
others also like Padmakumari and Devasena who write stories tastefully.
44,45,46. As about memoirs that of Mrs M.P.Paul about her husband is
remarkable for the simplicity and charm.It is just like a tragic novel.Gouri
Ammas London diary is a travelogue of quality that describes the minutest
details in daily life ,marking the differences between two great
nations.Kalyanikutty Amma writes her impressions about the Holy places of
India in an entertaining and witty style.
47,48,49.Dr (Mrs) Helen Thomas excels in writing on medical subjects.Her
series on conjugal life ,pregnancy ,rearing of children etc are a boon to
women.Mrs K.M.Mathew specializes in writing about culinary art.Modern
housewives often depend upon the assistance of her cookery books.In poetry
,T.S.Ponnamma ,shows ability and taste.She published an anthology of
poems Hridayanjali and a collection of stories.Sankalpamekhala ,by
name.New experiments are being made on the technique and content of
poetry mostly in the model of T.S.Eliot .No womans pen has yet attempted
these.This list is not yet exhaustive.It could not be.Among students and
children also there may be brilliant writers in prose,as well as in verse.The
future of our literature is secured in their hands.
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 The sweetness of offering

A study of her book Nivedyam and its English translation. by Dr Suvarna
Nalapat
(Nivedyam Poems From 1959-1986 .The 27 years of sweetness that
emanated from the hot oven of Balamani Ammas Athma and offered to the
human civilizations .)
Whether we like it or not, ecstatic experiences search and find out poets .Just
like the choiceless experiences of J.Krishnamurthy.They are boiled in the heat
of memories and the sourness removed and rendered sweet with time.It is this
sweetness which human beings take out,churning the life on earth.And that is
called literature.(Balamani Amma in the preface to her work Nivedyam).Those
who are lucky to taste this nectar awake into a new life and become the twiceborn(dwija).Looking at the poems in Nivedyam(Offering)as three timespans in
the poets life,tells us,whatever was in the poet in 1959 ,remain as such in
her,without any diminishing or increasing.If we look into Sopaanam(The
ladder)written before Nivedyam ,then also we see this same changeless
character.So the experiences were not only choiceless but also changeless ,like
the Brahman.The Vilaapa(written in her 16th year)and vanamaala(1939) also
show the same simplicity ,the same love,visionary power,and purity.A soul
destined to picturise only the softest emotions of humanity.A mirror kept clean
throughout life.There are no secrets of guilt to be kept underneath the false
carpets and later on taken in solitude and washed as a process of cleansing the
soul,in those poems. No shadows of wild desires.A world of light and bliss and
truth.A world where the shadows of body makes fearful images.The questions
and answers of a yogic mind are lightened up in those poems.
The grandmother.
The grandchild sitting on her lap and keeping his head on her bosom
,spreads a bliss ,forgotten somewhere,as if an electric light.The faded eyes
remember the softness of the young bodies and minds of the children who
came before him.The crumbled skin still experience the same motherly
instincts as the predecessors did in her youth.The poet says,they have left
leaving several old toys and the autographs of measured intelligences
(certificates of merits)for their mother and gone to their on playgrounds of
karma.But ,this young one also comes to her when he is afraid,or when he
needs a loving embrace. In his soft red hands she is seeing the dirty ,yet
water-lilylike hands of those children.In his footsteps she hear the footsteps
that came to her running from the school,the ones those went away in search
of bright future.The ones she had watched with pride and with pleasure and
pain mingled.
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The grandchild looks at her old wrinkled face ,in search of love,
kindness.Why is she not gathering my pearls of smiles and waste time in
touching the rough rudrakshaas of her old memories?Is he searching for his
young mother in this old woman?Though she cannot spread the moonshine
in her eyes and nectar in her breasts ,when this child comes and asks for his
share of love ,grandmother experiences the lost bliss of her past life.The
stones that touch those soft feet ,still pains her heart.She says:
Your grandmother knows
Nothing is destroyed
Everything exists in human forever
In my old heart there are
so much of riches ,still
for your hands too
to play with
and throw away
The love and creativity stored for generations of humans to play with,to
grow up,and to inherit is eternal in the grandmothers heart,just as in the
heart of our earth.
Learning to swim
A child thrown into a flowing waterbody to learn swimming.It is the
poet.Around ,the opened blue mouths of dancing waves.She is drowning and
coming up ,slapping the water with powerless limbs,and still looking at the
horizon where the golden toy is shown as a reward ,..She has only one
solace.I am at the end of the sari stringof my mother.If I am too tired she
will take me back.I will be back on her bosom.My each vibration of shivers
reach her through that sari-string.The child then thinks.Why does mother
trouble me so much.She asks.
Is it not time for pulling me up?
This play is cruel.I will never learn to swim.
But in the end the play was not in vain.Slowly she could control the waves
and get over them.She could swim with and against them.To fight with them
is joy ,and the feeling of I-ness is important and then,she understands the
drowning,the complaining and the security of the mothers sari are the
childish things.The pain of being slapped by the waves,the numbness of
limbs in darkness,the revolving in whirlpools everything became a
festival.Then all the fighting days were over.The wisdom matured.Knowing
no fights,lying face up on water,the waves as a swinging cot below, the
water became the thousandhooded serpant Anantha .The life moves as if a
weightless flower ,and the old difficulties and their memories become honey
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in that flower.The fights and the I-ness were unnecessary , something within
tells as if a manthra.
Then she remembers her mother .Waiting for her return at home.The
evening lamp lighted by her as a guide for her return.She smiles to
herself.All the efforts,the fights, the successes and the learnings are nothing
..nothing
Balamani Amma wrote this poem in 1958.The imagery used of the mundane
life (samsaarasaagara)as an ocean of difficulties,and human beings efforts to
get over them,and memorizing them at the twilight of life with wisdom are
noteworthy.The same ocean of life can become a bed of thorns,a bed of
roses for enjoying pleasures of life,and a bed of wisdom for a yogin.The
three stages in life of the same soul.Balamani Amma has the mundane life as
the serpent cot and her soul as Vishnu .
Arghyam.
Arghyam is something we give to the guest of honour.The sakthi of Vishnu
is pictured here as the Goddess of welfare ,waiting at the doors of
Bhaaratha(India) and she has seen the history of mankind ,from past yugaas
,since she originated from the churned flood waters .Her kind eyes sow the
seeds of arts .All the grains and fruits of the universes civilizations are
brought to her feet by all the uru.(Uru has two meanings.Ships and body.
