Sarah Thomas

Who is Sarah Thomas?

Sarah Thomas is a Malayalam language writer from Kerala, India. Her novel Narmani Putava won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 1979. She is also a recipient of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contribution to Malayalam Literature.

Sarah 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 recognitions, including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film. There are three other novels of hers, Asthamayam, Pavizhamuthu and Archana, which too have been filmed.