“All religious scriptures have something to say.” Author Benyamin, who received the JCB Prize for Literature in 2018 for his e book, Jasmine Days, provides that that is what impressed him to write the The Second Book of Prophets, translated by Ministhy S and revealed by Simon and Schuster. The unique, Pravachakanmarude Randaam Pusthakam (Malayalam) was revealed in 2007.
The e book delves into the Nineteen Forties-50s discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls (a assortment of historic Jewish manuscripts found in 11 caves close to the ruins of Qumran, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea) and the Nag Hammadi Library (a assortment of over 50 early Christian and Gnostic texts found in Upper Egypt close to the city of Nag Hammadi in 1945). Born into Christianity, Benny Daniel from Pathanamthitta, Kerala, grew up studying the Bible. “When you read it as a religious text, you don’t notice the characters or attempt to understand them. But, when one reads it as an academic text, you notice them, maybe think of their back stories,” he says.
“Bearing in mind that the Bible has been interpreted in several ways, with this reinterpretation, I hope, the reader is able to find new meaning and understanding of the scripture,” says Benyamin, a former NRI (non-residential Indian) or a pravasi as he likes to name himself.
Growing up in a pretty conservative Christian family, he was anticipated to go to church each Sunday and pray every single day. Nonetheless, Benyamin at all times seen the non secular textual content with an goal eye. “The more you read, the stronger your base; the different themes and layers within the scriptures have a lot to tell,” he says.
The e book cowl
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
His 2008 Malayalam-language novel Aadujeevitham, was revealed by Green Books Private Limited, Thrissur. The e book received him recognition within the type of bagging the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for novel in 2009. It was translated into English and German in 2012, and later to Arabic in 2014. In 2024, it was tailored into a Malayalam-language biographical survival drama movie, titled The Goat Life, directed, and co-produced by Blessy. Still basking within the success the movie, Benyamin says it’s merely awe-inspiring to be recognised by readers throughout areas.
If, within the Last Temptation of Christ, Nikos Kazantzakis humanises Christ by showcasing his tryst with numerous temptations. Benyamin, goes a step additional and paints Christ as a revolutionary in The Second Book of Prophets, as somebody who stands up to autocracy and sophistication divide. “Bearing in mind that the Bible has been interpreted in several ways, with this reinterpretation, I hope, the reader is able to find new meaning and understanding of the scripture,” says Benyamin.
The incidental writer
A mechanical engineer Benyamin Daniel, started his writing journey in 2000, with the publication of a assortment of brief tales. Benyamin is an incidental writer. His phrases — whether or not in Nishabda Sancharangal (Silent Journeys) or Jasmine Days — dig deep into the psyche of a reader. And that is what he hopes his newest work can do too. “Readers reflect on the struggles that often form within a rebellion — the difference in opinion among the rebels — in this case, among Christ and his disciples, like Lazarus being ratted out, Judas’ betrayal of Christ, and the conflict the leader himself faces from within when faced with temptations.”
Malayalam writer Benyamin
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JAYAKRISHNAN OMALLOOR
Talking about his model of writing, Benyamin says displacement and migration, whether or not literal or religious, are the themes of his books, as a result of he feels that migration and embarking on a journey, is what life is all about — be it shifting for for a job, commerce, household. Constant motion has at all times been a a part of man’s evolution.
“Displacement is not a new phenomenon. It has been happening since the beginning of human history: war, slavery, natural disasters, and riots have all caused it. One of the main prayers of the Jews in the Old Testament was that they be delivered from exile. Even after reaching their dreamland, they could not experience freedom. The Romans conquered them. When telling the story of the struggle against them, it is natural that the sorrows of displacement will be embedded in it.” Discussing the years he spent in Bahrain as a mechanical engineer Benyamin says. “I left my home and country and lived in a foreign land for two decades. I have experienced its loneliness, isolation, numbness, and existential problems very well. So, I can go ahead and write about that topic in depth.”
Ministhy S who translated the Malayalam e book
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“Understanding the lives and struggles of migrant communities, their politics, circumstance and so on, is a part of studying humans, making us better humans,” Benyamin says. “Also when we as readers traverse with them (the characters) through the story to his or her destination, whether physical or spiritual, it gives a reader satisfaction, the sated feeling one gets from reading a piece of good literature,” he provides.
Each e book by the creator has been distinct from each other. “Non-linear writing; that is how I approach putting a book together,” Benyamin says. He says he doesn’t imagine in sticking to formulaic writing. “I don’t create a mould and fit my story around it. I have a story in my head — I start by writing what I know about — be it a character or a scene and take it from there,” he says. He compares it to development of a freeway, say from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram. “The work for the highway can begin from anywhere, maybe Alappuzha, maybe somewhere near Thiruvananthapuram, but as long as there is a plan in place, the project will be done.”
The creator says that he appears up to Malayalam writers like OV Vijayan, Mohammed Bashir and M Mukundan, and enjoys studying traditional and up to date writers like Orhan Pamuk, Georgi Gospodinov, Nikos Kazantzakis, and Kafka.
Speaking of future initiatives he says, “I have just completed a novel, which will be published in July. Shelvy (Raj) was an editor and poet who played an important role in the history of Malayalam publishing. The novel is based on his life.”
The Second Book of Prophets priced ₹599 is accessible on Amazon and all main bookstores
Published – June 06, 2025 03:52 pm IST
