T UBAID

T UbAaid; the Unacknowledged North Kerala Poet and His Unnoticed Presence in the History of Mappila Literature.

LCL051512

Central University of Kerala.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF KERALA

DATE:

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “T Ubaid; the Unacknowledged North Kerala Poet and His Unnoticed Presence in the History of Mappila Literature”, Submitted by Muhammed Uvais P A. is a record of bonafide research carried out by him at the Department of English and Comparative Literature under the guidance of Dr. Shalini M and submitted to the Central University of Kerala in Partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in English and Comparative Literature.

Dr. M Dasan. Dr. Shalini M.

Head of the Department. Assistant Professor

ECL (Research Supervisor)

DATE:

Muhammed Uvais P A

MA English & Comparative Literature (IV Sem)

Reg. No. LCL051512

DECLARATION

I declare that the dissertation entitled “T Ubaid; the Unacknowledged North Kerala Poet and His Unnoticed Presence in the History of Mappila Literature”, Is a record of bonafide research that I conducted under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Shalini M., Assistant Professor of the Department of English and Comparative Literature, Central university of Kerala. No part work of this has been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma or similar titles.

Muhammed Uvais P A

Acknowledgement.

I share my sincere gratitude to:

Dr. Shalini Annie, Dr. M Dasan Dr. Joseph Koyippally, Dr. Prasad Pannian, Dr. Asha,

Dr. Efthikar Ahmad, Rahman Thayalangadi, Ibrahim Bevije, M A Rahman, Samad Kadavan, Aby Abraham, Yasir Siddique. A C, Basim A and K A Muhammed Ali.

All my classmates,

Gazzali friends,

Ummachi, Uppachi and my Family members,

Thalangara Sahitya Vedi Library members and

Abdul Rahman.

Contents.

1. Introduction.

2. Chapter 1: The Significance of Mappila Songs in Malayalam Literature.

3. Chapter 2: T. Ubaid as a Poet.

4. Chapter 3: T. Ubaid as a Social Reformer.

5. Conclusion.

6. Work cited.

7. Appendix.

Introduction

Kerala is rich with its diversity; diversity of cultures, religions, languages, etc. Even though Malayalam is its mother tongue, it does not have a monolithic tradition. Rather it’s a mixture of linguistic varieties which were the medium of expression of hundreds of regional cultures and sub-cultures. Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities predominantly carried over their distinct hallmarks. When the Hindu and Christian cultures became the part of the mainstream history of the state in the wake of the academic exploration in post-independent India, the Muslim culture got no space in the discussions of cultural and linguistic strength of the state.

T Ubaid, a north Kerala poet, translator and cultural leader was a true figure who represented the real diverse culture of Kerala. What I tried to argue is that he got less attention in the mainstream history of both Malayalam and Mappila history. He deserves due attention of being an ideal poet of Malayalam expressing the actual diversity of its culture. Ubaid never spoke only for his community but learning many languages he wrote for every culture in Kerala. He has collections of work speaking about the Hindu culture, Muslim culture and other native cultures. Ubaid lived in a land, kasaragod, which already marginalised from the mainstream narrative of Kerala culturally and politically. From that place itself he left no community and culture without addressing their issues. He learned Malayalam to represent the dominant culture of Kerala. In Kannada, Ubaid spoke the agonies of northern people who was affected the partition between Karnataka and Kerala. He learned Arabic and Arabic-Malayalam to speak for the minority Muslim community.

If we particularly talk about the Mappila literature, the picture of T Ubaid is not much discernible. Every discussion in the certain area ends concluding that T Ubaid collected some Mappila poems. But he was beyond that as he wrote many Mappila songs, placed Moyin Kutty Vaidyar in the mainstream of Mappila literature and spoke vociferously for Mappila songs in a Sahitya Parishath meeting which later lead to the acceptance of Mappila literature by the dominant literature. Ubaid raised the entity of Mappila songs from a very secluded space to a more public attention. Speaking out that Mappila literature is not the mere romantic attribution Mappila life but is the whole essence of their social as well as religious life. Mappila literature studied the Muslims how to interfere with other communities, how to lead a moral life, how to be very nationalistic and how to aestheticize religious myths.

These songs were the unique property of the Muslims as the Arabic language was not known to non-Muslims. These days, however, the Mappila song is an inevitable in many music concerts and cultural festivals held here in Kerala. Mappila songs is the traditional folk song of the Mappila community in Kerala. Similar to many indigenous folk songs, it tells the outstanding stories of its historical people and culture. Vanchippattu, Pallippattu, Onappattu, Vilppattu and Vadakkanppattu are some of the major indigenous folk songs found in Kerala. Like other folk songs, Mappila songs also have one’s own significant features. It is a diverse literary form; an amalgamation of foreign and native elements.

The remarkable concern over the Mappila songs is its oral tradition. Mala songs hold special attention among Mappila literature. These are the praising lines of great saints who lived around India.The Muhyudheen Mala written in praise of great Indian Sufi saint Muhyudheen Abdul Qadir Jeelani is believed to be the first Mappila song ever found in the history. Similar to the Malayalam literature, Arabic-Malayalam too borrowed many words and styles from Tamil language. After that, Rifae Mala (1623),Usvath Mala (1628) Valiya Naseehath Mala (1674) also took birth in the same century.

Then the oral tradition went into the category of quissa which means story. This kind of songs depicts the major historical incidents which happened before centuries. There were Madeenathunnajar Quissa, TajulilUmr Quissa, Ibrahim Taqath Quissa, Esa Nabi Quisssa, Danial Nabi Quissa and Ibrahim Ibnu Adham Quissa. It follows other kinds of Malas (songs) like Kappa Patt, Nool Madan and Safala Mala.

There was an upheaval of protest and revolution against all the foreign powers. It was the Mappila songs which inspired many of youths in the freedom struggle and protest against the landlords. At the same time, this genre used to criticize the orthodox approach of its religious clerics. Given this, there arrives another category called war poems as well as romantic poems. Sakoom War song(1848), Futhu Hushyam(1877), Jeen War song(1862), Tabook Warsong(1863), Badr War song(18760), Uhad War song(1879), Malappuram War song(1883), etc.

The erotic love can be seen in many Mappila songs. The imaginary and fantasy representation of romantic love is depicted adorably. Badrul Muneer Husanul Jamal and Soubaya Sundhari are two most celebrated romantic Mappila songs. With the passage of time, Mappila songs entered into every nuances of human life.

The first Arabic-Malayalam printing press was established in Tirurangadi in Malappuram district. This led to the publication of a number of Arabic-Malayalam works. Sanawullah Makthi Thangal’s Kadorakudaram, written in 1884 is the first literary work of the Mappilas to be printed in Malayalam script. 'Even before the advent of printing press in Kerala, there were manuscript writers in Arabic and Arabi-Malayalam. Among them, Kammutti Musliyar from Chavakkad and Aanapadikkal Mammu Haji from Kalpakancheri were the most popular. The exact period of the origin of Mappila songs cannot be identified. During the early stages of its development, Mappila songs was transmitted orally' (Kutty 13). A large number of these anonymous songs exist even today. When, these poetic pieces (Mappila songs) were initially written down, they were recorded on narrow pieces of elongated papers. These papers were called Safeena in Arabic.

Kess, Padam, Thirupp, Virutham, Chinth, Vannam, etc are the major tones. Later Ubaid calls our attention towards the pathetic condition of pure Malayalam songs. He has an opinion that there is less number of tones in it. Concerning the tradition of Mappila songs, Ubaid opines that it carries the heritage of six hundred years because The Futh-hu Sham of Cheetuvayikkaran Pareekkutty, Great Naseehath Mala of Kootayi Kunji Koya, Kappa Songs, and Muhyudheen Mala are said to have been written before four hundred years ago.

. Ubaid had written a biography on him in which Vaidyar is shown as a great reformer in the history of Mappila literature. Vaidyar submitted a regional face for Islamic art replacing many Arabic art styles. Saleekath, Badr, Uhad and Malappuram are among his numberless poems. Kerala Muslims learned about the Chera king only by the songs of Vaidyar. He presented many historical figures like Umer, Hamsa, Ali, Bilal and Ibrahim Adham. No one can compete with the romantic stories of Badrul Muneer and Husanul Jamal. After the presentation of this biography Ubaid sadly reminds the audience that he got disappointed to see Vaidyar’s grave and home then left unnoticed and avoided.

