Writer Benyamin’s much-acclaimed novel ‘Aadujeevitham’, which depicts the ‘goat-like’ life of a man trapped in the desert sand dunes in the Middle East, is set to go places as its English translation is ready to be published.
The translation was done by Joseph Koipally, head of the Department of Comparative Literature, Central University, Kasargod. Penguin Publishers will bring out the book in English soon.
“Aadujeevitham is an eye-opener in terms of how life, freedom and existence of an NRI are defined, executed and controlled by hardship, fate and laws,” said Joseph.
“I came across the book when I returned from the Gulf after around a decade. My father-in-law was acquainted with Benyamin’s family. One day he gave me the book saying, ‘check out this book written by our Danny’s son’.
“The book took me back to those deserts and reminded me of many Keralites I met during my stay there,” he added.
“I decided to translate the book for purely academic purposes. I was interested in Diasporic Studies, mainly the Keralite Diaspora in those oil-rich countries.
“It was then that the School of Comparative Literature under the Central University decided to offer an optional paper on Diasporic Studies. A critical material on the Keralites living abroad was documented nowhere. The idea of including Aadujeevitham clicked then,” Joseph said.
The translation was finished in three to four months. It was nearly completed when the novel won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
Later, Shajahan Madampat introduced him to Benyamin. “On Benyamin’s request, I sent the proof to Penguin Publishers, Delhi, who recently informed me that the book would be out soon.” Joseph said that the first proof including a few chapters was published in 2011 itself.
“It’s not the beauty of the language, but the ideas, that make the novel special,” he adds.
Joseph Koipally had taught at the Jamia Millia University, Hail University in Saudi Arabia and in Bhutan before joining the Central University here.