A CRITIQUE OF ALIENATION AND QUEST OF LOVE IN THE WORKS OF KAMALA DAS

Kamala Das’s literary works revolved around the endless and hectic search of love. The deep frustration in the Kamala Das’s Poetry stemmed out from her early childhood due to the domineering patriarchy and then due to the fruitless sexual relationship with her husband as well as with other men. What distressed and made her feel isolated was that too often lust was substituted with love. She felt estranged from her husband due to his harsh treatment & domination. Besides she also felt distanced from the society because society always make it possible for the men to suppress the feminine feelings and consequently poetic persona had to escape from the lustful world and flow towards the spiritual world. The aim of the paper is to examine the varied moods in which the poet felt alienated herself in the endless quest of Love and ultimately found solace in the sanctuary of the bodiless.