War songs were used in many communities as a part of National feeling or inspiration for the resistance. It would describe how their forefathers used to fight against enemies and their land or community still exists as an incompetentone. Pada songs (war songs) also make mappila literature noteworthy. Kaippatta Muhyudheen Moulavi’s Anvaul Basr va Akbarul Badr which was written in 1832 considered to be the first among this category. In 1882 Vaidyar presented it in a different way named Gasvathu Badrul Kubra in which he depicts the great historical war happened in AD 660, Badr in which truth won over devil. Sakoom Pada Songs depicts the journeys of prophet to preach Islam. Its author was Muhammed–ibnu-Umarul Vaqidi. Malappuram Pada Songs (1883) which was written by Vaidyar tells the story of the King Chera who went to Mecca to accept Islam. Cheroor pada songs were co-authored by Mummed Kutty and Muhyudheen in 1841 illustrating the Malabar riot of 1921. Karbala war song depicts one of the historical tragedies which happened in the Islamic world.

Letter songs played a vital role in making Mappila songs more popular. It created a strong influence because many of the family members of Mappila used to migrate to Arabian countries. Between them, letters made a strong influence as husbands shared their agonies, sons shared their respect and fathers shared their love. Letter songs are a kind of conversation between two persons. Imaginatively it can be any husband or wife. Vaidyar, Nallanam Beeran and S A Jameel are the major writers in this genre.

Women hold a significant status both in writing and singing Mappila songs. Before even Malayalam grand narrative see the women voice, Mappila writings showed it. Many writings showed women as obedient, silent, calm and beautiful while other writing showed women as an opponent and those who challenge. Men and women used to compose these songs. Nafeesath Mala by Nalakath Kunji Moideen Kutty holds prime standard among women presence in Mappila songs. Like other male saints were praised, the daughter-in-law of Hasan, Nafeesath beevi is valorised through the songs. V Ayishakutty composed Khadeeja beevi Vafath Mala in which wife of Prophet is remembered.

Elogies were not rare in Mappila literature. These were the true continuation of Marziyyaths in Arabic literature. Vaidyar wrote an elegy for his son and Kunjayisha for Fathima, daughter of Prophet. Festival songs like Uvais Mala, Hmazath Mala, Qudrath Mala were sung during the festivals which celebrated on the birthdays of Sufi saints. Travel literature like Pulikotil Hidher’s Shornoor Yatra and P T Beeran Kutty Moulavi’s Hajj yatra carry due attention. Mystical and philosophical writings brought the Mappila songs a universal face. Kunjayin Musliyar’s Kappapattu describes the world as an ocean and the man as a ship.

Yet, many Mappila songs helped Muslims to live a moral life. There were lots of spiritual songs. Nool madh and Safala Mala show no difference. Marriage was another theme which is celebrated by any art form. Marriage songs undoubtedly made Mappila songs very popular among other communities too. O K Kunji Muhammed’s Soorya Kumari Mala is considered as an oppana song. These songs hugely described the marriages of historical persons in Islam like Fathima and Ali.

The aforesaid categories of poems were hidden in Malayalam literature.Mainstream Kerala culture and literature represented and spoke for the Nayar- Namboothiri ¹community in its first stages. But after the arrival of many social reformers kerala literature showed a diverse difference. Ubaid was such a social reformer. Undoubtedly there may be many reasons, both historically and politically. But, the community could not escape from the responsibility of this marginalization. Being a community that came into the foray of the process of reform and modernity, Muslims lost a lot that would have changed its current socio-cultural status if it had made use of it at that point of time. The Muslims in Malabar was called Mappila who became different in their distinct culture called Mappila culture. Mappila song is the hallmark of the Mappila arts culture that possesses a good historical background in itself.

Mappila songs or the song culture of the Muslims in Kerala found no place in the discussion of the Malayalam literature in its early phase. The early patrons of Malayalam literature had recognized the fact that the Mappila songs and the Arabic-Malayalam language in which they were written could not be put outside realm of Malayalam literature. But quite often the lack of talented literary figures and well-versed people from the community remained as a big challenge to raise the issue. T Ubaid was an exception in the Mappila history of Kerala in general and Malabar in particular who took initiative to represent the community in the public domain of the Malayalam literature.

The actual history of the Mappila songs dates back to the 15th century Kerala. The early Muslims who came to Kerala had brought the culture of song along with them and they used to perform different varieties of songs in various cultural and ritual occasions. This culture was handed down to the followed descendents who gradually gave birth to a new linguistic variety called Arabic-Malayalam. It was out of the compulsion that the early Muslim missionaries formed this linguistic variety to make the missionary acts more easy and feasible.

The multi-talented Mappila poets began to produce some marvelous poetic creations like Muhyuddeen Mala by Qazi Muhammed. Muslim men and women continued this tradition and they celebrated the community ceremonies like Uroos², birthday celebration of Prophet Muhammed and social functions like marriage by Mappila songs. Moyinkutty Vaidyar popularized this culture by his own unique poetic creations. He produced Badr pattu, Uhad pattu, etc, to name a few. The songs were written keeping the tunes in mind. With no music schools dedicated to teaching of this musical tradition, one can say that Mappila song is an art culture of memory, kept alive by the religious pedagogy/entertainment.

The Mappila songs bear a Sufi tradition in its growth. Most of the Mappila songs narrate the holy stories of Prophets or the incidents in their lives, or the stories of revered saints and their life experiences. The research on Mappila songs should give a key attention towards the historical background of Sufis. The musical tradition of Kerala Muslims could be analyzed through exploring the lyrics and structures of Mappila songs. It is significant that Mappila songs amalgamated both the Islamic and local cultural flavors in pre-colonial Kerala. The oral tradition of the cultural transmission gave a public attention to this art.

Being closely associated with literature, Mappila songs should be academically studied along with the birth and growth of other genres of Malayalam literature.

T Ubaid belongs to North Malabar by birth. He is one of the numbered Muslim poets who worked hard for the rejuvenation of the Mappila culture, especially Mappila songs. A poet by birth, he took out his competing creativity and identified the literal significance of his predecessors with a large amount of enthusiasm and poetic passion. His interaction with then famous Malayalam literary people and writers opened a door towards the rich literal tradition of Mappila songs. This paper would like to conduct an academic study on the significant role of T Ubaid as a Muslim poet, and how his literal interventions helped get a space in the realm of Malayalam literature. Apart from that, the paper also wants to explore the reformist thoughts of Ubaid and their apparent presentation in his poetry.

The dissertation encompasses three chapters. The first chapter looks into the marking of Mappila songs in the historical narratives of Malayalam literature. It deals with the significance of Mappila song as a distinct category of literature. The second chapter presents T Ubaid as a multi-lingual poet. It makes an academic enquiry into the life and career of the poet and his daring effort to highlight the Mappila culture. The final chapter deals with the reformist tendency of T Ubaid. Of course it was the most challenging one as far as the poet was concerned.

Chapter 1: The Significance of Mappila Songs in Malayalam Literature

The Significance of the Mappila Songs in Malayalam literature

Thinking of Malayalam literature devoid of the discussion on its divergent branches will remain incomplete. The literary productions of marginalized, indigenous and subalterns along with the oral and written varieties often do not find space in the broad realm of Malayalam literature. The social status and cultural privileges of the writers/communities have a potential in constituting the mainstream literature. Even today, Mappila literature remains literally unnoticed since they were produced by people of Muslim minority community. The Mappila songs forms a large share of rich Mappila literature.

The official website of Kerala Tourism defines the terms Mappila and Pattu: “Literally the word Mappila refers to the Muslim community of north Kerala and Pattu means songs. The Mappila songs is hence a song sung by this community during their religious as well as other occasions” (kerala tourism.org). The discussion and research on the antiquity of this particular tradition is numerous. Given this, it seems since 700 years the Mappila songs exist in Kerala. The renowned Malayalam poet Ulloor S. Parameshvara Iyer, in his work Kerala Sahithya Charithram, opines that 'Arabi-Malayalam has a tradition of 600 years' (Mohammedali 22). Mappila songs of old tradition has its existence in the vocal tradition, and their presence in print began much later. The lack of earlier manuscripts makes it difficult to draw the exact date of its origin and the invention of the Arabic-Malayalam script. Malayalam critic on Mappila songs O. Abdu claims that 'the script emerged during the ninth century' (Kutty 24).

It is authentically reported that T Ubaid was the real person behind collecting many of the works. This genre is famous for illustrating the real concept of beauty than the mere reflections on the religious faith. Being as an enriched collection of Islamic myth and history, Mappila songs entail an unavoidable space in the cultural entity of Kerala Muslims. The major and noteworthy specialty of this genre is the multi-lingual usage of words such as from Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Tamil, Sanskrit and Malayalam at the same time. Often the mixing can be seen in a sentence. And this linguistic phenomenon gave birth to a new sub-language called Arabic-Malayalam.

These songs were the unique property of the Muslims as the Arabic language was not known to non-Muslims. These days, however, the Mappila song is an inevitable in many music concerts and cultural festivals held here in Kerala. Mappila songs is the traditional folk song of the Mappila community in Kerala. Similar to many indigenous folk songs, it tells the outstanding stories of its historical people and culture. Vanchippattu, Pallippattu, Onappattu, Vilppattu and Vadakkanppattu are some of the major indigenous folk songs found in Kerala. Like other folk songs, Mappila songs also has its own significant features. It is a diverse literary form; an amalgamation of foreign and native elements.

