Baalyakaalasakhi (Childhood Companion), a Malayalam novel by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer is tale of tragic love. Published in 1944, it is considered by many as Basheer's best work. The story revolves around Majeed and Suhra, who are in love with each other from childhood. By Basheer's own admission, the story is largely autobiographical. Malayalam (മലയാളം) is the major language of the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (b. ...

The childhood romance between neighbours blossoms into passionate love during adoloscence. Majeed leaves home after a quarrel with his father, and wanders over distant lands for a long time before returning home.On his return, he finds that his family's former affluence is all gone, and that his beloved Suhara has married someone else. He is grief struck at the loss of love, and this is when Suhara turns up at his home, a shadow of her former self. The beautiful, sunshiny Suhara of old is now a woman worn out by life and a hard loveless marriage to an abusive husband. Majeed commands her, "Suhara, don't go back!" and she stays. Majeed leaves home once again, but this time with plans on his mind. He needs to find a job, to ward off poverty, and thus he reaches a North Indian city. He finds work as a salesman but one day he meets with a bicycle accident in which he loses a leg. The day after he is discharged from hospital, he is informed that he's fired from his job. He again sets off on a job quest knocking at every door, wearing off his soles. He finds work as a dish-washer in a hotel. As he scrubs dirty dishes each day, he dreams of Suhara back home waitng for him to return. He must make enough money to return home and repay debts, before he can finally get married to the woman of his life. His mother writes him that Suhara is sick. Then one day, he receives a letter that informs him of Suhara's death.

The first half of the story, dealing with childhood and adoloscence is pleasant, delightfully told. The latter half is grim and filled with sorrow. Yet, it tells about the hope that people living in near poverty have about their future. They accumulate their dreams and keep their most secret sweet desires to themselves and go on with the hard grind of daily life, struggling to eke out a living. The simplicity of narrative style disguises an undercurrent of poignance.

The novel talks about love in its truest, sincerest form; yet that very kind of love goes unfulfilled. The lovers have to face harsh reality of life, they have to go through hell, and even worse, seperation, but all their sacrifice fetches no rewards. As M. P. Paul suggests in his foreward to the book, Jeevithathil Ninnum Oru Aedu, it is a blood stained page torn from life. M. P. Paul (b. ... This is a page torn from life. ...

Imminiballya oronnu One of the phrases that is always associated to Basheer's name. While at school, Majeed discovers a new mathematical result, that one plus one must be "a slightly bigger one". Majeed is puzzled when the teacher punishes him for this discovery, for he had seen two rivers merge into a slightly bigger one. Later when he knocks doors for a job, such skills in Mathematics cannot help him find a decent paying situation.

 Majeed's father was rich, so could send him to a school in town, although he was