Here is the summary of the poem :- A Hot Noon in Malabar

The “Hot Noon in Malabar” presents a peculiar sight. Kamala Das, the poetess, observed that when the noon was hot, beggars came to their door with whining voices they shouted for alms.

A retinue of other persons also came to gather on the veranda. Among them were the men from hills. They were fortune tellers. It was their livelihood. They carried parrots in a cage and fortune cards. Those were the instruments with which they created faith among the credulous fatalists in Malabar.

The fortune tellers were stained with time and were old. The hot noon was suitable for brown Kurava girls to come to Malabar to carry on their livelihood. They used to read palms in light sing song voices. They were followed by old bangle-sellers. They close the poetess’s veranda as cool and conducive. They sat there spreading their red, green and blue bangles for sale.

The bangles were attractive while the bangle sellers were covered with the dust of roads. The bangle sellers had to walk down long. The road was rough. It was hot. Therefore, the feet of the bangle sellers were used. Their heels were cracked. They climbed to the veranda with rough voice.

The hot noon was marked by the strangers who fearfully opened the window-drapes and looked in the room. But they were not able to see anything because their eyes were affected by the hot rays of the sun. It was impossible to see anything with that eye in a shadowy room. They turned away and looked at the well with great eagerness. They wanted to quench their thirst. There were also strangers who suspected each other. They remained silent. If they were excited, they became angry and their voices ran wild, as wild as free animals in forest.

Thus, the hot noon in Malabar was very pleasant for the poetess. She wishes to spend the noon amidst those wild men, wild thoughts and wild love. It was a torture for her to be away. She had wild thoughts in that hot noon Love instinct grew in her. She became passionate in that hot noon.

The home of the poetess in Malabar became noisy and dusty in that hot noon.