Benyamin’s “Goat days” - Translated by Joseph Koyipalli

Benyamin’s “Aadujeevitham” is a Malayalam novel that is based on a real life incident. The novel is based on the life of Najeeb Muhammed, a Malayali’s slave-like experience as a shepherd in the middle of the desert after being abducted from the airport at Saudi Arabia. “The Goat Life” that was recently released in theatres with Prithviraj playing the protagonist is based on this novel.

“Goat Days” is a diasporic novel that portrays the plight of Najeeb, a migrant worker abandoned by his sponsor on arrival at the airport in Saudi Arabia. The novel starts with Najeeb entering a prison and getting himself arrested. When he is in prison, he feels the prison life is heaven compared to his previous living situation. The horrific circumstances under which he was forcefully employed as a shepherd is portrayed with this comparison. 

Najeeb and Hakeem, a young boy from his village, travel to Saudi in an attempt to fulfil their dream to work in the gulf and make more money. Both of them, when employed as shepherds under Arabs are never allowed to talk to each other as they might plan an escape. Najeeb, in the middle of nowhere in a vast expanse of the desert deprived of any human interaction identifies himself with the goats. 

Benyamin

Najeeb is given back-breaking work, kept half-hungry and denied water for sanitation. His supervisor often beats him for his mistakes and keeps him at gun point during his work in the desert. After the initial futile attempts at escape, Najeeb decides to wait for the right opportunity and tries to get accustomed with work. His hopes start to fade away with every passing day. Will he get an emancipation from this enslavement? Will he get out of the endless emptiness around him?

Najeeb’s intense loneliness filled with his reminiscences about the stark difference of his life back in India makes him close to the only company he has in the desert - goats. Despite the traumatic life that poses before him nothing but hopelessness, his unwavering belief in Allah, his God is a testament to the fact the people resort to a spiritual support in testing times. 

This is a tale of surrender, redemption and survival that evokes empathy. The novel is another reminder of our obsession with economic migration and the exploitation of natural resources that are in abundance.