Though the modern Mappila songs are changed much from the older way of presenting, it is widely available in current music industry of Kerala. At present, Salam Kodiyathoor, Tajudheen Vadakara and Shafi Parambil are the major producers of this genre. The major distinction in modern Mappila songs from the older one is the lack of historical aestheticism. What is striking is that they just sing about erotic love, women and festival. Like what we have almost like in the so called modern poetry, they do not bother about many structured rhyming patterns and rhythms in the genre. Even though, they are criticised for it by major traditional and religious personalities, it draws major attention of Muslim youth across the world.

Many seemed problematic while technically defining what actually differentiates the Mappila songs from other songs. In my view, it is the matter of aesthetics. Moreover, it entails a certain kind of rhetorical arrangement. Amiri Baraka disagreed with Joseph Conrad in identifying Black aesthetics that specifically draws attention against the then White mainstream aesthetics. Blacks in the course of Harlem Renaissance used to write for them in their own cultural languages. Even now, what I believe is that wherever a limited community exists, there must be their own aesthetics and nobody can claim ours is “high” literature. We hardly discuss marginalised literature like indigenous literature and Mappila literature (songs). This chapter may call your attention to the general history of Mappila songs.

Why the Mappila literature remains marginalised is the fundamental question that should be addressed in the first stage of the discussion. Balakrishnan Vallikkunnu observes that 'there are two major reasons for that: first one is the cultural existence of Muslim community in a so-called general mainstream culture. Because Muslims always carry certain limits in their lifestyles as they don’t eat pork, drink toddy, etc. These kinds of cultural turns from the mainstream might have pushed the community with their literature to the margins. The second cause is the hegemonic elitism which is given to the Arabic language by the orthodox religious clerics of that time over the mother tongue, Malayalam' (Mappilappattu Padavum Padhanavum). Fortunately, with the arrival of European educational system, many scholars within the community started analyzing their own literature. It is reported that the famous speech which is done by T Ubaid in 1920s in a literal convention was attended by major literary persons in the mainstream at that time. Since then, we have a song in the film "Neelakkuyil" by P Baskharan and another one in "1921" by the great poet Moyin kutty Vaidyar. Later that Kerala Literary Academy had given some contributions to the drafting of a book titled Mahathaya Mappila Parambaryam. By that it seems like the Mappila literature pushed to the corners.

The remarkable concern over the Mappila songs is its oral tradition. There might be only the handwritten copy of the song. Due to the lack of printing facility it was transmitted orally. It was sung by traders when they do travelling, religious clerics in any public gatherings like marriage, and mothers as lallobies. Earlier, Mappila songs were the products of Arabic-Malayalam language. The Muhyudheen Mala written in praise of great Indian Sufi saint Muhyudheen Abdul Qadir Jeelani is believed to be the first Mappila song ever found in the history. Similar to the Malayalam literature, Arabic-Malayalam too borrowed many words and styles from Tamil language. After that, Rifae Mala (1623),Usvath Mala (1628) Valiya Naseehath Mala (1674) also took birth in the same century(b).

Following this, the genre was just limited in the spiritual praising of great saints of Muslim community. The saints are believed to be the nearest persons to the God. By many years, they had done numberless worships to the God and they got magical powers to change anything in the world. They are many miracles which still exist. Moreover, they had solved many problems of the whole people without considering cast, creed or religion. Then the oral tradition went into the category of quissa which means story. There were Madeenathunnajar Quissa, TajulilUmr Quissa, Ibrahim Taqath Quissa, Esa Nabi Quisssa, Danial Nabi Quissa and Ibrahim Ibnu Adham Quissa. It follows another kinds of Malas (songs) like Kappa Patt, Nool Madan and Safala Mala.

In the second stage of Mappila song history there was an upheaval of protest and revolution against all the foreign powers. It was the Mappila songs which inspired many of youths in the freedom struggle and protest against the landlords. At the same time, this genre used to criticize the orthodox approach of its religious clerics. Given this, there arrives another category called war poems as well as romantic poems. Sakoom Warsong(1848), Futhu Hushyam(1877), Jeen War song(1862), Tabook Warsong(1863), Badr War song(18760, Uhad War song(1879), Malappuram War song(1883), etc. Badrul Muneer Husanul Jamal and Soubaya Sundhari are two most celebrated romantic Mappila songs. With the passage of time, Mappila songs entered into every nuances of human life.

From this historical moment itself T Ubaid came forward and talked voraciously about Mappila songs. He started speaking about the Keralite psyche which accepted the aesthetics of Mappila songs to a certain extent. Even in the School festivals Mappila songs carry its unique status. He counts the main features of the Mappila songs as follows

Firstly, its popularity is preoccupied among the audience as it was sung by the ages. It claims the power of authenticity because it was travelled orally. Then its alluring language and rhetoric with the specific rhythms and rhyming borrowed from Arabic, Tamil and Malayalam. Ubaid then indicated to the sole specialty of the Mappila language as they are very native and they used to avoid hard and complex words from Sanskrit. For instance, Malayalam word for rain is 'mazha' (there is no ‘zha’ sound in English) and the Mappila used to simplify it and say maya with /j/ sound. At the same time, whole mappila from the north part of Kerala to the south part borrowed different styles and words from their own native people if they are not natives.

Later Ubaid started talking about the changes which happened to the structure and style of Mappila literature. His ponderings had similarities with the European debate on Formalism. He argued that Mappila songs entail a different and unique beauty only because of its form which includes rhymes, rhythms and tone. With the vital emergence of Modern poetry, the form which owned Mappila song has lost and entire aesthetic beauty of it withered away. He countered the Modern Mappila poets asking that if they degrade the forms of poetry, they would actually deny the literary entity of Asan, Changambuzha, Vallathol and Shankara Kurupp.

Ubaid then calls our attention to the certain tones of Mappila songs. The very complex rules in the structure of Mappila songs may lead the modern writers to write in their own tone and style. He names some of the rhythms like “Kambi”, “Kazhuth”, “Val Kambi” and “Valummal Kambi”. Another characteristic of Mappila song is that it is truly meant for the audience, i.e. rather than the meaning creation, Mappila poets concentrate on the tone of the song. Similar tone would be long into either 24 lines or 32 lines. Even the 2000 foots of Badr song by Moyin Kutty Vaidyar consist of 100 different tones. Ubaid used to utterly criticize the modern Mappila poets who only knows the language but no rules and he proudly presents a modern poet, Muneer (Muhammad sahib),who knows both language and rules and wrote poems which have similarities with Ullor’s Uma Keralam.

It is believed that Mappila songs has always been a part of Malayalam literature in general. Scholars tend to categorize it under the Arabic-Malayalam literary tradition. Arabic-Malayalam is a kind of mixed language form of Arabic which emerged in Malabar. The Mappilas directed to exclusively use Arabic in their religious teachings, and the Arabic which they learned from religious institutions structured the larger part of their education. They used to communicate in their own Malayalam with a lot of “hybrid derivatives” but hardly wrote in Malayalam.

However, “there was a predominant belief that Malayalam and its written script had not become mature enough to translate The Holy Quran and the teachings of the Prophet, popularly known as the Hadith (Mohammedali 20). The ideological and linguistic “needs” which cultivated in the psyche of Kerala Muslims inevitably resulted in the scripting of the Arabi-Malayalam language. M A Illias quotes Miller that “Arabic-Malayalam, which happened to be the vehicle of various religious materials and creative expression.”

Taking 28 letters in Arabic language and 56 in Malayalam language, Arabic Malayalam carries more than 56 alphabets. Considering the high disparity between these two languages, small changes were brought into the existing Arabic letters to represent the Malayalam letters. For example, we cannot see pa [പ] sound in Arabic, and in order to represent the Malayalam.

Like every other scholars Ubaid too argues that the history of Arabic-Malayalam is same that of Mappila history in Kerala. He reports that there were only thirty five letters in Arabic Malayalam. At that time there was not much Sanskrit influence. After the arrival of it the scholars like Vakkom Abdul Khadir Moulavi and Chalilakath Kunjahammed Haji reformed the language and ended up in fifty five letters. Ubaid counts many books from many subjects including religion, medicine and astronomy. Al Irshad, Murshid were the magazines which were written in Arabic Malayalam language.

pa [പ] sound, the alphabet[ ب] used for the Arabic ba sound with three dots at the bottom. The Mappila Muslims used this newly invented script for all their routines till the second decade of the twentieth century. They hardly used the Malayalam during this period. 'Arabi-Malayalam is also called as Mappila-Malayalam' (Hamsa 24). Arabi-Malayalam included a lot of Arabic and Persian words. These mixed words through compounding and other processes have resulted to the birth of many new words. They include ‘vakkalathu’, ‘doulathu’ ‘halakka’, ‘balalu’ and ‘jamalu’. However, apart from such formations, a number of Mappila-Malayalam words like ‘chittiram’,‘tanjam’, ‘monju’, ishku, and ‘tattiram’, came into being. The new vocabulary borrowed heavily from other Indian regional languages especially from Tamil and Kannada.

