Jeevithathil Ninnum Oru Aedu

This is a page torn from life. Blood is spilling from its edges. Some people would have fear and fatigue seeing Hot Blood. They should be careful while reading his book.

--M. P. Paul in his foreword to Baalyakaalasakhi

Context

Baalyakaalasakhi is one of the classic novels of Malayalam written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, easily Kerala's most popular writer of literature. In this foreword to the book, M. P. Paul lauds the realism of the novel and tells us how it is different from run-of-the-mill love stories. At the time of publication of Baalyakaalasakhi, Basheer was a relatively unknown and little noticed writer.