The Literature Student

Malayalam Explanation   Dalya Cohen-Mor Dalya Cohen-Mor is a literary scholar of Middle Eastern background educated in the Netherlands and the United States. She earned her PhD in Arabic language and literature from Georgetown University. An award-winning author, she has published several books on Arab culture and society, among them A Matter of Fate: The Concept of Fate in the Arab World as Reflected in Modern Arabic Literature (2001),  Arab Women Writers: An Anthology of Short Stories   (2005), Mothers and Daughters in Arab Women’s Literature: The Family Frontier (2011), and Fathers and Sons in the Arab Middle East (2013). Important Points Women in the Arab world have been producing significant fiction for the past half century.  Arabic literary traditions had its own narrative types short story and the novel were the new genres adopted from the West in late 19th and early 20th centuries al-nahda -- cultural revival in Arabic emergence of short story is closely co...

"Bhaskara Pattelar and My Life" is a novella that delves into the complexities of power, identity, caste, and social hierarchies in a rural, feudal setting in Kerala, India. Written by Paul Zacharia, a prominent Malayalam writer, the story is a profound exploration of human relationships and the oppressive systems that define them. The novella is narrated by Thommi, a lower-caste servant who works for Bhaskara Pattelar, a tyrannical feudal lord. Through Thommi’s perspective, the story unfolds as a gripping narrative about loyalty, subjugation, and the search for self-identity.  Setting and Context The novella is set in a rural village in Kerala, where the feudal system is still deeply entrenched. The village is governed by rigid caste hierarchies and social stratification, with Bhaskara Pattelar, an upper-caste landlord, exerting absolute control over the lives of the villagers. The social structure is characterized by oppression, violence, and exploitation, particularly towa...

Summary Goat Days (original title: Aadujeevitham ), a novel by Indian author Benyamin, is a powerful narrative set against the backdrop of the Gulf migrant experience. First published in Malayalam in 2008, the novel became an instant success and has since been translated into multiple languages, gaining international acclaim. The story is a harrowing account of Najeeb Muhammad, a man from Kerala who migrates to Saudi Arabia in search of a better life, only to find himself trapped in a nightmare of modern slavery. The novel is inspired by real-life events and offers a chilling portrayal of the brutal conditions faced by many migrant workers in the Middle East. The novel begins with Najeeb, an ordinary man from a small village in Kerala, who dreams of escaping poverty by working in the Gulf. Like many young men in Kerala, Najeeb believes that the Gulf holds the promise of prosperity and a better future. He leaves behind his pregnant wife, Sainu, and his ailing mother, hoping to earn eno...

Please come, Oh flood Come, let’s sit in the shade of the boat. Pareekutty invited. Karuthamma maintained her posture, looking down, just like in the film poster. The pot to carry water remained in her hand. She wore a polka dot blouse, cleavage showing biting her lower lip seductively. As it is said in the theories on gaze, the male gaze relentlessly travelled down. Pareekutty’s fish-hooking eyes became Marcus Burtley’s camera that kept executing tilt-ups and tilt-downs. Precisely at that moment, the Old Man from Panopticon turned his observation camera towards the seashore. Such wanton gaze on women, you s-o-b! God growled within and unleashed a northern wind and southern wind and then the westerly and easterly winds. That woman! She is also a hussy! Thus. all mountainous waves were sent forth to lash the seashore. It was thus that everything was drowned in a flood and the shore was carved away by the sea. Unlike what these novelists say! Summary The poem is a creative re-imagining o...

Marital Life Then, I lay on my stomach on the cold floor and became a heap of snow.. You sleep afar naked, like a cloud emptied of rain, relieved. I become the earth shredded by lightning, wounded… Beneath the soil layers clamor, laughter, youth, love. That first time when you filled my body.. Is all that a lie? On the cold floor, I am a nude sculpture. Me, a dark moonlight that oozes blood. Summary The poem "Marital Life" poignantly delves into the emotional and physical complexities of a marriage where intimacy has been overshadowed by distance, disillusionment, and unspoken pain. It portrays a relationship that has lost its warmth and connection, leaving one partner feeling isolated, empty, and wounded, while the other seems detached and relieved. The poem begins with the speaker lying on the cold floor, a powerful metaphor for the emotional desolation they feel. Describing themselves as "a heap of snow," the speaker conveys a sense of coldness and lifelessness, ...

  M R Renukumar M R Renukumar is a Malayalam poet, essayist, biographer, short story writer, translator and painter. He is the recipient of 2019 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry.  Renukumar published four collections of poetry.  Keninilangail  (In marshy lands, 2005),  Veshakkaya  (The fruit of knowledge, 2007)  Pachakkuppi  (Green bottle, 2011) and  Kothiyan  (2017).  He has translated the graphic biography of B.R. Ambedkar, Bhimayana: Experiences of Untouchability, from English into Malayalam (2014). Summary "Will Go On Hugging," a poem originally written in Malayalam as "Vaari Vaari Punarum", reflects the themes of love, separation, and persistence within a family, using vivid imagery and symbolism to explore the emotional dynamics between the speaker's parents. The poem is structured in free verse, which allows the narrative to flow naturally, much like the river that symbolizes the central metaphor of the poem. The poem ...

Summary The poem beautifully captures an imagined encounter between a lean, humble poem and Mahatma Gandhi. Through this interaction, the poem undergoes a transformation, symbolizing the journey from an abstract, elite existence to a more grounded, real one. Gandhi, representing simplicity, hard work, and connection with the common people, challenges the poem by questioning its origins and purpose. He asks whether it has experienced the hardships of life, such as spinning thread, pulling a scavenger’s cart, standing in a smoky kitchen, or enduring hunger. The poem's response reveals that while it was born in nature and raised by common folk, it had once thrived in the courts, detached from the struggles of ordinary life. Gandhi’s advice for the poem to abandon its occasional use of Sanskrit and instead immerse itself in the language of the peasants reflects his belief in the importance of connecting with the masses and embracing the simplicity of rural life. By transforming into a ...

Kadamanitta Ramakrishnan Kadamanitta Ramakrishnan was born in Kadamanitta, Pathanamthitta district. His major collections of poems are Kavita, Kadamanittayude Kavitakal, Mazhapeyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu.  He is the recipient of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Asan Prize. Background   'Shanta' orginally published in 1976 and later included in Kadamanitta's 1983 collection, was a poem he wrote under the backdrop of the Indian Emergency of 1975. The poem makes an attempt to document the emotional history of a turbulent period by placing on the record the details of the disappearance of softer sentiments and dreams from the lives of ordinary people.   Analysis  "Shanta" is a poignant and evocative poem that delves deep into the lives of its characters, portraying themes of love, hardship, resilience, and hope. The poem is centered on a relationship between the speaker and Shanta, a woman who symbolizes beauty, strength, and endurance in the face of a harsh and unforgi...

https://youtu.be/WromxGUZQGI  - Explained in Malayalam "Jati Nirnayam," written in 1914, by Sree Narayana Guru is a powerful critique of the caste system in India. It challenges the deeply ingrained social stratification by emphasizing the fundamental unity of all human beings. The poem is structured into six verses, the first in Sanskrit and the remaining five in Malayalam, all composed in the Anustup metre. Verse 1: Humanity marks out,   Of what species humans are.   Even as bovinity   Does with cows.   Brahminhood* and such   Do not do so in this case.   No one does realise, alas!   This apparent truth. The first verse sets the tone by drawing a parallel between humanity and species classification. Just as "bovinity" identifies cows, "humanity" should identify humans. The poet critiques the artificial distinctions like "Brahminhood" (and other caste markers), asserting that they do not define the essence of be...