Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum

By Uroob (P. C. Kuttikrishnan)

Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum is considered one of the best works by Uroob and is ranked among the finest novels in Malayalam. The novel has about thirty characters belonging to three generations of eight families belonging to Malabar during the end of the Second World War, when the famous Moplah rebellion broke out in Kerala. Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum was serialised in Mathrubhumi Weekly in 1954 and was published as a book in 1958. The original title Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum can be literally transliterated as Men and Women of Charm. 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. It won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960.

About the Author:
Along with Basheer, Thakazhi, Kesavadev, and Pottekkatt, Uroob (1915 – 1979) was counted among the progressive writers in Malayalam during the twentieth century. He was known for Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum, Ummachu which are ranked among the finest novels in Malayalam, short stories like Rachiyamma and the screenplays of a number of Malayalam films including Neelakuyil, the first Malayalam feature film to receive the National Film Award.