Here all forms of life,and all the ships of the different civilizations ).The
universal sakthy as well as the sakthy of Indian ancient civilization are
mentioned by using this word.
Beyond ,whenever a poor and artless land cry in different
languages,requesting for richness and for arts,Devi gets up from her
stoneseat and responds to their cry.She walks along the same path traversed
by the hungry ,toiling class fighting with fate of illluck.Then,in the bosoms
of rivers arise dams for her feet to touch.Metallic machines may be ugly to
look at.Yet made in the heat of human life,she gives beauty even to
them.The poet wish that to make her padmapaada,men are creating dams in
rivers.Let beautiful soft lotuses be bloomed within hearts of human beings
for her to sit forever is her wish.She says it is not enough if her form is
engraved on coins and these coins reach nook and corner of the country.She
has to be there in every soul forever.Otherwise in human hearts ,poverty
,powerlessness,dirt and disease of lack of love will gather.The base of a
kshemaraashtra is the human mind
Therefore the poet asks the Devi:Come.Mother
As power,dharma
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And divine art

And bliss
Into our hearts
Forever.
The grandmother of Malayalam poetry thus makes a seat for her on
heartlotus for the Devi.
The flower of soul with beauty and varna,gives a worldview which is the
form of wisdom .The flower is the nectar of life blooming from the ocean of
light in the depths of which lie the seeds of all life,and piercing the darkness
of water ,it forms the great universes.After sometime each heartlotus loss its
fragrance ,and petals. But it gives form to several new seeds and new
flowers and the same fragrance and colours are perpetuated.The thoughts,
words and deeds of each human life ,of each generation is seen as this
perpetuation of life by the poet .What we enjoy is only a single ray of the
internal light of universe.It is to this universal energy ,the poet gives her
Arghyam and inviting it to be eternally present in her heart.
The sickbed
In 1966 came the poem To a daughter.In 1959 came the poem Again.For a
boat ,to do repairs ,it has to stop its journeys over water and rest on a sandy
beach.The sickbed for the poet is such a resting place ,and the
Karmadevatha(Goddess of karma)have given us this opportunity to increase
our praanasakthi(power of life) from time to time.The boat travels over
water.Human life over the ocean of samsaara. How is this rest period a
saadhana for wisdom for the poet ?In several ways.
1.To understand the truth that the world runs not by the power of our little
toyboats
2.To enjoy the rhythm of life as an observer ,not as a participant
3.To gather the white soft flowers of life in our small handcups
4.To keep the pragna without any coverings,in front of the perfect energy
5.To understand the knower/the soul as truth and the real I separate from the
body with pains and pleasures.
To a daughter was written when Madhavikutty was in a sickbed.In 1975
when I was in sickbed she had given me Arshagnaana ,and Angle of repose
to read,and also a note about sickbed and its experiences in her life (which is
given in this book).
But the poet knows that just like the moments of quest for wisdom,busy
practical life also is lovable for each individual.There are no duties for a sick
woman.The blue arch of beauty in front.The divine moments covered in
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golden sunlights,the murmer of breeze searching for the end of

spacetime,the sweet dreams of the wishes of the loving people,only one is
missing.The silly (as everyone always complains)household duties.But the
sick woman is crying for just that.The things she had been complaining
throughout her life.
My tears are for those
Did my sadhana became
In vain,again?
How beautifully the psychology of human mind is picturised?
Raindrops
Like pollengrains..like broken threadslike pearls ..the new raindrops .The
poems of Balamani Amma are also like that.There are raindrops that come
with power of a whirlwind,as stones thrown, with rebellion,with desires etc
etc But both brings life .When the horizon was darkening ,some unknown
desire ,some unknown light and heat has breathed these raindrops into the
breast of earth.The greatness behind them is eternally present in our life.
When summer comes
When light spreads
When peace of silence fills
When changing bliss wings
Spread in atmosphere
,in my soul ,waveless
Deep,pure with time
The eternal greatness
Behind Raindrops,
Reflects ..
When such a greatness reflects in soul we find the yogic mind of Chyavana.
Chyavana understands the body is only a speck of gold in the midst of a vast
universe.Chyavan ,the rishi is the poet,who sits turned away from what goes
on around.In a momentary imagination He/She misunderstands the prison
that had grown around him/her(the athma)is the perfect truth.Then to that
mind,as a innocent girl Goddess of beauty enters in one fine morning.With
her breath ,the old soiled outer cover is broken.With the expanded first
desire ,sitting within the hiding of the body,the eyes of man watch and drink
the sweet beauty of earth newly revealed to his eyes ,covered in the
colourful attire of spring.Enjoys the purity of atmosphere that penetrates the
pristine thoughts.See the light of a sun sinking into own soul with a hitherto
unknown bhaava.The heart is the ocean and the soul the sun in the
imagery.The question naturally arise-Why didnt I see this beauty of my soul
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before?The question itself removes all the worldly covers which are only
temporary .
There are pains natural for spirituality .It is impossible to enjoy perfect bliss
with out knowing what sorrow is.In the moment of awakening Chyavana
experience that pain as a toy of grass (darbha)which is sharp ,in the hands of
that innocent Goddess of beauty.Mahanarayana Upanishad has seen the
grass of Darbha as the worldly life .Here also the pain and loss of eyesight
leads Chyavana to a worldly life with the girl who inflicted that pain.The
great rishi was made just a weak,blind and naked human being ,by a little
girl.Those who are called by God has to the path of light,has to search in
darkness to see light,the poet commends.We see Maaya who serves,and
pleases the soul as friend,servant and wife in Sukanya the little girl.If
Chyavana is Brahman,Athman,the soul,Sukanya is his sahadharmini ,his
consort,his body.Without that power Brahman cannot find truth.Prakrithi
showers flowers in front of him,leads him by hand,and makes every day to
day activity beautiful just by her presence.Only then Brahman become
perfection.Those men with courage enter great heights and forget the pains
of life in the journey.Then Chyavana becomes eternally young and inflenced
by power of wisdom,the consort of Sukanya.She is his Goddess of
communication (samvedaneswary) who gives him both pain and pleasure
.The lost vision is regained by that knowledgeand the secret of creation
revealed.This Indian
yogic knowledge is forever in Balamani Ammas poetry and hence her
poems become pure and lifegiving like the raindrops to a parched soul .
