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{{Short description|Indian translator and writer}}<br />
{{Infobox writer<br />
| name = Kamala Subramaniam<br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|10|4}}<br />
| birth_place = Bangalore, [[British India]]<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1983|2|21|1916|10|4}}<br />
| death_place = [[Madras]], [[India]]<br />
| occupation = Writer, translator<br />
| language = English<br />
| nationality = Indian<br />
| notableworks = ''Mahabharata'' (1965)<br>''Srimad Bhagavatam'' (1979)<br>''Ramayana'' (1981)<br />
| spouse = V. S. Subramaniam<br />
| relatives = T. P. Kailasam (father)<br />
}}<br />
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'''Kamala Subramaniam''' (4 October 1916 – 21 February 1983) was an [[India|Indian]] translator and writer known for her [[English language|English]] retellings of the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', the ''[[Ramayana]]'', and the ''[[Bhagavata Purana|Srimad Bhagavatam]]''. Her works were published by [[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] and remain in print in multiple editions.<ref name="HT2022">{{cite news |last=Narayanan |first=Renuka |date=11 September 2022 |title=Kamala Subramaniam: An epic life well-served |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/kamala-subramaniam-an-epic-life-wellserved-101664370444489.html |access-date=5 October 2025 |work=Hindustan Times}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Narayanan |first=Renuka |date=2025-06-22 |title=Finding the soul of India through a foreign language |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2025/Jun/22/finding-the-soul-of-india-through-a-foreign-language |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Early life ==<br />
Subramaniam was born in [[Bengaluru|Bangalore]] in 1916.<ref name="HT2022" /> She was the daughter of [[Kannada]] playwright and poet [[T. P. Kailasam]].<ref name="HT2022" /> She studied English literature under B. M. Srikantiah at [[Central College, Bengaluru|Central College, Bangalore]].<ref name="HT2022" /> In 1937 she married V. S. Subramaniam, an [[ENT surgery|ENT surgeon]] based in [[Chennai|Madras]].<ref name="HT2022" /><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Subramaniam began writing early and published essays under the pen name "Ketaki".<ref name="HT2022" /> From the 1960s she focused on large-scale retellings of Sanskrit epics in English prose.<br />
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Her ''[[Mahabharata]]'' was first issued in 1965 and runs to more than 800 pages.<ref name="HT2022" /> In 1979 she published ''[[Bhagavata Purana|Srimad Bhagavatam]]'' through Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Subramaniam |first=Kamala |title=Srimad Bhagavatam |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |year=1979 |location=Bombay |oclc=2945300}}</ref> Her ''[[Ramayana]]'' was released in the early 1980s.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Narayanan |first=Renuka |date=8 June 2025 |title=Kamala Subramaniam's translation of the Valmiki Ramayana is a rediscovery |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/opinions/2025/Jun/08/kamala-subramaniams-translation-of-the-valmiki-ramayana-is-a-rediscovery |access-date=5 October 2025 |work=The New Indian Express}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-02 |title=Re-reading the Ramayana of Valmiki |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/rereading-the-ramayana-of-valmiki-101669973673050.html |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><br />
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Her style was described as a condensation rather than a literal translation. She removed ornamental passages while preserving narrative continuity and philosophical themes.<ref name="HT2022" /> According to the ''[[The New Indian Express|New Indian Express]]'', her ''Ramayana'' offers “a rediscovery” for readers by balancing readability with fidelity to [[Valmiki]].<ref name=":0" /><br />
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== Reception ==<br />
Subramaniam’s trilogy of epics has been widely read in India and abroad. The ''[[Hindustan Times]]'' noted that “many of us learn our theology in childhood via Subramaniam’s lucid renditions”.<ref name="HT2022" /> Critics emphasized her ability to present complex texts in accessible English while retaining their ethical and spiritual weight.<ref name="HT2022" /><ref name=":1" /><br />
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== Personal life and death ==<br />
In the late 1960s she underwent [[Surgical oncology|cancer surgery]], after which she devoted herself to completing her epic retellings.<ref name="HT2022" /> She died on 21 February 1983.<ref name="HT2022" /><br />
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== Legacy ==<br />
Her retellings remain in circulation through Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and have gone through numerous reprints.<ref name="HT2022" /> Commentators have described her as one of the few modern authors to produce substantial English versions of all three canonical [[Hindu texts]].<ref name="HT2022" /><br />
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== References ==<br />
<!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --><br />
{{reflist}}<br />
[[Category:1916 births]]<br />
[[Category:1983 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Sanskrit–English translators]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]<br />
[[Category:Women writers from Karnataka]]<br />
[[Category:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]]</div>Neeraj Singh Creator