''Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum'' (''The Beautiful and the Handsome'') is a 1958

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by

Uroob Parutholli Chalappurathu Kuttikrishnan, popularly known by his pen name Uroob ( ml, ഉറൂബ്; 1915 – 1979) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Along with Basheer, Thakazhi, Kesavadev, and Pottekkatt, Uroob was counted ...

(P. C. Kuttikrishnan). ''Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum'' along with ''

Ummachu ''Ummachu'' (''Beloved'') is a Malayalam novel written by Uroob in 1954. ''Ummachu'' along with ''Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum'' are considered the best works by Uroob and are ranked among the finest novels in Malayalam. In ''Ummachu'', Uroob exp ...

'' are considered the best works by Uroob and are ranked among the finest novels in Malayalam.

Plot summary

The novel has about thirty characters belonging to three generations of eight families belonging to Malabar during the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, when the famous Moplah rebellion broke out in Kerala.

Publication

''Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum'' was serialised in '' Mathrubhumi Weekly'' in 1954 and was published as a book in 1958. It was translated into English by Susila Mishra under the title ''The Beautiful and the Handsome''. The original title ''Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum'' can be literally transliterated as ''Men and Women of Charm''.

Genre

As revealed in the preface, the author himself is non-committal about the genre to which the book falls into and leaves the question to critics and readers, adding that he had a story to tell and he has told it. Literary critic M. Achuthan in his introduction to the book, calls it first a chronicle, then a cultural history and finally a kind of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

Awards

''Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum'' won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, India's most prestigious literary award, in 1960. It also got the Asan Centenary Award in 1973, a special award given by the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and literature. It is situated in City of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The academy was inaugurated on 15 ...

for the most outstanding work since Independence.

References

1958 novels Malayalam novels Novels set in Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award-winning works Indian historical novels Novels by Uroob DC Books books Novels first published in serial form 1958 Indian novels {{1950s-hist-novel-stub