In due course, many language scholars revived Arabi-Malayalam by using them in their literary works. The major writers who revived it include Chalilakathu Kunjahammad Haji, Andathodu Shujayi Moythu Musliyar, and Vakkom Abdul Kadar Maulavi. The hybridization and merging of Arabic with other languages was a common phenomenon. Like Arabic-Malayalam, there was Arabic-Tamil, Arabic-Kannada, Arabic-Panjabi and Arabic -Sindhi. This hybridization was not a process which took place in India alone; a similar pattern can be seen in Sri Lanka, where it gave birth to Arabic-Sinhalese. From the beginning of the seventeenth till the nineteen forties most of the Mappila literary works were written in Arabi-Malayalam.

The first Arabic-Malayalam printing press was established in Tirurangadi in Malappuram district. This led to the publication of a number of Arabic-Malayalam works. It was only after India got independence, that many of the Mappila writings began to be printed in Malayalam script. Sanawullah Makthi Thangal’s Kadorakudaram, written in 1884 is the first literary work of the Mappilas to be printed in Malayalam script. 'Even before the advent of printing press in Kerala, there were manuscript writers in Arabic and Arabi-Malayalam. Among them, Kammutti Musliyar from Chavakkad and Aanapadikkal Mammu Haji from Kalpakancheri were the most popular. The exact period of the origin of Mappila songs cannot be identified. During the early stages of its development, Mappila songs was transmitted orally' (Kutty 13). A large number of these anonymous songs exist even today. When, these poetic pieces (Mappila songs) were initially written down, they were recorded on narrow pieces of elongated papers. These papers were called Safeena in Arabic.

Why the modern poets do not take much interest in this tradition is because of its hard tones though it is sweet. Ubaid opines that there was huge influence of Sanskrit and Tamil in the construction of tones. There were countless tones in the Mappila literature. Kess, Padam, Thirupp, Virutham, Chinth, Vannam, etc are the major tones. Later Ubaid calls our attention towards the pathetic condition of pure Malayalam songs. He has an opinion that there is less number of tones in it. That is why because even today, majority of Kerala people gets attracted to the tones of Hindi, Tamil and Kannada. He says about the languages of Mappila songs that of a mixed one with old Malayalam and KarinnTamil.³ Arabic, Urdu and many regional Malayalam words can be seen. 'Ubaid shows less interest in checking Mappila songs by any linguist because it is fundamentally written for illiterate common people' (Abdulla Kunhi 198). Why he opined like that is simply because many of words are being shortened for the sake of the tone. Concerning the tradition of Mappila songs, Ubaid opines that it carries the heritage of six hundred years because The Futh-hu Sham of Cheetuvayikkaran Pareekkutty, Great Naseehath Mala of Kootayi Kunji Koya, Kappa Songs, and Muhyudheen Mala are said to have been written before four hundred years ago.

Any research on Mappila songs would remain incomplete without quoting Moyin Kutty Vaidyar. Ubaid had written a biography on him in which Vaidyar is shown as a great reformer in the history of Mappila literature. Vaidyar submitted a regional face for Islamic art replacing many Arabic art styles. Saleekath, Badr, Uhad and Malappuram are among his numberless poems. Kerala Muslims learned about the Chera king only by the songs of Vaidyar. He presented many historical figures like Umer, Hamsa, Ali, Bilal and Ibrahim Adham. No one can compete with the romantic stories of Badrul Muneer and Husanul Jamal. After the presentation of this biography Ubaid sadly reminds the audience that he got disappointed to see Vaidyar’s grave and home then left unnoticed and avoided.

Other significant categories of Mappila literature still got less attention in the world of Malayalam literature. 'Mala songs deserve due attention among them. Mala simply meant “something to be sung”' (Vallikkunnu 25). These songs are believed to remind Muslims about the next world and many Sufis lived in Kerala. Muhyudheen Mala is the prime one among them. It was written in AD 1607 by Khasi Muhammed (28). It reminds the great saint who lived in Iraq, Sheik Abdul Qadir Jeelani. The great Naseehath Mala was written in 1674 by Kunji Koya Tangal. It contains many moral advises for the mappila. Kilathi Mala by Vaidyar leads mappila songs from pure religious entity to more social themes. Vellappokka Malaby Pulikkottil Hider illustrates a flood which happened in Kerala. This poem entirely deconstructed the way the mappila songs prevailed in the society. Edavan Moideen’s MathaMohini Kunjamina Mala described the love story of a girl who reverted to Islam.

Pada songs (war songs) also make mappila literature noteworthy. Kaippatta Muhyudheen Moulavi’s Anvaul Basr va Akbarul Badr which was written in 1832 considered to be the first among this category. In 1882 Vaidyar presented it in a different way named Gasvathu Badrul Kubra in which he depicts the great historical war happened in AD 660, Badr in which truth won over devil. Sakoom Pada Songs depicts the journeys of prophet to preach Islam. Its author was Muhammed–ibnu-Umarul Vaqidi. Malappuram Pada Songs (1883) which was written by Vaidyar tells the story of the King Chera who went to Mecca to accept Islam. Cheroor pada songs were co-authored by Mummed Kutty and Muhyudheen in 1841 illustrating the Malabar riot of 1921. Karbala war song depicts one of the historical tragedies which happened in the Islamic world.

Kissa (story) songs represent the romantic and historical lives of Muslims. Ibrahim Adham Kissa songs, Mahranqi Kissa songs, Maryam Kissa songs and Umar Great Kissa are the important songs. Soubagya Sundhari (1868) and Badrul Munner Husanul Jamal (1868) were revolutionary attempts of Vaidyar to go beyond the limits of religion. He showed pure romantic/secular love song through those works. In that poem we could see magical realism as many characters changes as animals and birds.

Letter songs played a vital role in making Mappila songs more popular. It created a strong influence because many of the family members of Mappila used to migrate to Arabian countries. Between them, letters made a strong influence as husbands shared their agonies, sons shared their respect and fathers shared their love. Letter songs are a kind of conversation between two persons. Imaginatively it can be any husband or wife. Vaidyar, Nallanam Beeran and S A Jameel are the major writers in this genre. S A Jameel’s famous one starts like:

“etrayum bahumanappetta ente priya

Bharthav vayikkuvan-swantham barya

Ezhuthunnathenthennal

Eere pirishathil

Chollidunnuvassalam..”

` ( dear and respected husband

Its from your lovely wife

I write that’

With lots of love’

Covey my reguards...”

It created a strong acceptability among Mappila families whose dear one lives abroad. Gulf migration can be seen as a significant role player in Mappila community economically and socially. The social history of Muslims of Northern Kerala, otherwise known popularly as Mappilas, is an odd lot; stands apart as having very little in common with their pan-Indian counterparts. Indian Islam is relatively well known. Asliving on the farthest corner, Mappilas, however, stand for a remarkable exception. They are still unexposed to the outside world, through two major processes, namely, globalization and migration to the Gulf countries that brought some significant changes to their life situation (Illias).

The huge marketing of Mappila songs was another significant contribution of Gulf-migration. Every household filled with cassettes and VCRs and Mappila songs were widely celebrated. Even now, though the films are prohibited among Mapplia community, the home movies are popularly seen. And the aforesaid letter song ends like:

“oru patrathilunnamallo

Oru pay virichonnichurangamallo

Kathu vayichudan kannuneer varkkenda

Kalbile kathanappo malyangal korkkenda

Kazhivulla kalam eni kalanjini therkkenda

Yatra thirikkumallo-enikka mugam

Kandu marikkamallo-ningalkkay

Tatti kotty kattilitt pattu viricharayonnurukkedatte

Talkkalam njan kathu churukeedatte...”

(Let’s dine in one vessel,

Let’s sleep in one blanket

Don’t weep while reading

Don’t make garlands of pain

Don’t waste coming days

Please return- for me that face

Can be seen while I die-for you

I decorated my bed

Then, I conclude my letter...)

A letter which is filled with love, despair, calling back and healing is transferred like a song and every member of the Mappila family whispered it all the while.

Women writing were not that much far away. Before even Malayalam grand narrative see the women voice, mappila writings showed it. Many writings showed women as obedient, silent, calm and beautiful while other writing showed women as an opponent and those who challenge. Men and women used to compose these songs. Nafeesath Mala by Nalakath Kunji Moideen Kutty holds prime standard among women presence in Mappila songs. Like other male saints were praised, the daughter-in-law of Hasan, Nafeesath beevi is valorised through the songs. V Ayishakutty composed Khadeeja beevi Vafath Mala in which wife of Prophet is remembered. P K Haleema’s Chandhira Sundhari Mala and K Amina Kutty’s Mangalalangaram also come under this sub-category.

