Balyakalasakhi is a Malayalam romantic tragedy novel written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer . Published in 1944, it is considered by many as Basheers best work. The story revolves around Majeed and Suhra, who are in love with each other from childhood. By Basheers own admission, the story is largely autobiographical. The first half of the story, dealing with childhood and adolescence is pleasant, delightfully told. The latter half is grim and filled with sorrow. Yet, it tells about the hope that people living in near poverty have about their future. They accumulate their dreams and keep their most secret sweet desires to themselves and go on with the hard grind of daily life, struggling to eke out a living. The lightness of narrative style disguises an undercurrent of poignance. Even in the moments of utter grief, the author cannot let go of humour. Intense tragedy is dished out as if it were something meant to make the readers laugh. The novel talks about love in its truest, sincerest form; yet that very kind of love goes unfulfilled. The lovers have to face harsh reality of life, they have to go through hell, and even worse, separation, but all their sacrifice fetches no rewards. As M. P. Paul suggests in his foreword to the book, Jeevithathil Ninnum Oru Aedu, it is a page torn from life, bleeding at its edges. Basheer said that Majeed of Balyakalasakhi is himself. He started work on the book after seeing a terrifying nightmare which reminded him of his childhood companion Suharas death. At the time, he was living in Calcutta . He used to sleep on the rooftop of a building after a heavy days work. One night, he saw a monster in his sleep. Waking up, he found that he was standing on the edge of the rooftop, a step away from falling. He began writing the book in English. Highly dissatisfied with what he had written, he destroyed it. Later, he rewrote the story from scratch and perfected it through countless revisions. In 1967, a film adaptation of the novel was released, starring Prem Nazir as Majeed and Sheela as Suhara, and directed by Sasikumar . Basheer himself wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the film. Another film adaptation featuring Mammootty as Majeed is under production.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 15:33:28 +0000