English Literature & Theology

  "Neipayasam," a heart touching short story by the acclaimed Indian writer Kamala Das (Madhavikutty), offers a deep exploration of grief, shattered domesticity, and the enduring power of a mother's memory following an unexpected death. ​The narrative centers on a father and his three young sons whose comfortable, familiar world is abruptly destroyed by the sudden death of the mother from a heart attack. The father is plunged into overwhelming grief and a paralyzing sense of helplessness .  His primary emotion is not just sorrow, but a profound, almost furious sense of betrayal and abandonment directed toward his wife, who had always managed the home and children, leaving him ill-equipped for his new, solitary role as a full-time caretaker. ​He struggles with the immediate physical evidence of her absence. He is particularly troubled by a pot of neipayasam (a sweet pudding) she had cooked just before her death. In his raw grief, he sees the food made by the dead w...

  I am not that woman  Selling you socks and shoes!  Remember me, I am the one you hid  In your walls of stone, while you roamed  Free as the breeze, not knowing  That my voice cannot be smothered by stones,  I am the one you crushed  With the weight of custom and tradition  Not knowing  That light cannot be hidden in darkness.  Remember me,  I am the one in whose lap  You picked flowers  And planted thorns and embers  Not knowing  That chains cannot smother my fragrance  I am the woman  Whom you bought and sold  In the name of my own chastity  Not knowing  That I can walk on water  When I am drowning.  I am the one you married off  To get rid of a burden  Not knowing  That a nation of captive minds  Cannot be free.  I am the commodity you traded in,  My chastity, my motherhood, my loyalty.  Now it is time for me to flower free.  The ...