Elogies also did a vital role in Mappila literature. These were the true continuation of Marziyyaths in Arabic literature. Vaidyar wrote an elegy for his son and Kunjayisha for Fathima, daughter of Prophet. Festival songs like Uvais Mala, Hmazath Mala, Qudrath Mala were sung during the festivals which celebrated on the birthdays of Sufi saints. Travel literature like Pulikotil Hidher’s Shornoor Yatra and P T Beeran Kutty Moulavi’s Hajj yatra carry due attention. Mystical and philosophical writings brought the Mappila songs a universal face. Kunjayin Musliyar’s Kappapattu describes the world as an ocean and the man as a ship.

Collecting many hardships from the human life, he illustrates how a true believer can live here in this world. Nool madh and Safala Mala show no difference. Marriage songs undoubtedly made Mappila songs very popular among other communities too. O K Kunji Muhammed’s Soorya Kumari Mala is considered as an oppana song. These songs hugely described the marriages of historical persons in Islam like Fathima and Ali. Mailanji Patt of Kaithakara C A Hasan Kutty comes under this sub-genre and it is very popular:

“chichilennum chilichilennum kalpadathintosha

Osha kettu mamaliyar pinthirinju nokki”

(her anklets sounds “chil” “chil”

Hearing sounds Ali looked back..)

K T Muhammed’s Kuppi Pattu celebrated many mythical aspects of Islamic religion. Folk songs in Mappila literature deserve a relevant notice. Tenga Pattu and Manga Pattu are the widely known lines in this category. These songs helped Mappila literature to be part of very indigenous culture. Major folk songs of Kerala at that time celebrated the very social life of working class people. Mappila literature too tried a hand in this too.

“appam chud chud pathumma

Ippam varum puthu mappila

Appam chtt karinjum poy

Mappila vann madangim poy”

( pathumma, cook many foods

Your groom would come soon

Food became overcooked

And groom too went away...)

With the variety of categories Mappila songs still sleep in the dark pages of Kerala literature. An art also represent an identity of a certain culture. T Ubaid tried tireless for nothing but to present this identity. Mappila moves back from certain social activities but it does not mean that their literature too left in margins.

Chapter 2: T. Ubaid as a Poet.

Poetry is always the purest among all literary works. There is an element of simplicity and complexity in it at the same time. Poetry, throughout many centuries, has predicted and reported every cultural and social aspect of many civilizations. The romantic poetry is defined as 'a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings which is taken from the loneliness'⁴ but the Modern poetry is perceived as 'an escape from realities rather than mere expression.' The standard objective for determining the quality of poetry is to check whether it exists independently from one’s own mind or opinions.

For instance, if anyone wants to measure one foot, it does not end in drawing a line and calling it “one foot.” On the other hand, it is said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” It suggests that each individual mind and soul is the final authority as to define what is beautiful and what is not. Therefore, there is chance to become many definitions of beauty as there are human beings in this world. However, our God created a universe of order. “Everything in life points to precision and order. Mathematics, physics, biology, and music reflect a structure that allows for predictability.” The language has an ordered structure; otherwise, the study of grammar would be a most senseless endeavour. So it is with poetry. A poem should not be seen as an ambiguous writing where millions of different interpretations are possible.

Poetry always carries a prime attention throughout the literature to an extent that the literary histories in many countries even begin with it. Each form of cultures which is found today had an oral tradition of existence before they came into writing. Every culture that uses writing these days has an oral tradition that came before writing, and many cultures around the world, such as many Native American groups, still transmit their culture primarily through oral ways.

A community or social group that did not necessarily cultivate the culture of writing, recording and documenting facts assigns the responsibility of learning the oral literature and sharing it to a particular group of people. They have to work hard without considering any barriers like cultural and individual differences. These people called by different names, like griots⁵ in West Africa and, bards in Europe but had similar jobs. They are the only people reported to have done an historical job in the world. At first, they would start, when very young, by being taken to an older bard or griot from which they would listen to the stories. While learning stories, they used to write it in their spaces. By this, they developed magical capacities for memorization. Then, after their maturity, it would be their job to visit different towns and villages telling the stories. It is said that they used many literary techniques to aid their memories. We often struck by many tones and styles in the songs. Actually these tones, by making sweet to hear, help us to remember for long. They used techniques like alliteration, assonance, rhyming schemes and rhythms.

Therefore, many scholars argue that the oral tradition is responsible for the birth of poetry, the form of writing that uses devices such as rhyme and rhythm to create an effect on the reader. It is argued that prose, the form of writing that has no rhythm or rhyme (such as the writing found in a novel, or in this lesson) came later, after the invention of poetry (Watson, 2006).

In major cultures, the stories could be transmitted for entertainment, but that was not their basic job. The oral tradition was often a key part of religious practices, and the stories often focused on the gods. Concerning the mappila literature too, it starts with the oral tradition of poetries. As mentioned in the first chapter, it was sung throughout the mappila households, mosques, paddy fields, etc. In the second wave of mappila literature, the songs of Mahakavi Moyin Kutty Vaidher’s were hugely celebrated. T Ubaid was the true man behind bringing him like that of a position which itself is unknown to many. A true poet only can recognize another poet.

One of the famous critics from Kerala, Pavanan commented on his poetry that Ubaid has to sacrifice his lifetime to reform the Islamic religion, at the same time its traces are so discernible through his poetical works (Bevinja, 1997).

Mythology in Indian context is perhaps the most adapted and most admired for every generation of writers. History bears evidence to every fact that Indians from every age, time and place and dynasty have expressed their ardent dream to be enriched and knowledgeable in myths, mythology, legends and folklore. “As such, mythological themes in Indian literature are just another common aspect, governing one's daily life and passion for reading” (Watson, 2006).

Majority of old Malayalam poets used the very traditional- religious myths in their works. In a way it can be argued that the tradition itself gives them the real ‘aura’. As T S Eliot opined, poetry cannot be plucked away from tradition. Ubaid also made use of many Islamic mythical symbols in his poems.

Every poet has his/her own unique way of addressing each of their varied subject matters. Some of the poets wrote about Nature, some of them about life and others about erotic love. Unlike others Ubaid used to write about the exclusive maternal love. While the most poets talked about the possessed love and life he might have talked about the real unachievable maternal love:

enthinu thamasippathambike, ninnuniya-

Men munnilanayuvan? Nengu nee maranjitho!

Hrithadam karinju kenu keenalayeendu….” (AbdullahKunji, 2016).

(Why are you getting late oh my dear mother,

Come to your son soon? Where do you fade away!

How much time do I spend seeking you,

Breaking my heart in this way….)

Since the history of the poetry, writers used many figures of speech to articulate their meaning in a better way. Imagery, personification, simile, metaphor and synecdoche are the most used techniques for meaning making. Ubaid also used many of these techniques.

The real concept of poetical beauty is ascribed to the motherhood. He shows the mother as the healing, most helpful, understandable, uncompromising love and the true refuge. Mother’s love is incompetent in a way that nobody can replace that space. T P Sreedharan indicates that when Ashan and Vallathol tried to see the poem in the natural beauty, T Ubaid was the only poet who went seeking the unachievable true beauty of poem which reminds of the English romantic poet William Wordsworth. (Bevinja, 1997) Much of his poetry collection was filled with many religious symbols because poet might have believed that those divine symbols would make his poetry much more pure and auspicious.

While we refer to ancient Indian literature the presence of religion is unavoidable because the every Indian psyche is filled with the divine presence. Taken this, no writer can choose a religion-free theme or topic in their literary expression. Even the contemporary politics hugely take advantage of blind religious mindset of larger Indians. Even the art also added fuel to the fire as they never avoid religion whenever they write. “However, when wanting to delineate more and more over the aspect of religious influence on Indian literature, there does not remain any room for describing the domain of 'Indian Literature' into a separate genre; it does not need any more introduction." (Watson, 2006). The so-called Vedic period hugely influenced the Indian panorama since it has taken rather a mode of reflection. There were no room for reason or logic at that time when the European played with reason and imagination. That’s why we still hardly know how to think about any matter. “Religious influence upon Indian literature can be mostly counted into that historical period, which had made a transition from oral literature in India into written literature” (Watson, 2006).

Ubaid showed no difference. The vivid picture of Prophet Muhammed (p.b.u.h) is so discernible in his poetry. Religion, prophet and God are his major concern, found regularly in his poetic creations. Collecting the core beliefs and practices of Islam he reframed a different theoretical aspect. Ubaid never stopped understanding his religion from its clerics but through the long lasting quench for Islam brought him to the poetical expression of it.

vinjanathin puthu vettam

Manugathayeethinnasleeshathal

Sambathippithu poornnathaye

Anudhinamayislamica pavana-

Samsakaram than vijayippoo! (AbdullahKunji, 2016).

