Aadujeevitham review

AADU JEEVITHAM - REVIEW

AADUJEEVITHAM, is the story of a Najib Muhammad , a migrant worker who dreams big and leaves his home, hearth and heart in Kerala for the Gulf (the name attributed to middle east/Arabian peninsula). He is the protogonist of this novel.The story gives startling lives of expatriates behind the urban shine of the Dubaiand Sharjahs. The story goes on from the highly contrasting world of Green Kerala and Deserted Arabia. He lands up in a goat farm which was not the job he was promised. The ordeal of men amonggoats and the goats among men is the backbone of the story.Najib Muhammad is taken away by a rich Arab animal farm supervisor from King Khalid International Airport and is being used a "slave" laborer and shepherd assigned to look after goats, sheep and camels for almost three and half years in the remote desertsof Saudi Arabia. He is forced to do back-breaking work, is kept half-hungry and is denied water to wash and suffers unimaginably. The farm's brutal supervisor "master" keeps Najib in control with agun and binoculars and frequently beats him with a belt. In a country where he does not know the language, places or people, he is far away from any human interaction. Najib steadily starts toidentify himself with the goats. He considers himself one of them. His dreams, desires, revenge, hopes-hesteadily starts to identify himself with the goats. He considers himself one of them.He talksto them, eats with them, sleeps with them and virtually lives the life of a goat. Still he keeps a ray of hope which will bring freedom and end to sufferings some unknown day.
Finally one night with the help of Ibrahim Qadiri, a Somalian worker in the neighboring farm, Najib Muhammed and his friend Hakim escape from the horrible life to freedom. But, the trio fumbles across the desert for days, and young Hakim dies of thirst and fatigue. Finally, Ibrahim Qadiri and Najib manage to find their way to Al-Bathaa, Riyadh, where Najib gets himself arrested by the Regular Police in order to get deported to India. Najib spends several months in the Sumesi Prison before being put on a plane to India by the Saudi Arabian authorities. The ingenuity of the writer is reflected here. He portrays the dealings of the protagonist with three objects: the goats, desert and his predecessor.

The relevence of Aadujeevitham in contomprary world points into an historic trend particulary influential in malabar region of kerala. Middle East is often viewed as a gold earning tree and a high recruitment is also made. But usually migrants family and society view them as a tool for exploitation. Often the hardship oftheir labour is least recoganised. Their complexity of relations with family structure and society is highly highlighted in this society.This complexity has been causing huge psychological tenssions amongmigrant labours like najeeb.Finaly,Najeeb finds out that man is nothing but an animal.

- Shafeeq P.K

Author is a former student of Ghss puthuparamba. currently, doing under graduate degree in food technology.