Malayalam writer Benyamin: Our scriptures have a lot to tell us

The Hindu

06-06-2025

'All religious scriptures have something to say.' Author Benyamin, who won the JCB Prize for Literature in 2018 for his book, Jasmine Days, adds that this is what inspired him to write the The Second Book of Prophets, translated by Ministhy S and published by Simon and Schuster. The original, Pravachakanmarude Randaam Pusthakam (Malayalam) was published in 2007.
The book delves into the 1940s-50s discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls (a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts discovered in 11 caves near the ruins of Qumran, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea) and the Nag Hammadi Library (a collection of over 50 early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered in Upper Egypt near the town of Nag Hammadi in 1945). Born into Christianity, Benny Daniel from Pathanamthitta, Kerala, grew up reading the Bible. 'When you read it as a religious text, you don't notice the characters or attempt to understand them. But, when one reads it as an academic text, you notice them, maybe think of their back stories,' he says.
'Bearing in mind that the Bible has been interpreted in several ways, with this reinterpretation, I hope, the reader is able to find new meaning and understanding of the scripture,' says Benyamin, a former NRI (non-residential Indian) or a pravasi as he likes to call himself.
Growing up in a fairly conservative Christian household, he was expected to go to church every Sunday and pray every day. Nonetheless, Benyamin always viewed the religious text with an objective eye. 'The more you read, the stronger your base; the different themes and layers within the scriptures have a lot to tell,' he says.
His 2008 Malayalam-language novel Aadujeevitham, was published by Green Books Private Limited, Thrissur. The book won him recognition in the form of bagging the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for novel in 2009. It was translated into English and German in 2012, and later to Arabic in 2014. In 2024, it was adapted into a Malayalam-language biographical survival drama film, titled The Goat Life, directed, and co-produced by Blessy. Still basking in the success the film, Benyamin says it is simply awe-inspiring to be recognised by readers across regions.
If, in the Last Temptation of Christ, Nikos Kazantzakis humanises Christ by showcasing his tryst with various temptations. Benyamin, goes a step further and paints Christ as a revolutionary in The Second Book of Prophets, as someone who stands up to autocracy and class divide. 'Bearing in mind that the Bible has been interpreted in several ways, with this reinterpretation, I hope, the reader is able to find new meaning and understanding of the scripture,' says Benyamin.
The incidental writer
A mechanical engineer Benyamin Daniel, began his writing journey in 2000, with the publication of a collection of short stories. Benyamin is an incidental writer. His words — whether in Nishabda Sancharangal (Silent Journeys) or Jasmine Days — dig deep into the psyche of a reader. And this is what he hopes his latest work can do too. 'Readers reflect on the struggles that often form within a rebellion — the difference in opinion among the rebels — in this case, among Christ and his disciples, like Lazarus being ratted out, Judas' betrayal of Christ, and the conflict the leader himself faces from within when faced with temptations.'
Talking about his style of writing, Benyamin says displacement and migration, whether literal or spiritual, are the themes of his books, because he feels that migration and embarking on a journey, is what life is all about — be it moving for for a job, trade, family. Constant movement has always been a part of man's evolution.
'Displacement is not a new phenomenon. It has been happening since the beginning of human history: war, slavery, natural disasters, and riots have all caused it. One of the main prayers of the Jews in the Old Testament was that they be delivered from exile. Even after reaching their dreamland, they could not experience freedom. The Romans conquered them. When telling the story of the struggle against them, it is natural that the sorrows of displacement will be embedded in it.' Discussing the years he spent in Bahrain as a mechanical engineer Benyamin says. 'I left my home and country and lived in a foreign land for two decades. I have experienced its loneliness, isolation, numbness, and existential problems very well. So, I can go ahead and write about that topic in depth.'
'Understanding the lives and struggles of migrant communities, their politics, circumstance and so on, is a part of studying humans, making us better humans,' Benyamin says. 'Also when we as readers traverse with them (the characters) through the story to his or her destination, whether physical or spiritual, it gives a reader satisfaction, the sated feeling one gets from reading a piece of good literature,' he adds.
Each book by the author has been distinct from one another. 'Non-linear writing; that is how I approach putting a book together,' Benyamin says. He says he does not believe in sticking to formulaic writing. 'I don't create a mould and fit my story around it. I have a story in my head — I start by writing what I know about — be it a character or a scene and take it from there,' he says. He compares it to construction of a highway, say from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram. 'The work for the highway can begin from anywhere, maybe Alappuzha, maybe somewhere near Thiruvananthapuram, but as long as there is a plan in place, the project will be done.'
The author says that he looks up to Malayalam writers like OV Vijayan, Mohammed Bashir and M Mukundan, and enjoys reading classic and contemporary writers like Orhan Pamuk, Georgi Gospodinov, Nikos Kazantzakis, and Kafka.
Speaking of future projects he says, 'I have just completed a novel, which will be published in July. Shelvy (Raj) was an editor and poet who played an important role in the history of Malayalam publishing. The novel is based on his life.'
The Second Book of Prophets priced ₹599 is available on Amazon and all major bookstores