Pathummayude Aadu  (Malayalam, Paperback, Basheer Vaikom Muhammad)

The author, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, a dedicated freedom fighter and a wanderer due to the same, visited his parental house only very rarely. He would stay in a small house next to the house where he grew up, inside the same compound, so that he could pen down his thoughts in peace. Pathummayude Aadu took form during one of his home visits when he had to stay in his parent’s crowded and noisy house. It is a humorous story about his sister, Pathumma’s goat, which would eat up anything it found in the house. Much like all other domestic animals of the household, Pathumma’s aadu or goat treated the place like its own territory. Apart from the grass specially set away for its eating, the goat would munch on anything it found during its leisurely stroll in the house. Complete with real pictures of the goat and its owner, the book is one of the best works by Basheer. It was well received and his only work that was published without any revisions.

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, a Malayalam fiction writer from Kerala, actively participated in India’s struggle for Independence. He was greatly inspired by freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru. His participation in movements like Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha landed him in prison several times. Fondly known as the “Beypore Sultan”, he is famous for his down to earth, non-refined writing, most of which is sharply critical of social and political issues and practices. Basheer received the Padma Shri in 1982. Few of his other notable works are Baalyakaalasakhi, Shabdangal, Mathilukal, Anarga Nimisham, and Ntuppuppaakkoraanaendaarnnu. Shabdangal is the confession of a soldier’s tragic life to an author after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. This book received heavy criticism due to the vulgarity with which it voiced prostitution, poverty, and death, among other social demons. Baalyakaalasakhi is the story of a childhood romance which grows to face the hardships of life. Mathilukal, a pre-independence love story, set in a political backdrop, was even converted into a movie. He also wrote a number of essays, short stories, and a one act play.