Malayalam writer Benyamin talks about the phenomenal success of his book Goat Days, and the need for writers to challenge and provoke the establishment.
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Benyamin, one of the most prominent and
without doubt the most widely read contemporary Malayalam writer is the author
of fifteen books that include six novels and short story collections. His novel
Aadujeevitham was a spectacle unto itself that has now reached 100 editions. It
won numerous awards including Kerala Sahitya Academy award and the English
translation (Goat Days) was shortlisted for DSC prize in 2013. The book’s
Arabic version was banned by Saudi Arabia and U A E. His latest novel, Al Amin
Novel Factory, which has the Arab spring as its backdrop has also been banned
by the U A E.
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Q: Can you trace your evolution as a
writer?
A: I was a latecomer to the world of
literature. My initiation to serious literature happened during my pre-degree
days at Pathanamthitta Catholicate College. Of the books I read in that phase,
I think Anand’s Marubhoomokal Undakunnath is the one which has had a
lasting influence on me. Then, during my poly technique days, and later after I
migrated to Behrain for my job, reading became an integral part of my life. In
fact, cricket and books were the two passions that kept me going in that period
where I had to deal with the solitude and monotony of long boring hours. There
was a private library in a Behrain street. It was from here that I got to know
about most of the classics in Malayalam and world literature. I was also
fortunate to have friends who used to send me books. But even then I never
thought of writing anything other than the long letters I used to write to my
friends, most of which were about the books I used to read and the effects they
were having on me. Looking back, I suppose those letters were the first steps I
had taken as a writer. Then, I started writing diary notes which have now been
published as Irunda Vanasthalikal (Dark Forest Spaces). So, when I have
to think about my evolution as a writer, it is the evolution I have had as a
reader that I often end up thinking about.
Q: And then, the writer evolved
too...You started out with short stories at a time when highbrow stylistic
experiments in fiction, especially in short story, were in vogue in Malayalam.
Now we have a literary space in which the emphasis is more on achieving an
instant connect with the reader through a more direct way of storytelling.
Having been an active participant through the duration of this transformation
phase, how do you track the trajectory of this change?
A: I was in my late twenties when I
started publishing my short stories in the early 2000’s. In the 90’s when I was
just a reader, it was the period of post modernism in Malayalam literature.
That was an inevitable consequence of globalisation. The world had changed all
of a sudden, and the tools of high modernism of the previous era were woefully
inadequate for expressing this new world. Then, with the communication
revolution, even those tools of post modernism have now become obsolete. The
way I see it, the maze of visuals fed by television and cinema on a daily
basis, and unlimited access to knowledge and information through the internet
are the two major challenges a creative writer now faces. That’s why I think
today’s writers prefer a more direct approach to storytelling. The more
uncomplicated the narrative is, the greater the chances of pulling the reader
to the book. And in the modern world where there are so many other easier options,
getting the readers back to literature is no easy task. My own writing has
changed accordingly, and readability of my work is something I now place great
emphasis upon. I am a firm believer in being in sync with, and receptive to,
the times I am living in. What is the point in clinging on to the ways of
literature of a world that has already disappeared?
Q: No Malayalam novel has achieved the
kind of success of Aadujeevitham (Goat Days) has had. It is not just your
definitive work, but also that kind of rare book which goes on to become a
spectacle in itself. From a fifth standard student to a ninety year old woman,
the book has had an immense reach. It also fetched you numerous awards
including the Sahitya Academy award. Now when the 100th edition of
the book is about to be published, how do you look back on the book and its
incredible journey?
A: Though it was Aadujeevitham that made
me popular, it did not happen overnight. As I told you, before Aadujeevitham, there
was a long period of 15 years that I had spent reading and writing and honing
my craft. I had already published two short story collections and three novels,
and there were a few who used to read me keenly even then.
When I met and heard the life story of
Najeeb, the protagonist of Aadujeevitham, I was greatly intrigued by the fact
that despite having a long history of migration to the Gulf countries from
Kerala, there was hardly any work of literature that explored the life of those
who went to work there. Perhaps, it could have been because literature was not
really a pressing concern for a culture based on economic migration: To start
with, there is hardly any time to work on literature even if there are umpteen
experiences to be written about and shared. There was also the issue of
censoring to be dealt with. I know for a fact that labourers were under strict
observation, and that must have created a lot of fear that prevented them from
writing their experiences.
Through Najeeb’s story, I had found a
way to explore these experiences. I think the success of Aadujeevitham owes
mainly to this uniqueness of the story, and the readability of the text. And
though the subject was rare and till then untold, the cultural milieu of the
novel was easily accessible. Since the novel primarily dealt with the struggle
and survival of one individual, it also had a universal connect: who doesn’t
connect with stories of struggle and survival? The spiritual dimension of the
novel and the spark of inspiration its message seems to provide to the younger
generation also seem to be factors behind its success. I suppose, each reader
might have a unique reason to like the book.
Q: One of the criticisms against
Aadugeevitham is that, you have merely chronicled Najeeb’s life and has made
little use of your fictional imagination. You yourself have said that, since
Najeeb’s story was so powerful you had chosen not to embellish it any further
for the sake of ‘literature’. How do you respond to such remarks that
Aadujeevitham is not an ‘artistically engaging novel’ or that you had merely
written down what you had heard from the prototype of your protagonist?
A: As a reader, it is the blurring of
the lines between fiction and reality that I see as the unique feature of
Aadujeevitham: A reader is kept in the dark about where the fiction ends and
where the real begins. That effect is certainly not an accident, though I would
prefer to keep the magic behind it to myselfJ. In more
theoretical terms, I would say this is the age of fictional realism, and I
think Aadujeevitham is a classic example of fictional realism.
