Malayalam language short story writer Late Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. He was noted for his path-breaking, disarmingly down-to-earth style of writing that made him equally popular among literary critics.
Basheer is known for his unconventional style of language. He did not differentiate between literary language and the language spoken by the commons and did not care about the grammatical correctness of his sentences.
Initially, even his publishers were unappreciative of the beauty of this language; they edited out or modified conversations. Basheer was outraged to find his original writings transcribed into “standardised” Malayalam, devoid of freshness and natural flow, and he forced them to publish the original one instead of the edited one.An astute observer of human character, he skilfully combined humour and pathos in his works. Love, hunger and poverty, life in prison are recurring themes in his works. There is enormous variety in them – of narrative style, of presentation, of philosophical content, of social comment and commitment.
His works : Premalekhanam, Balyakalasakhi, Shabdangal, Mathilukal, Pathummayude Aadu