In the medical college
Whether in a thapovan or in a medical college the sound of Balamani
Ammas poetry is its spirituality.The students have no time to listen to the
beauties of spring .They are immersed in hard study.Their eyes are wet and
hot with compassion.Yet they are determined to pierce scalpels into the icy
flesh of cadavers.They have a aim.The help of humanity.Probably the
cadavers may be asking them in a silent language-Can you grasp the artistic
secret of this nest ,just by counting its threads(nerves)?The bird sitting in a
corner plays and unwinds the threads within seconds.Can you stop that play
?Who kindled the intelligence,who renewed each and every atom of life,who
prevented dirts to accumulate in blood,who gave nourishment to every nerve
and cell,from the day when this was just a beanseed in mothers uterus to the
day the soul left and I became not I but a body only?Why is this great
plan?Without knowing these whys and hows,who can learn the secret of life
and health and death?
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But ,then the poet says,even then my sons and daughters,you will not fail in
your aim.May be slowly by learning the secrets of this body ,you may learn
the secret of the soul also.In this way,Balamani Amma gave us(the medical
students/turned doctors )a hope and a goal to achieve too.
Every day comes in wearing golden silk garments through bright clouds.The
sunlight throw flower carpets on earth.The pillars of each house is covered
with the yellow turmeric of sunlight.There is a prayermat of it on our
doorsteps each day.And on such days,I used to wake up with a vision of
Balamani Amma sitting on her prayermat chanting Lalithasahasranaamam in
her soft voice.Those bygone daysdoors are opened by the floodlights of my
memory when I read her poems.What should the scholars say to the new
generations?And how it should be said?In the school of Nalapat
Narayanamenon and Balamani Amma there is no doubt about this.To say
that ,one soul has achieved the perfection ,and there is no need for others to
try for it and achieve it is fanaticism,says Balamani Amma in her
poem.Obedience and discovery are different ,she says.It is not by wearing
anothers garment,but by making ones own dress that a soul becomes what it
is..May be this unni,on her lap,so innocent and soft,might have to face pains
and pleasures in that journey.In this old house of universe which is our
heritage (Prapanchatharavattil) are hundreds of rooms.To find out the secrets
of those rooms,to climb up each ladder,every human child learns by holding
the hands of its mother.But its footsteps are watched not only by her,but all
the ancestors of the human race ,she says.
With every step
Your growth internal
Is watched with delight
By ancestors
Who knew the five elements
Who dont need a help
to move forward
who are never worried
who moves in homes,inside
and outside
who can kindle and light off
the starry heavens
those who keeps your path
whether you know it
or not.Therefor,my son,
Go forward.(Purathekku 1961)
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The elders are not the childs elder brothers here.Because ,the the last part
makes it clear that they are the ancestors who control the stary heavens.And
they are eagerly watching over to find the inner growth of the child as their
successor to take the torch of wisdom forward.
From 1960-61 Balamani Amma used to write to me regularly.She was 51
and I was 13-14 at that time.My attempts at poetry and literature were
looking forward to get a helping hand from her experienced mind.She
watched over my progress just as the ancestors did in her poem.What
beauty!what colours and sights in my journey!!!It was not pearls or silk
skirts or land that I expected ,but the word of wisdom,the blessing of her
word as a protective armour.And she gave it to me freely and happily till she
lost consciousness in her old age due to Alzheimers disease.
The poem of Mother(Ammayude kavitha)
In 1961 she wrote the poem of the mother.The same year as my letters and
poems were bombarding her with doubts and new poems.She writes.Amma
has no time to waste.Amma is getting older.Has to write so many
books.Amma is trying to embed the temporary nature of this body within the
ice of fame.Amma has already traversed the plains and reached the empty
mountaintops.Then the darling comes with a little hand which wants to
lessen the pains of Ammas hard work.She reminds Amma about her olden
days.She binds a net of love around which is stronger than a wall.She makes
it mandatory that Ammas fet should move according to the rhythm of her
first footsteps.She disturbs and changes the day to day activities of the old
mother.About her Amma writes:
You have separated from me
As a moons ray from a grassblade
With bright mountaintops
In your eyes ,is a goal
And inky pen
In hands
Stands in the path of eternity
Immobile and sad.
And the creative urge of the daughter reaches her as a farcry from her own
past.When that cry breaks the concentration and the meditation of Ammas
night hours,Amma remembers her own creative urge as a teenager,and the
daughter is seen as herself,as an observable bit of the self.She feels that this
new generation is a moonshine and not a grassblade to be ignored.The places
of moonshine and grassblade shifts in Ammas eye.Then she remembers that
the smile of the girl brings the truth of light to her poems .And the ecstacy of
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the art is less than her loving embrace for mother.She keeps away the books
she has to finish in her hearts corner and finds time for the daughter.When I
read this poem (in 1961)and read her letters to me pregnant with meanings,
my eyes moisten with love and gratitude and bliss of being loved .We are
taught that old age is the burialground of love and bliss.In its ice ,no leaf will
show its green in human thought.But what a wrong idea!It is in old age your
love lengthens and measures the entire earth and universe like a lengthening
shadow.In every thought there are several white roses in old age.Winds are
soft ,not in morning but in evening .Only then the heat of earth is reduced
and earth awakens to a new consciousness.The softness of mind is increased
in old age.The soft mind watch the new generation with alove and
compassion unparalleled.
In the first stage of life-infancy-the poet was watching the mornings red fruit
and she had the support of her fathers strong arm.She saw the beauty of the
creation in her teens.Then reaches the urban citylife with her husband and
see the winning glory of youth .The egoistic man can enjoy only the flower
grown in a pot outside his door.She wonders .The city is complex and
different from the simple village she is so used to.From satisfaction ,her
journey was to desires and fulfillment of desires.She sometimes exclaims at
the urban desiresIn your hearts storms
Will my small boat
Sink or move?
The head of the poet is used to bow before the creation of universe.By habit
it bows in front of the city also.She says even this dirty citys body is
cleansed by the Holy waters of life.The light and soul sits in darkness and
body.Village gives arghya with a wick and city with a electric light.The root
of human civilization is village.But city is its branch.The branch is lucky
because only it bears the fruits of future.The eyes that see blemish even in
moon,is finding fault with everything.Who am I to count the thousand and
one wrongs of the city?Thus ,Balamani Amma survives the urban life by her
selfanalysis and purity of mind. Even in the passionate colours of the city
she is able to see the whiteness of purty.
