Aatujeevitham  (Malayalam, Paperback, Shereef K.)

Aatujeevitham (Malayalam) by Benyamin trails the rigorous journey of a simple Keralite through the deep deserts of the Gulf and details how his dreams are crushed by the harsh forces of reality as he pulls through a tough life for three long years with almost no one to communicate with.

Summary Of The Book

With dreams colliding against the harsh walls of reality, Aatujeevitham (Malayalam) by Benjamin is a deep and emotional tale of a Keralite’s journey amidst the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia. The author, Benyamin, uses simplistic overtones blended with deep rooted emotions and a plethora of experiences to produce a piece that the reader is bound to connect with.

The book trails the journey of Najeeb, who like many others of his kind is offered a visa to travel to Saudi Arabia to pursue his dreams, leaving behind his beloved mother and pregnant wife. Accompanied by a companion named Hakeem, Najeeb waits to see his life transform in Saudi Arabia. Things take a different turn when both the men are left by a truck in different corners of the desert.

Najeeb finds himself amidst the deserts of the Gulf with not a single human being around and almost no food and water. Aatujeevitham (Malayalam), thereafter, traces his life occurrences and his experiences with the only living beings around him, camels and goats. The book details how Najeeb tries to pull through each day with no knowledge of how time passes. His only ray of hope is the truck that arrives with food, water and fodder.

Najeeb becomes resigned with his sorry situation, only to have rare hope to escape, which is crushed almost the minute it surfaces. What is Najeeb’s fate? Will he ever get rescued from the hell that he lives in? This book answers these questions and more.

Aatujeevitham (Malayalam) has been written in simple language, making it easy for the reader to connect with the protagonist and his life.
The book won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. The book is also a prescribed textbook in universities such as Kerala University, Pondicherry University, Calicut University, and Bharathiar University. The English translation was also listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012.

About Benyamin

Benyamin is an Indian novelist and short story writer, who writes in Malayalam.

He has also penned other novels like Abeesagin, Akkapporinte Irupatu Nasrani Varshangal, Manja Veyil Maranangal and Euthanasia.

Born as Benny Daniel in the year 1971, he has long been a contributor to the field of literature. Born in Nhettur, a small district in Kerala, he has been residing in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 1992. His works also appear regularly in Malayalam publications in Kerala.