Mahadai Das
Encyclopedia
Mahadai Das was a Guyanese
poet
. She was born in Eccles, East Bank Demerara, Guyana in 1954. She wrote poetry from her early school days at Bishop's High School, Georgetown. She did her first degree at the University of Guyana
and received her B.A. in philosophy at Columbia University
, New York, and then began a doctoral programme in Philosophy at the University of Chicago
. Das became ill and never completed the programme.
She was a dancer, actress, teacher, and beauty queen, served as a volunteer member of the Guyana National Service around 1976 and was part of the Messenger Group promoting ‘Coolie’ art forms at a time when Indo-Guyanese
culture was virtually excluded from national life. She was one of the first Indo-Caribbean
women to be published. She has written poetry explicitly relating to ethnic identity, something which contrasts her with other female Indo-Caribbean poets. Another theme in her writing is the working conditions in the Caribbean islands.
She died in 2003.
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. She was born in Eccles, East Bank Demerara, Guyana in 1954. She wrote poetry from her early school days at Bishop's High School, Georgetown. She did her first degree at the University of Guyana
University of Guyana
The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana is a public university established in 1963 by the Guyanese government.-History:Cheddi Jagan, then Premier of British Guiana considered that the University of the West Indies, to which his government had contributed since 1948, was not meeting the...
and received her B.A. in philosophy at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York, and then began a doctoral programme in Philosophy at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Das became ill and never completed the programme.
She was a dancer, actress, teacher, and beauty queen, served as a volunteer member of the Guyana National Service around 1976 and was part of the Messenger Group promoting ‘Coolie’ art forms at a time when Indo-Guyanese
Indo-Guyanese
Indo-Guyanese are mostly descendants of indentured labourers from India who are citizens or nationals of Guyana. They are often referred to as Indians or East Indians...
culture was virtually excluded from national life. She was one of the first Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean people or Indo-Caribbeans are Caribbean people with roots in India or the Indian subcontinent. They are mostly descendants of the original indentured workers brought by the British, the Dutch and the French during colonial times...
women to be published. She has written poetry explicitly relating to ethnic identity, something which contrasts her with other female Indo-Caribbean poets. Another theme in her writing is the working conditions in the Caribbean islands.
She died in 2003.