Vaikom Muhammad Basheer

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
Born	January 21, 1908 Thalayolaparambu, Vaikom,Kottayam
Died	July 5, 1994 (aged 86) Beypore,
Occupation	Novelist, short story writer,
Language	Malayalam
Nationality	Indian
Genres	Novel, Short story
Subjects	Malayalam
Notable award(s)	Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Award

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer is regarded as one of the prominent literary figures ever existed in India. He was a legend in Kerala.

He was one of those outspoken figures who revolutionized Malayalam Literature, and Thus the World Literature itself with his dauntless sarcasm, satire, and black humor.

Often referred to as the Beypore Sultan (the king of Beypore) by the colleagues, he was one of the prominent figures behind the artistical, economical, and social reformation of the Kerala Culture.

His novel Shabdangal (The Voices) was once banned due to its echo that cyclonized a once feudalistic society.

He is also regarded as the translators nightmare. This is mainly because of the colloquial touch he added to his writings, which ethnically speaking would lose its humor and meaning when translated to other languages.

He was the sufi among the writers and and the greatest exponent of Gandhian Thought.

He was awarded with Padma Sri in 1982 for his overall contributions to nation as a freedom fighter, writer, and as a political activist.

Writing style

Language

Basheer is known for his unconventional style of language. He did not differentiate between literary language and the language spoken by the commons and did not care about the grammatical correctness of his sentences. Initially, even his publishers were unappreciative of the beauty of this language; they edited out or modified conversations. Basheer was outraged to find his original writings transcribed into "standardized" Malayalam, devoid of freshness and natural flow, and he forced them to publish the original one instead of the edited one. Basheer's brother Abdul Khader was a Malayalam teacher. Once while reading one of the stories, he asked Basheer, "where are Aakhyas and aakhyathas (related with Malayalam grammar) in this...?". Basheer shouted at him saying that "I am writing in normal Malayalam, how people speak. and you don't try to find your stupid 'aakhya and aakhyaada' in this"!. This points out to the writing style of Basheer, without taking care of any grammar, but only in his own village language. Though he made funny remarks regarding his lack of knowledge in Malayalam, he had a very thorough knowledge about Malayalam.

Basheer's contempt for grammatical correctness is exemplified by his statement Ninte Lodukkoos Aakhyaadam! ("Your 'silly stupid' grammar!") to his brother, who sermonizes him about the importance of grammar (Pathummayude Aadu).

Themes

An astute observer of human character, he skillfully combined humour and pathos in his works. Love, hunger and poverty are recurring themes in his works. There is enormous variety in them – of narrative style, of presentation, of philosophical content, of social comment and commitment. His association with India's independence struggle, the experiences during his long travels and the conditions that existed in Kerala, particularly in the neighbourhood of his home and among the Muslim community – all had a major impact on them. Politics and prison,homosexuality, all were grist to his mill. All of Basheer's love stories have found their way into the hearts of readers; perhaps no other writer has had such an influence on the way Malayalis view of love. The major theme of all Basheer stories is love and humanity. In the storyMuchittu Kalikkarente Makal (The Card Sharp's Daughter), when Sainaba comes out of the water after stealing his bananas, Mandan Muthappa says only one thing: "Sainaba go home and dry your hair else you may fall sick." This fine thread of humanism can be experienced in almost all his stories.

ജീവിതം യൌവന തീഷ്ണവും ,ഹൃദയം പ്രേമസുരഭിലവുമായിരുന്ന സാഹിത്യത്തിന്‍റെ-അസുലഭ കാലഘട്ടത്തില്‍ ജീവിച്ചിരുന്ന മഹാനായ "എഴുത്തുതൊഴിലാളിക്കു" പ്രണാമം....

Published works

Novels

#	Title	Translation in English	Year of Publishing
1	Premalekhanam	The Love Letter	1943
2	Baalyakaalasakhi	Childhood Companion	1944
3	Shabdangal	The Voices	1947
4	Ntuppuppaakkoraanaendaarnnu	My Grandad Had an Elephant	1951
5	Maranaththinte Nizhalil	In the Shadow of Death	1951
6	Muchcheettukalikkaarante Makal	The Daughter of the Cardshark	1951
7	Sthalaththe Pradhaana Divyan	The Principal Divine of the Place	1953
8	Aanavaariyum Ponkurishum	Elephant Scooper and Golden Cross	1953
9	Jeevithanizhalppaadukal	The Shadows of Life	1954
10	Pathummayude Aadu	Paaththumma's Goat	1959
11	Mathilukal	Walls	1965
12	Thaaraa Specials		1968
13	Maanthrikapoochcha	The Magic Cat	1968
14	Prempatta	The Loving Cockroach (Published posthumously)	2006

Short Stories

#	Title	Translation in English	Year of Publishing
1	Janmadinam	The Birthday	1945
2	Ormakkurippu	Jottings from Memory	1946
3	Anargha Nimisham	Invaluable Moment (See Anal Haq)	1946
4	Viddikalude Swargam	Fools' Paradise	1948
5	Paavappettavarudaey Vaeshya	The Prostitute of the Poor	1952
6	Vishwavikhkhyaathamaaya Mookku	The World-renowned Nose	1954
7	Vishappu	The Hunger	1954
8	Oru Bhagavadgeethayum Kuraey Mulakalum	A Bhagavadgeetha and Some Breasts	1967
9	Aanappooda	Elephant-hair	1975
10	Chirikkunna Marappaava	The Laughing Wooden Doll	1975
11	Bhoomiyudaey Avakaashikal	The Inheritors of the Earth	1977
12	Shinkidimunkan	The Fools' God Man	1991
13	Yaa Ilaahi!	Oh God! (published posthumously)	1997
14	Jeevitham Oru Anugraham	Life is a Gift (published posthumously)	2000