How does a poet visualize her own poetry?Balamani Amma says:The
experiences with beauty and swiftness of lightening become eternal in
poetry.Poetry wears the diamond diadem of dry tears,and the jasmines of life
long blossomed and forgotten as memoirs,and poetry has the fragrance of
divine altars of soul,and covers the body with the waves of inner
moonshine.Even if the sensory mandala of the poet is lost by death,her life and
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ideals live through her words.But how would the next generations see it?The
emotions the world of experiences created in me,the atmosphere of my inner
mind where there is always space for hot ovens and for the loved ones,the
creative bliss of heaven made each day with clouds ,virgin sunlights ,and
fragrant jasmines Will they be able to enjoy these ?The poet expects that they
should experience them through her poems.But she knows many may not be
able to enjoy it that way.For those who are led by a swollen ego,and breaking
away all domestic ties of love,running busily to achieve many things-For
those children her words may be just some ricegrains scattered after the
ancestral rites ,on the rivervalleys of world civilizations.An archeological
find,a remnant of ancestral worship to be remembered only on death
anniversaries.She is aware of that possibility.Such a beautiful similie is
never used by any other poet in Malayalam, as far as I know of.And this is
what is happening to several poets and ancestors make this similie a
predictive one too.
Rhythm of universal dance
In infancy when fear enters childrens mind as imaginary figures with
yellow leafy headdress,seednecklaces and human borns ,and skulls ,Amma
was lost in her own world of rhythmic dance of universe,though her hands
were embracing her childrens bodies.Therefore she didnt hear her childs
feeble voice uttering
Amma,I am afraid.
These cruel people will
Take away Unni.
When she awoke from meditation she heard the cruel world of sensations
taking away Unni from her.Unnis footsteps were rhythmic and speedy as
that of the sensations.She could hear the cry from behind a curtain.The
sorrow of that feeble body ,which left my lap unprepared always fills
Ammaa soul.When she takes the pen,the pained mind of the child
appears.Does the child understand her feelings? Only when the child
becomes amother and her children taken away from her,she understands her
mother. Poetry is the rhythm of the dance.The rhythm of dew on
banana leafs,the rhythm of a doves wings,the rhythm of Ammas
bangles,the rhythm of a temple bell.The rhythm of bliss.But many
mothers tell that world is painful and watching a flower or moon is waste of
time.For many ,looking after a cow is just to get its milk.Those who show
compassion will become poor.Those who have imaginations are mad
people.Thus adults destroy the natural rhythms of childrens minds.The
sound without the rhythm is only a noise ,the husk devoid of the inner
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seed.The spoken and written word without poetry is only the husk.But
people use only that husk .
One can make a bouquet with ideas just as with flowers.Words with maturity
give a sweetness just as mature vegetables give taste after cooking.One can
light a lamp in human minds as well as in the ancestral houses inner
chambers.Balamani Amma congratulates women of the modern age who
understands these and who has ability and willpower to do these.(written in
1963)The treasure of a soft heart is within them .It was in these years that
Balamani Amma gave me Muthuchippi(first book by Sugathakumari)to read
and enjoy .
The horoscope
Every child is born with a birthchart .In one stage of her development poet
finds her birthchart.Written in an ola(palmleaf)it is a sign of that moment in
which or from which her consciousness as a seed awakened from eternity.A
picture depicting the spacetime of her karmas temple made with the walls
of the nine planets colours.We cannot remember our birth moment because
we were not conscious of our birth.But imagination can grasp it easily.The
face of mother blissful even in pain of creation.The worry and kindness of
friends and relatives. The birthchamber ,narrow as auterus with a lamps
golden light unshaken.The waterclock swimming in water ,to record the
correct time of birth.A crying tiny mouth.An eye that drinks the light of
earth for the first time.The heart filled with past memories like the past
moonlight.The powers of light and darkness competing to enter the small
nest of a human soul.In the beginning of the yuga,the birth of early man in
the dark forests we imagine.Just like that we can imagine our own birth too.
Later on life gives thickness to our skins.The food we eat destroy the past
memories of past life.But the fragrance of those memoirs make up the fragrance of
this birth .The palmleaf shows the secret of that to the poet.The firy waves in her
heart eternally gives that message too.Yet,ignorant men think everything is my
ability,my doing.The birth moment is the truth that comes from depths of existence
with nectar of eternal life.Every child is a seed of his own world.It is not only
his/her eternal bondage ,but also the message that if we want we can get out of that
bondage .
The books are another source of inspiration what makes the poet what she
is.They are for her the fragrant atoms of the honey of the expanding
worldflower.The books are purifying her thoughts,and looks after her growth
.They sit in the small almirah of the ancestral home where the mango trees
spread its shadows,and in the pooja room with Holy water of Ganga,and
ashes in a koovalacheppu on an aavanappalaka.They carry the vitamins for
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her intellect to expand.Wherever and whenever the life brings difficulties

,they give her liberation from pain and keeps her creativity unscathed by
injuries.
The Creators sthithapragna.
A sthithapragna is a yogin always turned to Brahma experience ,as in the
second chapter(Samkhyayoga)of the Bhagavad Geetha.The poet says,when
the winds of earth touch the jeeva, the Goddes of Sanathanadharma
awakened in her consciousness.Its dress is being changed every day(every
birth).But the dharma,which is truth and ahimsa has never changed.Because
of that even in the noise of mechanical world,she is able to enjoy the Sound
of Sankha itself.When we forgets that the root of every jeeva is always
One,let that shadow of Sanathanadharma elongate and get bigger and
bigger,,she prays.
The bridge of the sorrows of life from one night to another,Down in the lake
of smoke of desires,just our own face is visible.The unending unknown in
front,Everywhere in the atmosphere lightenings..What is there here for the
poets jeeva to aquire?The visions on this travel are inscribed on her
poems.The day to day visions of mornings ,turn to another solar mandala in
her creative world.A unni comes and lovingly embrace the body.These are
the three things ,the three experiences (poetry,each days sunlight,and unnis
love)which makes her feel that she has achieved everything.The abilities in
her are the poetry,motherhood and brahmaanubhoothi.The world ,though full
of sorrows has given the soil to blossom them.So she is grateful to the
world.Wherelse is a mature grown creator than who feels the beauty and
greatness of these experiences?Every creator understands once that his/her
creation is not perfect.When every new creation is sacrificed and search for a
new one is on,in the expanse of water ,He visualize a lotus supporting
himself.The stalk of the lotus is explored to find His own root. From where
did I originate?where is the root of my support,this lotus flower
/universe?That search ends up in the finding of the creator of the
creator.The creator then wonders:The white flower of universe
As if bloomed in eternity
In far off times.