( the new lights of wisdom

Considering whole the humans

Reaches to the perfection

Day by day the islam

That culture would win…)

His major concern towards the essence of poetry is very striking. Living in a multicultural land remained as a prime cause to the articulation and representation of very diverse, secular and philanthropic approach towards the humanity. Every poet in modern era as well as pre-modern era kept their own take towards their entity of themes in poetry and even the poetry itself. The first among them was the Greek poet Plato and he ended up in beauty and truth is the true taste of each poem. Dr. Johnson spoke about the poetry as the substitution of a morality which is presented by the religion. Ruskin theorized a lengthy discourse on the different aspect of the art.

The discussion of tradition and modernity appears in poet’s life in a different way that both are mixed and amalgamated. He hardly addresses the question of being very modern because:

enganam pazhanjananennakilaykollatte

Tankalen pattine vittalumalattathe… (AbdullahKunji, 2016).

(Let my song be very old and rotten,

You leave it without worrying….)

Poet may argue that he never bothers his poetry’s modernity and believes in its own entity which is eternal and long lasting. At the same time, though his language still left as very old, he talked about very modern ideas.

“Ubaid was a nest of mappila song at the same time he had a true relation to the Malayalam poetry.” (Bevinja, 1997) It was a time in Kerala history when the poets where even they were given labels as Hindu poets and Muslim poets referring to their mere use of words. His contemporary poet P Kunjiraman Nair was named as a Hindu poet because he used many words related to temple. At the same time Ubaid took different words from Muslim community. By then Ubaid was seemed as a mere Mappila poet. He translated poems of Kumaran Asan to Kannada and his meeting with Vallathol is also very remarkable in my argument that he was true man behind linking Mappila literature to Malayalam literature. There was a period in the history of Kerala when some of the clerics in Islam proclaimed the Malayalam and English as “religiously prohibited” languages. It was he who built a linking bridge between the variant cultures and religions. Even Kumaran Asan used to degrade Muslim communities in many of his poems like “Oru Nayar Streeyum Muhammadeeyanum.” Later Ubaid comes to the mainstream and called for writing a preface for Vallathol’s poem “Allahu”.

This kind of interruption to the Malayalam literary area led Kumaran Asan to rewrite many of his ideas. One of the scholars in Islam Muhammed Kuttashery commented that Ubaid was a true mixture of pure naturalist, Islamic ideologists and literary beauty” (Bevinja, 1997).

Symbols are the techniques used by many poets. It creates a different level of aesthetic beauty in the minds of readers. Symbols help the audience to grasp any hard theories within seconds like philosophical and mystical ideas. Even the symbol of compass used by John Donne is prominent in the history of English poetry. Death is another topic which many of the poets like Emily Dickinson celebrated. It also signified that death is the only truth which can happen in this world. There are many mystical poets those who treat death as a bride, companion. There would be unachievable aesthetic beauty in celebrating death as a truth through the poems. Ubaid liked to see death as a challenge, an opponent to whole humanity and he reminds everyone to see it like a monster:

ninnodoppam varillenn

Chonnilletra peeraho !

Ennalum tell thettathe

Tinnam valichizhachu nee... (AbdullahKunji, 2016)

(How many a one told you

They won’t come anymore!

But you took them away

Making no mistake....)

Addressing death in a casual way Ubaid talked about a universal phenomenon in a much different way. Even though he could respect the death being a religious person, poet recalled for an optimistic view taking it as a mere challenge. Death is personified like an enemy who should take us away one day. C P Shreedharan wondered that how a Muslim poet can talk about death like that and it is at the same time very beautiful.^. Sukumar Azheekode commented that Ubaid is rather an imaginary world of Vailoppilli (Bevinja, 1997).

Ubaid translated many texts from different languages proving himself as a multilingual poet. Leaving in a land of languages he is believed to know many languages like Arabic, Kannada, Malayalam, etc. Taken this, he brought many themes from different languages like the life of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). His poem, "Mahathaya Prathikaram" (The Holy Revenge) gives us an instance from the lifetime of Prophet when he visited a place and talked about God. But the ignorant natives threw him stones and Prophet’s leg started bleeding. Wounded by that natives Prophet is advised to pray against them. There Ubaid reveals Prophet’s answer:

lokathe shabikkanalla

Njan niyukthanayithing

Lokangalkk karunya-

May janichonallo… (AbdullahKunji, 2016)

(Not to curse the world

I am sent here..

But as a boon for them

I was born…)

Another poem “Abhayam Teedum” (Seeking Refuge) is well known for asserting his identity as he is no more a Modern but a conservative poet. He advocates that though he would remain as an old, primitive and traditional should sound new ideas. Ubaid was not ready to change his ideology for others. He ardently believes in himself.

He translated poet Muhammed Iqbal’s Shikva and Javabe Shikva( Problems and Solutions). The poem like "Divyakavyam" (Divine Poem) he vociferously speaks about Prophet. Chandrakkala (Crescent) is one of his poems which illustrated the ever celebrated Islamic symbol the crescent. Around the Muslim mosques and programs crescent is seen as a decoration and it has got many connotation. It could be because of the reason Muslims do follow the lunar calendar and they get ready for their huge celebrations by following the moon arrival. Throughout much Muslim discourse like Mappila poem crescent is seen as a symbol of happiness and beauty.

“Karuthikollatte” (Beware) is another poem in which he portrayed many images of birds singing for the festivals. The same narration connects human world to the natural and animal world. It can be seen as his ecological attachment beyond the mere attribution human world.

“Eedhinte kheetham” (Despair of Eid ,the Festival) reminds the polluted and pathetic condition of Muslim community. It has corrupted even in the festivals and nowhere the spirituality is seen. Celebrations have gone beyond the certain boarders of the religion. Referring to many historical persons in the history of Islam, asks the community to rethink about it. Many scholars reject the poetry except in festivals like Eid and Meelad u nabi. The poem “Bagyavan Njan” (I am lucky) illustrated his mindset to become a public intellectual who bears the burdens of the society. Almost like P Kunji Raman Nair’s “Nara Bai” and Sugatha Kumari’s “Kaliya Mardhanam” Ubaid discusses how a person can serve the society. The same poem analyses the inner conflicts of a social servant.

aduthu ninneedumanujanepppolum

Tadanjuveezhumarirundupoy rangam… (AbdullahKunji, 2016).

(Even the dearest one next to us

Would fell down in this dark age)

These lines are from his famous poem “Vilakku Vekkuvin” (Put the Lamp) which is a kind of social criticism. He calls each person in the society and invokes him to have some moral and human approach towards others. This poem is a public call for the universal love, respect and humility. These lines can be taken as an attempt to the social reformation from the inhuman activities which prevailed in the society at that time like robbing and huge disrespect. The poem contains thirty eight lines in which he utters “put the lamp” twelve times. There is home depicted in the poem in which there is a special room for the bride groom. In that room there is a diamond but the people in the home sleep heavily. Robbers are around the home and bride groom is already left the scene. To here itself he asked readers to put the lamps. Every figure in the poem is metaphors and it can be assimilated to any social evils.

The "Pidicha Pally" (Fire Stricken Mosque) sounds harsh criticism against his own community, Islam. Ubaid presented mosque as a symbol in Malayalam poetry. Mosque represents the religion itself. By calling each members of the society, he reminds that the religion goes far away from its actual goals. Those who claim as the spokespersons of the religion themselves had gone mad and religion gets misinterpreted. There were not any public criticism against Mosque or religion but Ubaid had done that and he was questioned for “blasphemy”. Another striking reference we have is the poem of P Kunjiraman Nair in which he criticises the temple authority.

His poem “Kavithayod” (To Poem) seemed like invoking to the Muse for the help to write poems. “Vidavangal” (Good bye) was related to the birth of Kasaragod district from the Karnataka. Many natives including him faced many difficulties while they officially uprooted from Karnataka as they lost their language, culture and happiness.

vili keelkkunnu,

Vili keelkkunnu

Mathavin vili keelkkunnu!

Vidatharikamme kannada datri,

Kerala janani vilikkunnu… (AbdullahKunji, 2016)

(Here we answer,

We answer,

Answering the call of our mother!

Good bye to Kannada dear,

Mother Kerala calls)

The poem gives supremacy to the Malayalam language as he calls Kannada as a foster mother and Malayalam as the real mother. But he never avoids Kannada. His poem “Mohiniyattam” (Mohini attam)⁶ describes every act a player shows in the stage. Ubaid never forget to describe her inner conscious too. “Malayalathinte Mahakavi” (the great poet of Kerala) praises his contemporary poet P Kunji Raman Nair where in another poem called “circusil” (in circus) poet take a wonder at the people who works in the circus. “Achante Kath” (Father’s Letter), the poem would remind us Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for their famous letters. Ubaid and his daughter carry no difference.

