Kamala Das has been typecast as a confessional poet. There is no doubt that her poems are accounts of deeply personal experiences. Her poetry is marked by unusual frankness and openness in Indian context. She writes about sexual frustration and desire, of the suffocation of an arranged, loveless marriage, of numerous affairs, of the futility of lust, of the shame and sorrow of not finding love after repeated attempts, of the loneliness and neurosis that stalks women especially. Her poetry speaks not only of her personal distress, but of her outrage against the social norms of a patriarchal society. It is to be noted that her poetry contains autobiographical elements. In this respect, her poem "An Introduction" is no exception.
To begin with, Das disclaims any special knowledge of politics ("I don't know politics....") so as to provide an artistic and autobiographical rational for the language of her creative expression, English. In other words, this poem is a defense, if not an apology, for writing in English. Then she brings into account the specifics of a background, referring to her complexion ('very brown'), geographical origins('Indian' ' born in Malabar') and linguistic aptitude. She states that she can "speak three languages, write in two, dream in one". The subsequent lines reveal that she is most comfortable writing in English, even through it is "half English, half Indian, funny perhaps.....", But Das is quick to point out that its distortion and 'queernesses' are her alone, thereby bearing the distinct stamp of her individuality it also comes across as 'honest' and 'human', laying bear her Joys, 'longings', 'hopes' without the slightest trace of pretension. There is a certain frustration, anger even at attempts by others to control or restrict her-"why not leave/me alone, critics, friends, visiting cousins,/ Everyone of you?/ Why not let me speak in / Any language as I like?. Obviously, she dismisses their objection as trifling and claims that the language comes as instinctively to her as "cawing/ is to crows or roaring to the lions". She asserts that "it/ is human speech", And enables her to express her mind freely without any inhibition. The poem is an elaborate justification of the kind of poetry she writes and the kind of language she writes in-i.e. English, which is, for her, an artistic and personal freedom of expression.
After she creates this space to speak, Das offers more information about her personal life. She relates her quick growth into puberty-a process that is signaled by increase in her height, swelling of limbs and sprouting of hair at 'one or two place'. It is followed by her terrible experience as a bride who has little say in the matter of either her marriage or choice of partner. When she ask for love, all she gets is versious of marital rape because her husband regards her merely a means to fulfill his carnal desires. One must bear in mind that the poets is just sixteen years old, legally still a mirror. At this stage she is perhaps totally unprepared for sex. But marriage gives the legal sanction to a man to impose his will even on a child's body. The after math is clearly expressed-"he did not beat me/but my sad woman body felt so beaten". She adds that the 'weight' of a 'breast and womb' makes Shrink 'pitifully'. This is perhaps symptomatic of the situation of Indian women, science the society thrusts the role of a wife on them upon reaching puberty without any preamble in the process leaving them weighed down both physical and emotionally. It creates a wound in her psyche which never heals. It leads her to immense self loathing, asserting thereby her own self.
. It is in reaction to which total lack of control over her own body that the poetess rebels. She tries to deny had femininity by dressing like a man, cutting her hair short and so on. Her very acts are designed not only to ignore her 'womanliness' but also make a statement against the dictates of patriarchal society. Not surprisingly, this unconventional behavior on her part is castigated by the various representatives of traditionalism whom Das aptly designates as 'categorizers'. Again, the imposition of social norms- " Dress in sarees, be girl/ Be wife, they said". In fact, the whole package is flung at her - embroider, keep house, quarrel with servants, but above all, " fit in". All her attempts at expressing her free - spirited self or registering her protest are silenced or proscribed in order to maintain conformity.
. Clearly, however, the poet is a misfit , if there is one. She rebels, not consciously or deliberately, but compulsively, traumatically. Her life of suppression and subjugation leads to a breakdown in her personality. Unhappy in her marriage due to the insensitivity of her husband desperately craving for love, she gets involved in an extramarital affair. She showers all her love On him because "he is every man who wants a women just as she is "every women who seeks love", thus identifying herself with all the woman in the world who yearn for the same. However, even though she pours her body and soul into the relationship, it too does not quite succeed in quenching her thirst for meaningful love. As a result, she grows frustrated and starts drowning her loneliness in drinks at random hours and places: " twelve, midnight, in hotels of strange towns". Such a bohemian lifestyle gets herself mired in a vicious cycle of affairs followed by an acute sense of shame. Das uses contrary terms to describe her plight - she is both the "sinner" and the "saint", the "beloved" and the "betrayed". The poem ends on an uncertain note, the poet seeking not much more than survive, to achieve the right to simply be Called "I". This self-confidence prompts her to fulfil her potential agent individual.
To conclude, Kamala Das in her poetry has turned inwards, towards self and given voice to the otherwise suppressed women's voice. She describe her own life in an intensely confessional tone. Her poem an introduction truly images as an autobiographical poem in the manner of uninhibited self expression.
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