And who am I?
A pollendust within its petals?
Or a small bee enjoying its honey?
That is the great creator in a multiverse.What about the human creators?The
seeds are gone for the new creation of the world and perpetuation of
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races.The rind dry and shriveled remain without anyone.The old parents of
each generation of men and women are also creators.Creators of new
memories and histories.
When the city is full of dust and of the noise of great jaatha (Procession)
,amma sings:
Why should the trees of thapovana
Rooted in my jeeva shake heads
In impatience?
Why should my mind cry for
The new worlds where their shadows
Doesnt reach and give peace?
But the mother has faith in the ability of new generations.They will create
umbrellas for themselves.Then even if away from the shadow of the trees of
her thapovana,they wont feel the heat of the world.Why should I fear when
the thousandheaded dharma just removes its skin and changes into another?
For her the erosion of values is only a removal of snake of Ananthadharma.
A temporary affair.In fact the umbrella of Anantha is reflected in thapovana
tree and in the umbrellas also.There is no end for dharma.The umbrella and
the bed of Vishnu creates different yugadharma by its changing skin.This
knowledge keeps Balamani Amma always a sthithapragna ,whether in a city
or a village.
Kaamadhenu for new generations
Man can perform austerities amidst machines just as in the solitude of
forests, amma declares.Now we see poets living in the comforts of city life
criticizing cities.Man lives on earth and complains that earth has become a
hell.This complaining character is absent in Balamani Ammas poems.For
her poetry is a thapasya.Nothing external becomes obstacle to that
activity.Through every expanded flower,every jeeva ,enjoying different
types of lives,the eternal self spreads His wings even in the rebellious fallen
from heaven people.In that creativity ,man turning his telescope to
future,with bright consciousness has to see the universe as a single
nation.Has to forget the deadly weapons.Amma does penance for that bright
day.
It is the same housewife who lighted lamps in the temple who spreads
electric light in homes,educational institutions ,factories and everywhere.The
light has not changed.Only the places changed.Yet,sometimes the poetic
mind craves for the fields which are not hidden from view by multistoried
buildings.The villages where the sowing songs of first creation were sung
sends her fingers as sunrays to Balamani amma .The lesson that riches are
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ripened in softness of soil is taught by the murmer of paddyfields.The paddy

is compared to Sankaracharya who gave the heads willingly uttering
Bhagyasooktha to the killer,by the poet.She says the farmer is the luckiest
man because he is the father of those great souls.The fields are plates of
earth where for the first time a farmer started to do agriculture.From that
day,the hunting forefathers kept away their habit of killing and took to
agriculture.The life from forests to villages happened with that.Even if mans
life has reached the moon,the astronaut still depends upon his sustenance for
the sathwik yagna of the farmer.Without food where is jeeva?Without jeeva
where is culture?where civilizations?
Under the canopy of jeevas sahasraarapadma,the secret vibrations of
creativity makes the poet calm both in village and city.She says:
When the day ends and worlds of stars open
When the airy mandala makes silky beds
When the tired bees disappear
The song of peace spreads around..Soham soham..
And the endless consciousness of the poet ,clings on to the eternitys sari as
a child.
Without a birds song
Without colours of green leaves
Without taste of honey
Without the touch of a child
Can one remember a life!!
The five sensory experiences are included in that existence.The imagination
naturally enjoys in the afterbirth stories.In the stories of famous worlds of
lights.The light of consciousness traverse the boundary of timespace in such
memories and stories.But ,remember,we do this sitting within the boundaries
of timespace,within boundaries of five senses.
For new generation poets BalamaniAmmas poetry is always a
kaamadhenu.A kaamadhenu with udder dripping with love for entire
universe.It is hungrily standing within the self of man.Even after drinking
the milk of this cow,children quarrel for petty things and make war.Seeing
this Ammas udder gets dry.
Psychology and social sense
Who lights torch for earth?
Sun or moon?
If 4 coins for hundred balls
How much for six dolls?
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To make up family
Amma and achan alone?
So what about my grandfather?
The questions of a child in Balamani Ammas poems depict todays
educational system,and child psychology.The child stops all questions when
exams are near and become silent.Amma notices that change.How many
problems are there in a small mind?
As an ocean murmuring vedic chants,as meditating earth,the poetry of
Balamani Amma has drops of ecstacy within to awaken a Gurupoornima in
each child.
What are the rebellions of the youth? To the breakfast which didnt quench
their hunger,to lessons which are not learnt even after Herculean efforts,To a
small house,to relatives ,to the rules that restrict But in the climax of the
rebellion the fallen person by stonepelting is ones own mother.Nobody
remembers that.The moment of hatred and rebellion is the moment of
forgetting the mother.Even in that moment the mother calls:
The silent soft lamp
Calls from her room
How can I see you
I am so close to you
And on my hands is your blood,
Says the children.But Amma never curses the young generation.The
traditions,my-ness The chains The younger ones Trying to liberate from
chains,Only awaken my interest.
There is only songs of love in her heart.No songs of hatred.The loveless act is
painful even if it is from a child.
She says:
Boys can pain us with slaps
Girls with words.
The words creating pain are not good.The kind torch of mother spreads light
to servants,Koina and to Vietnam.The wars of the world will naturally cease
if we listen to those lovesongs from the heart of the mother.The story of a
banana and in the bathghat are poems expressing such kind thoughts.
