Sarah Thomas (15 September 1934 – 31 March 2023) was an Indian

Malayalam language 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 ...

writer from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Her novel ''Narmadi Pudava'' won the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.

in the year 1979. Thomas was also a recipient of

for Overall Contribution to Malayalam Literature.

Life and career

Thomas had started writing long before the concept of feminine literature evolved in Malayalam. She published her first novel ''Jivitamenna Nadi'' at the age of 34. She became noted in the literary field after the publication of the novel ''Murippadukal'' in 1971. The novel narrated the life of a young man brought up in a Roman Catholic orphanage and later transferred to his Hindu ancestral home, where he is subtly persuaded to conform to Hindu religious beliefs. His attempts to establish an identity for himself in a situation full of conflicts were dealt with in the novel. It was later filmed as '' Manimuzhakkam'' by P. A. Backer, that won several awards, including the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam The National Film Award for Best Malayalam Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat ...

and the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the best film in Malayalam cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under the Department ...

. There are three other novels of hers, ''Asthamayam'', ''Pavizhamuthu'' and ''Archana'', which too have been filmed.J. Ajith Kumar (14 September 2004)
"Writing for all of humanity"
''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

''. Retrieved 7 July 2013. Her best known work is ''Narmani Putava'' which won the

in 1979. The novel portrayed a Brahmin girl whose fate it was to agree to marry the man of her father's choice so that he would have a peaceful end. Two books the author rates as her favourite are ''Daivamakkal'' and ''Grahanam''. A milestone in Kerala's Dalit literature, ''Daivamakkal'' (Children of God) tells the tale of a Dalit boy, his trials and tribulations as a medical student as well as in later life. Kunjikannan, the protagonist of the novel, is a symbol of an individual trying to break from the often sub-human status that was his lot. The novel was translated into English by Sosanna Kuruvilla. ''Grahanam'' (Eclipse) narrates the harrowing experiences that a Keralite boy and his lady love, a German, had to undergo in Lebanon. Sarah Thomas died at her daughter's residence in

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

on 31 March 2023, at the age of 88.

Works

* ''Jivitamenna Nadi'' (1968) * ''Murippadukal'' (1971) * ''Pavizha Muthu'' (1972) * ''Archana'' (1977) * ''Narmadi Pudava'' (1978) * ''Daivamakkal'' (1982) * ''Agni Suddhi'' (1988) * ''Chinnammu'' (1988) * ''Valakkar'' (1994) * ''Neelakkurinjikal Chuvakkum Neram'' (1995) * ''Asthamayam'' * ''Gunitham Thettiya Kanakku'' * ''Grahanam'' * ''Thanneer Panthal'' * ''Yathra'' * ''Kaveri''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Sarah 1934 births 2023 deaths Indian women novelists Malayalam-language novelists Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Writers from Thiruvananthapuram 20th-century Indian novelists Women writers from Kerala 20th-century Indian women writers Novelists from Kerala