DANCE OF THE EUNUCHS

               - Kamala Das

   

Kamala Das is India's poet laureate The Dance of the Eunuch is found in the collection Summer in Calcutta (1965). The poem is an eloquent expression of barrenness of Kamala Das' loveless life.

The poetess begins with a line: -

           'It was not, so hot, before the eunuchs came to dance".

 The climate changes when they came to dance. It is not a matter of concern for them. They dance to the sound of the cymbals and their anklets jingle and jingle without any rhythm. All this happens under the gulmohur tree.

 The Eunuchs were having green tattoos on their cheeks and jasmines in their hair Some of them were dark and some were fair. Their songs were harsh due to their coarse voice. They sing of 'lovers dying' and 'children left unborn' because marriage and getting children are remote possibilities for them.

 They make long loved cries and dance by twisting their body in 'vacant ecstasy'. There is no real happiness in their life. Their life is empty and hollow without any purpose. Their limbs were not evenly shaped. They are like half- burnt logs from funeral pyres. Their life is full of drought and rottenness. They have no work to do in the society.

 Even the crows watch their dance silently. Children are afraid of their dance:

                 "All were watching these poor creature convulsions'.

 Their dance is far from being rhythmic. The eunuchs are termed as 'poor creatures'. Everything ends when rain came. Bad smell also came along with the rain.

 Thus, the poem reflects the sad plight of the eunuchs in the society. It ends without any ray of hope.