The bird that nested in head in old age is not a eagle but a dove for the
poet.When she came the usual routines became sweeter.She removed the
hardness from mouth(harsh words and teeth)made canals of kindness in dry
cheeks,closed ears to arguments and criticisms of others,and the poet
prays.Take away all those.But keep the eyesight which see bliss and eternity
in the morning sun,in boks and in children.She always remembers the touch
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of chidathmika which had given her awakening .When the darkness of death
comes,the Goddess like the poets mother keeps a lamp for sandhya.She
kindles a star near her .(Veyilaarumpol) Balamaniamma remembers Gandhi
(Paathakam).The memories of Gandhi are in a corner of ancestral house
amidst broken charka ,in dust and dirt.People have forgotten the manthra of
ahimsa.They are listening only to the winning noise of himsa.The new
generations feel bored with stories of Gandhi.But they too proclaim that they
are seeking truth ,and are in the path of ahimsa.Is it possible for man to
immerse his legs in blood and become great?
For some life is a garden of flowers.There are thousands who have never
seen that garden.Those with broken hearts ,who wants a moment of rest
from this hard life of labour,those who feel that there ins nothing for them in
the lap of time,..The poet asks :Have you ever listened to the desires that
make burning fires in the corridors of a hospital?There are no cases there,but
men and women.Have the doctors seen this difference?
I know the smell of death
Burning the essence of praana
The dear burden of life
Man embraces even in illness
The burning fires of desires
In corridors of hospitals
When eyes are wet ,remembering those human beings,our own pains
become secondary.Only those who think of themselves(selfishly)makes
others their ladders,and put all blames for their shortcomings on parents and
teachers ,and rebelling against them end up in forbidden paths,according to
the poet.And for them life is painful.
Goddess of wisdom(Gnaanadevatha)
Amma is Goddess of wisdom.Moon is her jasmine in cloudy
hairline.Morning sun is her kumkum.She holds the lyre of peace.In
dangerous cities,in dark worlds,in battlefields,in burning courageous
hearts,in thorny shrubs of sacrifices,the touch of mother brings peace
..shaanthi.
In the beginning of creation she was daughter of ocean and gave a festival
dress for earth.In the creation of consciousness she was Durga and marched
in her red silk through the paths of arteries to fight against thamasic
powers.Then finally she took the most beautiful form.The arts as peacock
feathers ornamented her vehicle.Light thoughts as flags touched heavens.In
homes of akshara(letters)where jeeva prepared the depths for her pooja ,she
entered.And moved her fingers through her lyre.The song of universal peace
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and loveThe earth worshipped her with every moment as a white

mandaara flower.
These are the three phases of a womans life.The infancy and childhood as
Lakshmi.The growth of consciousness in youth as Durga.The light soft
divine thoughts of old age as saraswathy.
In human life these three phases represent acquisition of wealth(economy
and knowledge) arts and sciences ,and spiritual maturity .
In Banarus Amma sings as a sanyasin.
Every fly is part of that Great power
If I give pain to a fly
I am paining myself,the great self.
While she repeats the manthra of pithrukriya,the ancestors that come around
are not only human but all animal and plant ancestors too.The poet does not
waste time to beg for anything in the ancient temple of the Devi.Others are
crowding the paths thinking there is no time.She just stands at the base of the
temple loking in concentration at the Devi.Her inner self has lights of swings
in every moment.She is not in any hurry.She has the soul of Devi within .So
why hurry and why fear?
My passions burned
Spread in your feet as ashtagandha
Every lamp my wisdom lights
Increase your beauty
Whatever I touch is
Your finger
Whatever I gained is your prasaada
Then what else this happy body to search for!!
What else this singing mind to ask for!!!!
Prasaadam
When the mind makes a sacred thread with soft memories,poet see the
blessing eye of the God within the temple upon her.How beautiful is the
form of Guruvayurappan who bestow riches to those who need riches ,and
energy to those who need energy ..What a beautiful prasaada ,the poet
thinks:
Where ,my Deva,
In thought or in dreams?
Is it the fullmoon or
The halo around you?
In my heart
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What showers?
The dewdrops of morning?
Or the divine words?
She feels the soft touch of Guruvayurappan in darkness.The heart which
listened to that swara becomes wider and more beautiful than universe.
The poet see his prasaadam in the several faces with smiles.A Gandhian who
is hapy to see happiness in others than in herself.It is impossible to express
her poetry and its ecstacy of Vishnudarsana with a small article.The ecstatic
moments of the poet are pure and Holy like a thulsi.This is just an attempt to
introduce her deep poetry to non- Malayalam speaking new generations.I do
not pretend that I can ever do justice in that effort.
Just like her Guru,Nalapat Narayanamenon,Balamani Amma is a poet who
has vision beyond the stars.From those transcendental planes she gathered
the grains for us,her successors.In it,she added the sweet fruits and
vegetables of her poetic garden.And the sweetness of motherly love.In her
hearts heat she made this sweet pudding for us.Not only for her own
biological children but all children of the world.Not for the present
generation alone.But for those to be born in future too.
I hope the new generation will not neglect this message as the kavya(rice in
pithubali)but as kaavya ,as the poet herself expressed her wish.
I am a lucky child who got the opportunity to taste her love both in daily life
and in literary life.A maanasaputhry.This garland of words I make to
ornament her feet .In this Brahmamuhurtha ,I echo her words,my Gurus
words
Amma,when I wake up in
The seventh yama of morning
You were asleep within
Your blue sari.
I enjoy the soft sweetness of your heart
The beauty of your moments
Your breath,fragrant with shaanthi
touches my head
I remember an ocean
Without waves.
Then you woke up
Smiled at me
And I get up and do
Chores as I had done
In past days.
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And on my dining table

Pots
And on my houses front
Toys of different types.
We,are continueing this play of day to day life .And the dhyana of a greater life
makes us what we really are.

SOPANASANGHEETHAM
Sun rose over the steps of sky
With golden moments in his plate
Earth is meditating,
Today is the birthstar of my Guru(The birthstar)
The month of Karkitakam (July 19th )The homes in Kerala welcomes Goddess
Lakshmi with ashtamangalya and dasapushpa.The auspicious notes of recitation of
Raamayana fills the air.It is the Ashelesha star.The star of the serpents or Naaga,
the ancestors of all our Nair families.And the date of birth of the naaga race.100
years back,on that day,Lakshmi ,Parvathy and Saraswathy together took form as a
female infant and was born in our home- Nalapat.This little daughter as the center
of all divine energy will grow up and in her karmic net ,the expanding spheres of
universes will be contained as a single whole.Nature,predicting this
occurrence might have sang,
Awake,quick,Awake,quick,
Daughter,the energy-center!!(Unarthupaattu)
That girl soon occupied the position of mother of Malayalam literature,caressingly
awakening the sleeping intellects of several children.But,looking back,the one
wisdom for the awakening of which ,this mother sang her Unarthupaattu,is still
dormant in our society.The steps she ascended in her sojourn through her life,are
still unknown to many. Sitting on one of the lowest steps of that sopaana ,I listen to
that soft,sweet music of awakening.With a silent prayer that our society be
awakened to that message of love and wisdom.
