Oct 12 2025 to Oct 12 2025 5 p.m.

Where

Champaca Bookstore, Library and Cafe

7/1 Edward Road, Off Queens Road 560052

Event Description

What of the many travels undertaken through history by men and women—through war and peace—that have remained unrecorded, forgotten, and silent?

This October, we invite you to the launch of Benyamin’s latest novel, Silent Journeys, a sparkling chronicle of Kerala’s pioneering women. Benyamin’s Silent Journeys brings one such story to life, exploring the remarkable lives of women whose travels shaped communities and inspired generations.

In Silent Journeys, we follow Mariamma, a young nurse from Manthalir, Kerala, whose remarkable journey in the 1940s was uncovered decades later by her inquisitive great-grandson. Her story is emblematic of the courage, resilience, and determination of countless women whose adventures have gone unheard. Part quest, part epistolary narrative, the novel brings these unsung protagonists to life through the power of fiction. 

Here are the event Details:

Date: 12 October 2025, Sunday
Time: 6:00 PM
Venue: Champaca Bookstore, Vasanth Nagar

About the Book:

Silent Journeys follows Mariamma’s extraordinary path from Kerala to the farthest reaches of the world in the 1940s. A story of adventure, hardship, resilience, and love, Silent Journeys illuminates the lives of these silent pioneers and brings their legacy into the light. Through her experiences, the novel honors the brave, unaccompanied women whose travels have remained unrecorded.

About the Speakers: 

Benyamin is an acclaimed Malayalam author, whose novel Aadu Jeevitham (Goat Days) won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 and was shortlisted for the DSC Prize in South Asian Literature in 2013. In 2018, he won the inaugural JCB Prize for Literature for Mullapoo Niramulla Pakalukal (Jasmine Days). Benyamin’s work is celebrated for its compelling storytelling, exploration of human resilience, and deep engagement with social and cultural histories.

Karthik Venkatesh is a literary curator and cultural commentator who has hosted numerous book launches, discussions, and literary festivals across India. With a deep passion for storytelling, Karthik brings authors and readers together to explore the layers of narrative, history, and imagination in contemporary literature.