Benyamin (writer)

Benny Daniel (born on 18 May 1971), better known by his pen name Benyamin, is an Indian writer in Malayalam from Kerala. He is the author of about thirty books in various genres – from short stories to novels and memoirs. For his novel Goat Days (Aadujeevitham), he won the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and JCB Prize, and was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize. The novel Manthalirile 20 Communist Varshangal won the Vayalar Award in 2021.

Apart from literature he ventured Malayalam film industry in 2023 as a co-writer of the Malayalam film Christy with the writer G.R. Indugopan, which marked his debut as a screenwriter. His magnum opus novel Aadujeevitham has been adapted by director Blessy into a film,The Goat Life. Which was released on 28th March 2024.

Early Life
Benyamin was born on 18 May 1971 in the village of Njettoor, Kulanada near Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district in the southern part of Kerala. He lived in the Bahrain from 1992 to 2013, before returning to Kerala. He also went to Australia for a bit of time.

Personal Life
Benyamin married Asha Mathew on 02 January 2000 and they have two children Rohan Daniel and Kezia Daniel.

Career
In 2000, Euthanasia was the first short story collection in Malayalam literature. In 2008, the work Aadujeevitham was published, which became a huge success and a turning point, through which he became a more active and well-known writer.

Goat Days (2008)
Goat Days (Aadujeevitham), his most famous novel, portrays the life of Najeeb, an Indian labourer and how he survives the hardships and tortures in Saudi Arabia. It is used as a textbook at Kerala University, Calicut University, Bharathiar University, Pondicherry University and 10th standard for Kerala State syllabus. It was a magnum opus and a turning point work of Bennyamin in his writing career. The Goat Life is a film adaptation of this novel directed by Blessy.

Yellow Lights Of Death (2011)
Yellow Lights Of Death (Manjaveyil Maranagal) describes that once the author unexpectedly receives half of a story by email from a young man named Christy Andraper. At a seaside cafe, two friends, Christy and Jesinta, witness a murder. Christy discovers that his classmate Senthil was shot. But the police say that no such crime has been committed so far. The hospital authorities say he had a heart attack. Christy begins to suspect a conspiracy and begins to investigate. It's a beautiful work that leaves the readers to be confused as to whether it was a real incident or a fictional event, keeping it a mystery from start to the end.

Jasmine Days (2014)
Jasmine Days (Mullappoo Niramulla Pakalukal) tells the story of a young woman Sameera Parvin who moves to a middle eastern city and finds herself in the middle of a revolution. It revolves around the Jasmine Revolution that sprang up in December 2010 and was quelled by January 2011. The English translation of the novel won the inaugural JCB Prize for Literature, the richest literary award in the country. The jury chairperson Vivek Shanbag called the novel "brilliant and intense".

Tharakans Grandhavari (2022)
Tharakans Grandhavari (The Chronicles of Tharakan) is a unique experiment in narrative style as well as in production and publication. The plot revolves around the life of Mathu Tharakan and is narrated through 120 incidents. The book is published as 120 loose cards and the readers are given the choice to dictate the narrative. Each copy of the book is uniquely assembled such that each copy is a distinct permutation of the many possibilities in which the novel could be read.

Christy (2023)
Beyond novel writing, In 2023, he made his debut as a screenwriter by co-writing the script of the film Christy with novelist G. R. Indugopan and he also played a small character in the film. Also, the screenplay of this film is written by both of them has been published in book form by Manorama Books, which was launched during the audio launch of the film.

Awards and Honours

 * 2008 Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award (Novel), Winner, Aadujeevitham
 * 2009 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Winner, Aadujeevitham
 * 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize, Longlist, Goat Days
 * 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, Shortlist, Goat Days
 * 2015 Padmaprabha Literary Award
 * 2018 JCB Prize for Literature, Winner, Jasmine Days
 * 2018 Crossword Book Award for Indian language translation, Winner, Jasmine Days
 * 2019 Muttathu Varkey Award
 * 2021 Vayalar Award, Manthalirile 20 Communist Varshangal