“Bharathamba Porukkumo” (Shall Mother India Pardon?) invokes a national feeling. Ubaid re-reads the secular face of India and he reminds every martyr who died for the country. “Divya Samskaram” (Divine Culture) comments on a better culture and he propounds that Islam is the best culture. “Dhukhathinte Dhukkam” (Grief of the Sadness) is truly a philosophical poem which questions the existence of sadness. “Khilafath Kalapathil” (The Riot of Khilafath) discusses the Mappila history concerning the Khilafath movement. “Tottappani” (forest worker) is a simple poem in which he calls everyone’s attention to the agonies of a common man. He also wrote many lullabies and letter songs. It is remarkable that Ubaid was a skilled poet who changed the face of Malayalam literature by adding the marginalised Mappila literature.

Chapter 3: T. Ubaid as a Social Reformer.

T Ubaid as a Social Reformer

Every community changes according to the worldly needs. But there must be cultural leaders to bear the torch. Through this chapter I would like to depict Ubaid as a social reformer. T Ubaid was born on 7th October, 1908. His parents were renowned Mappila singers. Firstly he wrote poetry in Kannada and later in Arabic style. While making hats he was taught techniques of Mappila songs from his father. Majority of them were Badr and Uhad songs of Moyin Kutty Vaidyar. (Bevinje, 1997). With the help of Payyan Ali, he learned Tamil styles too. Ubaid learned Malayalam from his father’s textiles. In 1924 he became teacher in Muizzul Islam School. From there he started reading a magazine called Al-Ameen and captured every aspect of theoretical writing. He wrote first poem at the age of 15 in memory of his respectful teacher Qazi Abdullah Haji.

In 1926, his first essay was published in Al-Ameen (p. 105). It was about the cultural situations of Kasaragod Muslims. A social reformer must have a wide knowledge about his culture and identity. He then reminds them that it’s high time to hold a change from traditions. Ubaid advised his community that the religious clerics are misreading the religious books and they are using for their profits.

“Social Reform in India did not ordinarily mean, as it did in the West, a reorganisation of the entire structure of society with a view to the alleviation of the conditions of the underprivileged; rather, it meant the infusion into the existing social structure of newer ways of life and modes of behaviour. Generally such change was gradual and was initiated only by the upper classes. Social change in India was, for a very long time, based on the 'filtration theory' — the filtration of attitudes and modes of behaviour from the upper layers of society to the lower ones” (Nambiar, 1965)

The essay referred a controversial statement that many of religious scholars published superstitious beliefs. Later that he was accused of blasphemy and asked to respond in Mosque. But the public cannot challenge many of his arguments even his literary usages. His first poem was published in a weekly named “Yuva Logam”. In 1931 he co-authored an essay with his advisor Sherol Saheb titled “Randu Ulbodhanagal”.

At the same year his mother passed away. With deep condolence he composed his famous poem “Bashpa Dhara” in Sanskrit literary style. Ubaid wrote many essays and poems in the daily “Chandrika” which was published from Telechery. He contributed many lyrics for Muslim League and the Qhilafath Movement. (p. 106).

Ubaid never stopped his scholarship only in Mappila literature. Being a social reformer, he made an interdisciplinary study between Malayalam, Arabic, Kannada and Urudu literature. Sherul opened for him the poetic world of Vallathol as he gave “Sahitya Manjari”. On 16 September, 1936, he came across Vallathol in a train and he asked for his patronage. Vallathol edited one of Ubaid’s poems and advised that never trust journalistic writings for learning a language.

He wrote articles for a Kannada daily, “Mumthaz” which was published from Dharwar. “Jyothi”, “Udaya Chandrika”, “Desha Mitra”, “Divya Vani” and “Jeevana” were other Kannada dailies in which Ubaid worked. In 1932 he published poetry collection “Nava Ratnamalika” and he lost his Sherul for ever in 1938. Later he moved to Malappuram for teacher’s training where he read all the poems of Asan. He published articles in Vakkom Abdul Qadir’s “Mappila Review”. Ubaid made his first speech from Malappuram on the topic “Is there any Literature in Mappila Songs?”

Later Ubaid asked to sing some romantic songs for a program in 1947 which was organized by Sahitya Parishath. Ubaid spoke out that the misunderstanding of the Mappila songs would not go away only by singing mere romantic song. From there, he made an historical speech in the history of Malayalam literature. He was called many times to speak about Mappila songs in Sahitya Parishath meetings.

Invited by Shooranad Krishna Pillai, Ubaid worked for drafting Malayalam dictionary. From there, he published his work for children “Munthiri Pazhangal”. He was the member of Literary Academy of Kerala. He started “Sahitya Vedi” at Kasaragod and he was his chairman until his death. Ubaid assigned as the editor of a daily “Malayala Shabdam” which was published from Kasaragod.

His social life was much different from every poet. Ubaid never used to sit anywhere writing poems but actively participated in society’s total reformation culturally and educationally. In 1925 he started teaching in a fishery school and went to the community to bring the students uttering that education is never prohibited in Islam. G Shankara Kurupp commented on Ubaid that “we cannot forget Ubaid because he has translated many Malayalam texts to Kannada” (Abdullahkunji, 2016).

Many dominant writers used only their class words and themes related to their own cast or community. How a writer like this speak about secularism. But Ubaid as a poet and a social reformer tried to use many words from variant cultures and communities. Asan just used his literary language to degrade another society where Ubaid respected every community and he even expressed whole kind of word expressions irrespective of larger usage of any words. For instance, there are words like “bhramam” , “chenthakal” which considered as Hindu class words, but without bothering that he used many such words in his poems, proved that an ardent Muslim can construct poems like that. Even CP Sreedharan wondered whether a Muslim like Ubaid could construct a poem like that (Aboobakkar, 2014). Ubaid did a revolution at that way. He proved himself that no language exists as one community's and every language can be spoken by any class of people, any religion it could. Literary works too bear no difference.

Without further change, O. Chandhu Menon too used to criticise Muslim community in his first novel, Indhulekha in which he presented a Muslim character as a thief. At the same time, Ubaid tried to make the official Malayalam language to be present in the hearts of Muslim community. With the huge intervention of religious clerics in Islam, Mappilas said to have believed that Malayalam is only for Hindus. The Mappila became blind to certain extend that some of them believed Malayalam is Hindu's language. Azheekode's criticism against Ubaid's writings is just because of Azheekode's submissions towards the dominant Nair class Malayalam even he couldn’t see the secular face of Malayalam language (Aboobakkar, 2014).

Another remarkable status Ubaid brought was his deep knowledge in what he did. He never used to write poetry without sufficient knowledge. He even wrote biography of great poet Moyin Kutti Vaidyar. None other than an intellectual can do that. Since the history of Mappila literature, there were three major figures; O.Abu, Punayur Kulam V Baapu and T Ubaid.

Ubaid liberated the genre of Mappila literature, when he asked to sing a romantic poem in Mappila literature he stood up and spoke out "mappila literature is not all about romance, it carries wide level categories." Ubaid deconstructed the general marginalisation of mappila songs as merely some romantic poems.

The event which happened on18th May 1947 in Calicut throws light to the individual skill of this great poet. Being like a public intellectual, he spoke about every minute nuance of mappila songs. That historical speech in the history of Kerala literacy arena made G Shankara Kuruppu to comment that the Malayalam literature would remain incomplete without accepting the mappila literature (26). The two followed literacy events selected Ubaid to speak more about mappila literature.

Ubaid made Malayalam language rich as he included Persian, Arabic, Tamil, and Hindi. Many of his poems which would smell pure Malayalam were blessed with one or these kinds of words. Given this, in 1953 the educational minister of Travancore appointed Shooranad Kunjan Pillai to draft a great Malayalam dictionary and in1955 he visited Ubaid for collecting many mappila words to the dictionary. Officially, T Ubaid was the advisory member of encyclopaedia in Malayalam literature and member of literary academy from 1962.

Ubaid brought many tones and rhyming words from Arabic to Malayalam. And he made some symbols like crescent, mosque, dome and towers to the main stream Malayalam literature. Even he introduced Roomi, Umar Qayam and Allama Muhammed Iqbal to the Malayalam literary audience. This kind of transaction between languages helped to the secularisation of Malayalam.

C P Shreedharan reports Ubaid that "his essays and speeches would remain creatively in the Malayalam literature. He contributed many tones and styles to our literature (32). Ubaid seemed interrupting in every matters of the society. He was not ready to be calm and accept realities. He lived through both year of Malabar riot and World war and colonial invasion. Being true ideologist, he never hesitated to read "Al-Ameen". He was the congress party member in Kasaragod. Later he worked for Muslim league and wrote many party songs like "Pongatte Jaya Gosha matislam" (long lives Islam).

