Two or three days after the election, I came across a newspaper article. The headline read: 'Election duty ‘Aadujeevitham’ (goat life), all that’s left is blame, says offiicials.' This news has nothing to do with the novel or the movie ‘Aadujeevitham’. The explanation for the use of the term ‘Aadujeevitham’ is within the news itself: 'The election officials, including women, say that they fulfilled their duties by leading an ‘aadujeevitham’ life in booths with no basic facilities. Here, the phrase ‘aadujeevitham’ or goat life signifies a miserable existence akin to that of a slave, lacking the material conditions necessary for modern living. It is because this meaning has gained acceptance in the common Malayalam vernacular that the expression ‘aadujeevitham’ found its way into the press without further explanation.

Newspaper language employs words and phrases that are widely accepted in society, particularly in news stories. The term ‘aadujeevitham’ has gained such acceptance that it is now used in the press. Many people use the term in phrases like 'Oh, it's an aadujeevitham' or 'The situation there is worse than an aadujeevitham’ more often than not.

It has only been fifteen years since the publication of the novel ‘Aadujeevitham’. Both those who have read the novel and those who have not are familiar with the concept of 'goat life' depicted in the story. The narrative portrays the plight of a man forced to live as a slave among a herd of goats in the desert, a symbol that has left a lasting impression on the Malayali audience. This portrayal has established the phrase ‘Aadujeevitham’ into the Malayalam language as a synonym for life's hardships.

When Changampuzha Krishnapillai's ‘Ramanan’ was published, it became the collective lament of the Malayali youth. The work depicted goats and their shepherd. Later, Basheer’s ‘Pathummayude Aadu’ also came out. Keeping one or two goats and a few chicken in houses was a common rural practice in Kerala at the time. However,Changampuzha's herd of goats and Basheer's goat did not become part of everyday usage in the Malayalam language. It was Benyamin's ‘Aadujeevitham’ that gained such widespread recognition.

Even those who haven't read the novel ‘Aadujeevitham’ now use the phrase ‘aadujeevitham’ in everyday conversation. Even before the movie, which garnered even more attention than the novel, was released, the expression ‘aadujeevitham’ became popular as a style. This reflects the societal acceptance the novel has received. Such idioms are acquired through the public adoption of a work. This serves as a contemporary example of a novel's title evolving into an independent idiom rather than remaining confined to its original context.

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Benyamin, cover of 'Aadujeevitham'

There is another famous example in Malayalam where the title transcended the work and became an independent expressive style: ‘Bhargavi Nilayam’. Vaikom Muhammad Basheer wrote both the story and the screenplay of the movie. Initially, when Basheer's short story ‘Neelavelicham’ was adapted into a screenplay, producer T K Pareekutty favoured naming the movie ‘Neelavelicham’. However, Basheer insisted that it should be called ‘Bhargavi Nilayam’. He even wrote the script with that name. Director Vincent also agreed with Basheer's choice. It is unclear whether any house was named ‘Bhargavi Nilayam’, at the time.

‘Bhargavi Nilayam’ is the name given by Basheer to the house depicted as a haunted house in the film. Gradually, in the minds of those who watched the movie and heard the story, ‘bhargavi nilayam' became a name that refers to a haunted, uninhabited old house. Even today, those who have never seen the movie or heard about it, when they hear the term, they think it is a haunted house that has not been inhabited for a long time. It is the evolution of the signification that has happened to that name over the decades in the mind of the community. In this way, some unique expressions and strange characters are adopted by the society from literary works.

Bhargavi Nilayam’ is the name given by Basheer to the house depicted as the haunted house in the film. Over time, in the minds of those who watched the movie and heard the story, ‘bhargavi nilayam' became synonymous with a eerie, uninhabited old house. Even today, those unfamiliar with the movie associate the term with a long-abandoned haunted house. This evolution of meaning has occurred over decades within the community. In this manner, unique expressions and characters from literary works are adopted by society. The emergence of this social trend is evident in the phrase 'Aadujeevitham,' which has become a stylistic element in Malayalam vernacular.

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