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 Amma
In the maanasasaras of Amma floats the golden body of the son,as if the
viratpurusha at the pralaya.She see God in her son.She sings:
For a heart that served own son
Every child is that God..
Every play of every child
The essence of His karmayoga.(Venugopaalan)
In her tapasya of nishkaamakarma she see every element in her Unni,and says,the
moment the Jagadaathma became your son ,you have become mother of the entire
universe,and cease to be mother of your own biological children
alone(Kuttikalkkidayil)In her presence everything becomes children.
Chara and achara stands before you
As dear children(Ethine)
Thus the love of Amma embraces the entire universe(Grihini).Why should Amma
have this universal motherhood?She herself gave us the answer:
Only if I become the mother of universe,
My child,your birth become respectable(Maathruhridayam)
What a philosophy!Unless every mother become unselfish and treat the entire
universe as her own children,no human birth is respectable.Amma knows that if
she can love a worm ,if she feels compassion to a crushed grassblade,to enjoy with
a butterfly ,and love the universe which plays just like her child,the handicraft of a
thousand kalpa is finished and her heart has been perfected .In every childs
mouths she finds an innocence that mocks at the adults lack of it
(Adyachumbanam) ) .
She feels every child as a divine human bud ready to open a new karmaprapancha
.The bud has to expand with internalization of the essence of universal truth
(Vidaraavoo) and for that she has to be a universal mother.The moment she see the
child,the greatest and finest ideas blossom in her.She says,she understands that a
rough sinned hand ,a false complaining mouth has no ability to touch that
innocence.She wants to touch that innocence with equal innocence.Thus she is
ready to a new path of great life.
She sings:
To be worhy of your motherhood
Which is result of punya,
I will make all efforts.
I know,there is enough austerity
In me to achieve that(Ammayum makanum)
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The child which wrote the first lesson of unselfish love in her mind,makes her a
husband a different man too,she watches with wonder.
She didnt see in him then,
A playful Kaamadeva
But a loving compassionate one
Who gives a hand
To rise into a great ideal(Aaseervaadam)
Every child comes with a key to heaven,safely and strongly held in a closed fist.A
divine spark of energy.The mother who makes it her own,enjoy the poetic ecstacy
and gives it to reader to enjoy(Kaavyamritham)
Aasanka(Worry)
Will my darling in search of truth end up in untruths slippery paths?A smile that
says,I have gone a step further:A complaint that feet are not fixed on ground,A
small feet which is ever trying to explore a new step forward,a look ,asking for
help-The mother helping the child in his first walk from inside the house to outside
world has that constant worry.Will there be a fall?Will thorns pain his feet?Will
untruths and false words obstruct his forward journey?Will he find solace
anywhere else if my supporting presence is gone forever?
A child getting away from her is a loss for every mother.If this golden light is
separated ,my enquiries of truth are just efforts in darkness,says mother.
May be,child is given to mother
By God,
To show way to each other(pichaveppu)
But my love should not be a chain on his legs.Child should go beyond me,without
being a slave to the sleep of old customs,and not joining the proud dance of
rebellions .In every step of the child the light of truth should shine.There may be
snakes in the fragrant paarijaatha garden.But the child should not feel depressed
with them.
An old Radha from Punnayurkulam
Punnayurkulam.The remote village where Nalapat Narayanamenon and Balamani
Amma were born and lived.No roads or lights.Only expanses of water and fields.
There,once appeared electric lights.The poles and wires looked like nets of
development catching the small village in its meshes.Then Balamani Amma
wrote(Puthuvelicham):
A longlasting wish
Of my village
This firenest
For her
Accomplished
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Children sang famous songs of Neelakkuyilin the courtyards of huts which

boldly proclaim that there is salary for every job.All the old lamps and their
memories came rushing to the poets mind.Later on a similar imagery is seen in the
poem of O.N.V Kurup(vilakkukal).
The old panees with a slight smile ,walking shyly along narrow lanes,The
candlesticks that protected the homes,The reddish light of homely brass lamps,the
gas lamps of festival seasons ,Then.
The thousand lamps of golden hue
Inside which a temple
Where Gopalakrishna plays eternally
The chithrakoota of dancing serpants
Where they fix gaze on evening lamps
The floor of ancestral home
Where the marks of old lights
Still remain..
Those memories of old lamps which are keepers of deaths and births never lost to
humanity.There are temples and snakeshrines still.There are songs of rhythmic
instruments still.But in the light of new development they are not things
of wonder of worship.The old children of the village are gone.They were,
People who didnt know the burden of life
Because they were immersed in God
They were kind to everyone
Because they didnt have much needs
They could enjoy life
Because they didnt control spacetime.
They are replaced by new generations who have many needs and hence cannot
spare anything to anyone,and feel that life is heavy and hard .The village saw the
awakening of a citys busy schedules.They can never agan enjoy the bliss of
unselfishness and lack of desires.But the poet does not feel sorry for this.She
says,all development has to come through pain,just like her Guru ,Nalapat
Narayanamenon.
Roads came leveling highs and depths.Cars noisily said that nothing is unreachable
.Amma looks at the old toys of her village,seeing both the loss and the gains of her
children.Stll she can enjoy the bliss of peace in the old banyan tree.She is hearing
the song of Vishnus vehicle Garuda even in the busy streets .This old Radha is not
worried by the outward changes.(Ambalathil 1966)She is the universal mother who
blesses the new generation for their achievements(Aashish)Whether village or

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city,Balamani Amma is feeling the shanthi of her own mind everywhere.Her words
are heard as the words of a divine presence everywhere.What was that Krishna
said?
I am playing my flute
For the strayed cow
It is for bringing it back to the path ,that flute sings.The forsaken cow/calf is not to
be criticized but brought back.