His will at the time of partition between India and Pakistan deserves due attention. It was a time when the Indian Muslim faced many internal and external difficulties. Ubaid stood with Indian Muslims and gave them courage to face any challenges. Even when many political leaders and scholars went back, Ubaid stood up and worked for the people. He used to speak truth to power. He supported Qaide Millet and sung "onnai marichidum"(will die together).

Ubaid actively participated in the controversial context in the association of different districts. People around Karnataka and Kerala found many hardships several times. It was none other than T. Ubaid who became like a medium between the two and started healing both. He never used to take advantage of this issue life over contemporary politician. He introduced each culture among them and taught them the universal value of humanism. He reminded them the borders are only political; it can't divide the hearts of the people. Ubaid can only do that because he had well versed with both cultures, by this he could talk and make arrangement between them. He never allowed starting a communal or social riot there. Ubaid played a vital role to avoid the grooming of a political movement from each state. Even now, there exists not much problems.

With the consent of Karnataka ministry, he translated a Kannada novel Murali Mannige to Malayalam (39). He never stopped with that. Kuvam pu's Njanpeed winning story "Meenakshiyude Tuition Master", Ashwadi's "Vyabijaram", Triveni's "Chembakam" and Niranjana's "Oduvilathe Idapaadukaaran" are the major translated texts for mingling different cultures to avoid any clash of civilisation between them. Ubaid used his aesthetical and intellectual skills to whole humanity. He thought globally and acted locally. He approached art as a tool to create love and harmony between cultures, thereby calling for a universal humanity.

N Kasthuri, a Kannada critic, praised Ubaid’s translations of Vallathol and Asan (40). Even now there is "Pathitha Pushpa" in Kannada literature which is the true "Veenapoov" of our Malayalam literature.

Ubaid had a divine skill to act effectively in the well needed contexts. He was not just a Muslim poet. After the first World War, the whole humanity fell in despair, especially Muslim world. It was Mohammed Iqbal who tried to heel the society. There it -self Ubaid walked up and translated Iqbal's identity to Malayalam. The translation of "Shikva, Javabe Shikva" bears certain qualities of John Milton's Paradise Lost (43).

Language can help us create love between ideologies. Ubaid took the responsibility of reforming the Muslim community with Sanahullah Makthi Tangal, Chalilagath Kunjahmed Haji and Vakkam Abdul Khader moulavi. The tool Ubaid used was his language and reading. He was never like religious scholars who read only their books and their languages never bothering to reform society. But Ubaid came into frame and he liberated the Arabic-Malayalam language. Many Malayalam speaking people believed that the Arabic-Malayalam as a language of "one god". If somebody read that they have to accept Islam.

Ubaid came forward and removed the cult figure of Arabic-Malayalam to a ritualistic figure, as Walter Benjamin argued about art in the age of mechanical reproduction. Ubaid shared many Arabic-Malayalam words to mainstream Malayalam. He recognised Muslim community's rigid knowledge and tried to reform that. Ubaid realised that the mere fundamental beliefs would reach his community to utter failure, so that he started a campaign to educate Muslim society. These days, kasaragod was filled with traditional and orthodox beliefs of many social leaders. Muslims never attend schools and be part of a general culture. Ubaid thought how a community which always speak about their culture and be away from the mainstream society can speak and support the diversity and religious harmony. Ubaid understood that if his community ban schools, without further due his community would be barred from the general discussions. And it would affect their survival. In 1939, he travelled from Trikaripur to Manjesharam with A M Abdul Qadir (51). He started a school in Thalangara by travelling around Kasaragod for the contributions and sponsorships.

To conclude, Ubaid was a reformer who thought language itself would make harmony between culturea. Throughout this chapter I analyzed how Ubaid tried for that. Beyond that he even started a school to educate his own community.

Conclusion

“Ah, lovely bloom! Once thou didst shine…

High like a Queen!

How sad thou liest now in dust

Shorn of thy sheen!⁷

(Nair)

An academic study on Malayalam literature without the study on Mappila songs will remain incomplete. Similarly, the study on Mappila songs is fruitless without the study on T Ubaid. The study on T Ubaid becomes relevant in reinforcing the compatibility of the Northern end of Kerala people with the people in other parts of the state. This study has tried at its best to provide a primary data on Mappila songs in general and T Ubaid in particular.

T Ubaid, the unacknowledged poet of North Kerala deserves due attention in the history of Malayalam literature. Not only as a poet, but being a public speaker, translator and social reformer Ubaid is still unexplored in grand narratives. As a multi-linguist he travelled through many cultures and their narratives. He learned Tamil, Sanskrit, Arabic, Urdu, English, Malayalam and Kannada. (Lal, 1992). Living in a culturally and linguistically divergent place, Kasaragod, Ubaid did an attempt to trace out every aspects of human life through his works. I am sure that the present study is an academic endeavour that needs more exploration.

Chapter one is concerned with the history of Mappila literature and the unnoticed role played by Ubaid to make it significant in the purview of Malayalam literature. Ancient Mappila literature contributed a new hybrid language called Arabic-Malayalam to the groups of sub-languages in Malayalam. “There was a predominant belief that Malayalam and its written script had not become mature enough to translate The Holy Quran and the teachings of the Prophet, popularly known as the Hadith” (Mohammadali 20). The basic reason for this accused “limit” of our Malayalam was a huge controversial issue among religious scholars. Even now, the translated Quran is less acceptable among traditional scholars while many modern scholars do. At that relevant time, certain ideological and linguistic “needs” which cultivated in the psyche of Kerala Muslims inevitably resulted in the scripting of the Arabic-Malayalam language.

M A Illias quotes Miller that “Arabic-Malayalam, which happened to be the vehicle of various religious materials and creative expression.” Ulloor Parameshwaran Pillai opined in his influential work Kerala Sahithya Charithram that Arabi-Malayalam has a tradition of 600 years (Muhammadali, V. P. (2007). As the official website of Kerala tourism mentioned Ubaid has collected many Mappila songs and made it available for the coming generation though much of them remain undiscovered.

Chapter two discussed his poetical skills. Though his many works are not available, the poems we have is filled with Mappila and Malayalam aesthetic beauty, words from many languages, techniques of literary languages like rhythm and rhymes. Ubaid wrote poetry about different arena’s of life including maternal love, religion, community, culture, nation and arts. He played a crucial role to link many literatures like Mappila literature, Kannada literature, and Malayalam. He adapted different words from many languages. There left fewer themes on which Ubaid never talked in his life time. For that he made use of poetry to a large extent.

I tried to analyze Ubaid’s life as a social reformer in third chapter. He had spoken for the modern innovations in the cultural background of Muslim community in Kasaragod, for that he built a school and sent his own girl child to the school. He made Malayalam literature rich with Mappila literature in which many languages like Arabic, Sanskrit, Kannada and Urdu are amalgamated. He showed vital activism while the District Kasargod became part of Kerala. More than that, he had given a tradition for the Mappila literature in particular. I believe that there exists a need of relevant research in Mappila literature as it would entail a new face for whole Malayalam literature.

Work cited:

Abdullahkunji, T K.Ed.T Ubaid Rajanakal Padanangal Ormakal.Kondotty:Mahakavi Moyinkutty Vaidyar Mappila Kala Academy, 2016.Print.

Hamsa, T. K. Mappilappattinte Madhuryam. Feroke: Olive Publications, 2007.Print.

Bevinje, Ibrahim.Ubaidinte Kavitha Logam.Calicut:Pravasi, 1997.Print.

Kutty, V. M.Mappila songs Charithravum Varthamanavum. Trivandrum: State

Institute of Languages,2007. Print.

Aboobacker,K. T Ubaid.Malappuram:Grace Publications, 2014.PriMuhammadali, V. P. (2007). Mappila songskal Noottandukaliloote. Kottayam: D C, Print.

Vallikkunnu, Balakrishnan.,& Umar, Tharamel. (2006). Mappila songs: Padavum

Padanavum. Kottayam: D C,2006.Print.

Watson,Robert.W.Studies in Poetry.Georgia:Smarr Publishers, 2006.Print.

Illias, M H. “Mappila Muslims And The Cultural Content of Trading Arab Diaspora On The.

Malabar Coast.” Brill, Vol.35, 2007, pp. 434- 456.

Roshan B.,Muhammed. “History Re-Visited: A Generic Study Of Mappila songs.” Cognitive

Discourses International Multidisciplinary Journal, Volume 1, Issue 4,

January 2014 , pp. 94-97.

Appendix.

1 Hindu Brahmins from the Indian state of Kerala.

2 Annual celebrations in the graveyards of Sufi saints.

3 Karintamil (3100 BCE - 100 BCE): Malayalam from this period is represented by the works of Kulashekara Alvar and Pakkanar. There is a strong Tamil element, and Sanskrit has not yet made an influence on the language.

4 Wordsworth.

5 He is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a societal leader due to his or her traditional position as an advisor to royal personages.

6 A cultural festival in kerala

7 Fallen flower, Kumaran Ashan.s poem translated