As for criticisms and critics, one of
the saddest things about our criticism is that it is such a slave of the dogma.
Our critics are still living in the hangover of modernism. That is why they are
so insistent on pretending blindness to the concerns and issues of the world
around them, preferring instead to cling on to the perspectives of a very
distant past. That, I suppose is also why, most of them have not bothered to
engage with the major socio political issues that the novel deals with. Nor
have there been attempts to critically investigate the widespread popularity of
the novel.
Q: And what about the other major
criticism that the novel portrayed the Arabs in a bad light? Especially in the
context of the book being banned by the governments of Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates?
Once the Arab edition was published,
most of the Arab academic reviews of the book highlighted it as one of the most
important books on the Arab world. The bans were expected, and to a large
extend, they underline the power of the book even more. My focus was on
providing as accurate a portrayal I possibly could have of the life there. It
is not as if the common people of these Arab countries don’t know about the
kind of life I have narrated. This criticism was raised mostly by Malayalees in
those countries who were a bit panicky about whether the Arabic edition would
affect them adversely.
Q: How has the massive success of
Aadujeevitham changed you? What has been its effect on your subsequent novels?
A:
For starters, the book has brought me to the mainstream world of
literature. The relative financial security it has given me has played a part
in my decision to leave my job and become a full time writer. Having said that,
I would also say, all that financial security would not have mattered if I
hadn’t had the drive to commit fully to literature. It is not as if
Aadugeevitham has freed me from all my troubles.
As a writer, the effect on my subsequent
novels has been more at the level of the choice of subjects. Since the English translation
of the novel too was well received, I am mindful of the fact that I can’t be a
local writer anymore. I now have an international readership, and I want the subjects
I chose to be acceptable to them and have a universal appeal.
Q: Even great Malayalam novels have not
had the kind of success Aadujeevitham has had in English. It is often said that
too many nuances of the language are lost in translation. Yet Aadujeevitham has
not had to suffer much on that front. In addition to the universality of its
theme, do you also think mainstream fiction in contemporary Malayalam is mostly
written in a more universal dialect where there are very little chances of
nuances getting lost?
A: It is a fact that most new fiction
writers prefer to avoid colloquial dialects. And as a very obvious consequence,
the process of translation has also become much easier. But having said that,
no matter how good the translation, I don’t think it can ever be as good as the
original.
Q: What do you think are the give and
takes between contemporary literature in English and literature in regional
languages?
A: My assessment is that, in the coming
days, regional language literature will garner much more attention from a
universal readership since it deals with a lot of unknown and unexplored
subjects. On the other hand, exposure to a global literature world will benefit
the regional writers in terms cultural exchanges. For instance, since the
English translation of Aadujeevitham, I have attended various literary
festivals around the world, and have learnt a great deal about the
meticulousness with contemporary writers around the world approach the
preparation of their work, the kind of research they do etc.
Q: With novels like Aadujeevitham, K R
Meera’s Aarachar (Hangwoman), and T D Ramakrishnan’s Francis Itticora, there is
now a trend of writing about spaces that are beyond the geographical and the
cultural landscapes of Kerala. What do you think could be the reason behind it?
Do you think Malayalam as a language is now less concerned with its
local/regional cultures?
A: One has to accept that our readers
have changed a lot. They are not local readers anymore. They are well aware of
what is happening in other languages. The regional language writer will be
inevitably measured against the writers of other languages. So no regional
language writer can now remain as just a local writer. To be an international
writer is no more a choice; it is a compulsion. This is one reason I think we
are now seeing an influx of such strange and ‘rare’ subjects in Malayalam fiction.
For a new generation reader,
geographical and cultural landscapes of Kerala are no more of any significant
interest. Such typical Malayalee geo-cultural landscapes are now just export
commodities to English writers of Malayali origin. And why not? They are likely
to be best sellers with such backdrops.
Q: You have always explored spiritual
aspects of human existence from your earliest works. Your books are replete
with Biblical references. Najeeb’s trials in Aadujeevitham, for instance,
resonate so much with the trials described in the Book of Job. How much of an
influence has Bible been on you?
A: Bible has been a major shaping force
of my life right from days of childhood. So it is only natural that it will be
reflected in my books. Apart from the Bible, I have always been an avid reader
of books that explore human spirituality. St Augustine, Thomas a Kempis, John
Bunyan, Osho, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Kazantzakis and Yathi are writers I often go
back to.
Q: Since Aadujeevitham, you have shifted
your focus almost entirely to novels. There have been very few short stories in
this period.
A: As someone who did not have a formal
literature background, I had to search for and experience many forms and genres
to arrive at my final destination. So I started out with short stories. Then I
realised that my themes, landscapes and timescapes are not suited to the
aesthetic framework of short story; that they are apt only for novels. So of
late, my focus has been almost entirely on novels. As a writer of short stories
and novels, I think there are two Benyamins.
Q: The Arabic edition of Aadujeevitham
was banned by Saudi Arabia and U A E. Now you latest novel Al Arabian Novel
Factory which has the Arab spring as its backdrop has also been banned by U A
E. In the present context of frequent assaults on freedom of expression, what
are your takes on these bans?
A:
It is certainly a great source of comfort that some of our works can
provoke governments. What is the point in writing if you want to please
everyone? If you are living in a democracy like India and in a culturally
advanced society like Kerala, you are in a way morally bound to speak
uncomfortable truths to the powerful. I have always been in awe of writers who
had the courage to challenge dictatorial regimes through their works. They
remind me of the dangers of refusing to come out of safe zones. Writers, I
believe, have to be permanent citizens of danger zones.
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