The word of Vishnu says through her that every footmark on his breast is a
sreevalsa which was made by man .Though it pained him ,he is patient enough to
bear the pain and show compassion to the one who inflicted that pain.The message
of Krishna says,This is the Holy water which removed sins of dark forces and
made consciousness clean.His flutes music emerges from far beyond the
spacetime of forests ,soft and sweet to reach her.Wherever the Mountains show
their upturned hands of Namasthe mudra,she see the reddish feet of her
beloved.Whenever she touch the water,she feels the silky garments wavy
movement and the hot touch of his body.
Over the whirlpools and waves his naada dances and tells
her,Take this beauty in..without hesitating
In the halffilled mudpot of this Radha,the water jumps up
and imitates his flutes voice.It murmers..Bliss is in
movement..movement..movement
When he is in and behind,in every danger she is safe.Even in hot noon she doesnt
feel tiredness due to his breath.In every drop of water his bright shape aloneThat
eternal voice murmers.This river will never be dryThis home is eternalThat
venugeetham comes from wherefrom my inner self from my headfrom
everywhere The intellect,mind and body ,and the external universe ,everything
eternally produce that music aloneThis Radha thus merges with her Krishna
through that music
..that sound
Every Athma is under Maaya.But safe with pure vaasanaa too.Krishna is a tapaswi
who is eternal wisdom in Radha.When that friend comes and calls she has to leave
everything and follow taking nothing except her vaasanacheppu(small pot of
vaasana-the lingasareera)and the tapaswini in her is never forgetting this even for
half a second.That is why she is aware of the play of creation and she cannot curse
the next generations even if they pains her.Just as they pained Krishna.When even
a virus experience pain ,the Athma in her as Krishna experience that pain.She is
therefore able to sing about not only the greatness but also of the sins of mankind
without cursing.
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In her infancy this little Radha had brought water from a well and flowers from her
garden for the eternal lover Krishna ,hiding in an idol in the temple.She listened to
each swara in the travelers voices for his voice.But never did she offer her body .It
was a offering of mind,intellect and athma and hence the body too,not the other
way round.She offers to her eternal lover:
When the day ends
And moonshine spreads
You came into my life
Oh,Anaadipurusha,
Let me offer my thrimadhura
Of mana,vacha and kriya.
It is the three sweets of mind,words and deeds that she offer to her eternal
lover.This purity is seen in Ammalus offering too.Ammalu was the aunt of
Nalapat Narayanamenon.Not a famous person.But who never married saying that
she is wedded to Krishna ,and lived the life of a radha ,making poems on him.
(None of which survives).The poetry of Balamani Amma is therefore pure like a
vedamanthra cleansing ones Atma and intellect.This radha is seeing God even in
the feet that touches her head .(Mazhuvinte katha)Though her view we too find the
uselessness of the mundane things and greatness of a divine life.The mundane
things become just a shadow of the real transcendental life.How soft are the
moments when the Antharyami comes in to get the bhiksha!How beautiful!The
tapaswini then says ,all the waters from my kamandalu will stop only after
reaching your feet.The fragrance of divine love in heaven and earth..the divine
music everywhere of a rare sanghama.
The palaces are just playhuts.Only a blue body ,eternally beautiful and omnipresent
matters.In every head that rise
with an ego,he places his soft feet(Mahabali)
The poet sings..
In the creative mandala
Awakened by your feet
Let me know myself as a atom
Then ,her yagna is perfected.Krishna appears to this Radha
with,
Yellow garments
Touching the dust
Rhythmic bliss
in each footstep
Krishna..
My eyes are full
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Your blueness flows

Everywhere
Vanamala dancing..
Your beauty is more
Than I expected..
There are two distinct groups of people.
1 those who say that they cannot digest Adavaithavedantha
2.Those who are thinking only of its scholarship and ignore its love and
soundaryalahari
Both these have to read the poem Nishkramanam by Balamani Amma.(1974)She
looks at the soft and scholarly heart of Sankara as a mother looks at her sons
personality.Bondages are in our mind.Those who break bondages of home and
reach the ashrams are then bound by ashrams.The selfishness,desires for
power,coldwars..every bondage is there too.Guru Sankara watching the disciples
bound by these,hear that his mother is in her deathbed.
The poet says:
The wounds,the burns the severe pains
Fill heart as the dawns light
The fragrance of breastmilk
Comes near
Crossing the crooked paths of
Past lives..
If I visit the woman who purified my heart in infancy with her kindness will my
austerity be uprooted? That question breaks off even the bondages of sanyasa rules
from his heart.And that great son with flowing tears sitting near his mother see
Universal mother in her too.
I saw in that drowning boat
The universal mother
Who had put down her oars..
What should I do for you,mother?The hurt consciousness in her eyes rise to her
son.Dear child,I wont ask you to come back from your chosen path.But,let not
your speeches give more hurt to more mothers..Do not attract more disciples
to sanyasa by your speeches.That will create more mothers like me who are the
loosers.The children that goes away from parents are not sanyasins alone,we must
remember.The sanyasins leave homes for a greater goal.Householders go away in
search of more luxury and riches.There are a few things they leave behind ,says the
poet..The forsaken family ties,thoughts that cling to past memories,pain of
solitude, The thoughts of a thinker who see these in his own home is awakened in
BalamaniAmmas Sankaracharya .He asks:
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Is it absolutely necessary for one to create ashaanthi in several minds ,to get
shaanthi oneself?When man finds out shanthi without ashanthi in anyone the path
of ahimsa opens.Is Ahimsa weakness or strength of humanity?For rishi,it is
strength.But will a person who has tasted flesh agree to that?When such doubts
arise in intellect the poet says
Even an athma in search of absolute
Place its feet at the doorsteps of hell.
To suffer the himsa of the world the people who follow ahimsa has to suffer great
pains.It is like pain of hell.They suffer it not because they are not capable of
combating it.But their hearts do not allow to combat,their love is their bondage
which prevents them from giving the same coin back.
A person gives the most loved object to divine mother.When Sankara cut the
bondage to his mother to enter sanyasa he did that.When he obeys his mothers last
word also he is doing the same.The promise that no more new ashrams and
disciples will be added is a sacrifice of a life mission for him.The question of
whether such a promise was taken by Sankara is immaterial here.Poet writes from
her imagination .It is recreation of life and ideals through her vision.
The Radha in Balamani Amma is a yogini equivalent to a Sankaracharya.The one
who rise to the Guru state by total selfsacrifice.
In this respect she is different from the usual Radhaas we meet with among writers
and literary people.

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