Shabdangal

Shabdangal ("Voices") is a 1947 novel by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer which talks about war, orphanhood, hunger, disease and prostitution.[1] The whole length of the novel is a dialogue between a soldier and a writer. The soldier approaches the writer and tells him the story of his life. The writer takes down notes and asks questions to the soldier, and gives answers of his own to the soldier's questions. The novel faced heavy criticism at the time of its publication for its violence and vulgarity.

Shabdangal was the first piece of modern Malayalam literature that addressed homosexuality.[2]

  1. ^ Basheer, Vaikom Muhammad; Basheer, Vaikom Mohammad; Premjish (2011). "Excerpts from "Shabdangal": Voices". Indian Literature. 55 (6 (266)): 145–152. ISSN 0019-5804. JSTOR 23348710.
  2. ^ Chakraborty, Kaustav (17 March 2014). De-stereotyping Indian Body and Desire. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-4438-5743-7.