Police
'Balyakalasakhi' is a Malayalam novel written by:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option B — Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
Detailed Solution
"Balyakalasakhi" ("Childhood Friend") is a Malayalam novel by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, published in 1944.
About the novel:
It is a tragic love story of Majeed and Suhra, who are childhood friends in a village in Kerala.
Majeed comes from a wealthy family and Suhra from a poor one. They grow up together and fall in love.
Majeed quarrels with his father and leaves home. When he returns years later, his family has become poor, and Suhra has been married to someone else.
Majeed goes away again to work, and Suhra dies before he can return.
The novel is known for its simple, honest style and emotional power, and it was a landmark in Malayalam literature.
It was made into films in 1967 and 2014.
About Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (1908-1994):
- He was born in Thalayolaparambu, near Vaikom, in Kottayam district, Kerala.
- He took part in the freedom struggle, including the Vaikom Satyagraha and the Salt Satyagraha, and was imprisoned.
- He travelled widely across India as a young man, working at many jobs, and these experiences appear in his stories.
- He is affectionately called the "Beypore Sultan", after Beypore near Kozhikode, where he lived.
- He wrote in simple, colloquial Malayalam with humour and compassion for ordinary people.
- His other famous works include "Pathummayude Aadu" ("Pathumma's Goat"), "Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu" ("My Grandad Had an Elephant"), "Mathilukal" ("Walls"), "Premalekhanam" ("Love Letter") and "Shabdangal" ("Voices").
- "Mathilukal" was made into a film by Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1990).
- He received the Padma Shri in 1982.
Other Malayalam writers:
- Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai: "Chemmeen" and "Kayar"; Jnanpith (1984).
- T. Vasudevan Nair: "Naalukettu", "Randamoozham"; Jnanpith (1995).
- V. Vijayan: "Khasakkinte Itihasam" ("The Legends of Khasak").
- Sankara Kurup: the first winner of the Jnanpith Award (1965) for "Odakkuzhal".
Why not the other options?
- ✗Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai wrote "Chemmeen".
- ✗T. Vasudevan Nair wrote "Randamoozham".
- ✗V. Vijayan wrote "Khasakkinte Itihasam".
Quick tip
Remember: "Balyakalasakhi" (1944; Majeed and Suhra) = Vaikom Muhammad Basheer ("Beypore Sultan"; also "Pathummayude Aadu", "Mathilukal"); "Chemmeen" = Thakazhi; first Jnanpith = G. Sankara Kurup.
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Books & Authors Questions
View all ›More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.