Gul Mohamed-the Versatile Genius

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GUL MOHAMED – THE FIRST GRAMPHONE SINGER IN MALAYALAM Gul Mohamed, who was the first Gramphone singer in Malayalam was a versatile genius. His was a house hold name for four decades in South India for a period of four decades whereupon he was a celebrated Gramphone singer as well as stage performer. He had made wonderful stage performance in and outside India, including Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma (Myanmar) and Malaya (Malayasia). He had profound scholarship in Hindustani, Carnatic, Folk, Ghazal and Qawwali systems of Music. His contributions in Mappila Pattu is memorable. He used to play various string and percussion musical instruments. Travelling to distant places in and around India, he had in the meantime become a Sufi thinker and singer. He had learnt Hindustani from the reputed Ustad Wali Khan. The versatility of Gul Mohamed ranged from religious scholar, linguist, painter,calligraphist, photographer, physician, craftsman, poet, lyricist, speaker to freedom fighter artist, besides singer. Malayalam literary figures from Vaikkom Mohamed Basheer to P. Bhaskaran Master were his admirers. He was born in Mattancherry of Cochin in a family belonging to Kutchi Kazi lineage, known to be Bawas (Babas), who were Imams of Kutchi Muslim Mosque in Cochin and scholars, who had come to Cochin from Kutch of Gujrat. In the conventional manner, he had learnt from his ancestors Quran, Hadis and Fikeh. He was assigned with the job to copy Quran and other religious texts on palm leaves with organic ink and woody pen. By dint of this he became a good Caligraphist. He became Imam of Kutchi Muslims' Mosque in Cochin at the age of 18. But the real fervour of music embedded in his mind invited disguist amongst the community and he had to quit the mosque himself. Taking along with him a harmonium, a gramphone player and a camera he left Cochin for Chaavakkattu in Trichur District. For the people at Chavakkattu this intriguing personality felt amazing. With the advent of Gramphone, Gul Mohamed learnt from the records songs of WH Khan, Gouharjan, Hingan Bai and others and sang with the same manner and style. In the meantime he had learnt photography from Dr Sreenivasa Rao and Painting from A K Rockey, a well known artist of Palliport. With the linguistic knowledge he acquired from his ancestors, he studied Unani from Arabic and Urdu texts and Chintarmani system From Tamil books. Besides he sought knowledge of Ayurveda from a traditional physician of Guruvayur. The indigenous population of Chavakkattu village who witnessed the Gramphone record songs and Photo making in camera had yet another surprise to see from him-Harmonium. Apart from his singing playing on Harmonium they had received a virtual hero with strange dressings of Sherwani, Jubba and Turkey cap. Meanwhile, Gul Mohamed appeared for Tamil Dramas when staged in Kerala, as Bhagawatar (singer) or Harmonium player. The Harmonium was foolt peddled. He also made anchoring with dramatic speeches and dialogues and songs for silent cinemas in theatres.

2 When he played the foot peddled Harmonium (Chavittu Harmonium) on stages placing three harmoniums in an array, and playing first and the third with his left and right hands and the middle one with nose and tongue, the audience made thunderous applaudings. He used to conduct concerts in the courts of Travancore and Cochin Kings. To receive Gold Medals from the Kings was a great honour at that time. Gul Mohamed was recipient of Gold Medals from Maharaja of Travancore, Maharaja of Cochin, Mysore Maharaja, Arakkal Maharaja of Canannore, Diwan Sir C P Ramaswamy, Kasargod Sharul Sahab, Khan Bahadur Attakoya Thangal, Kadankutty Kutty Ahmed Haji, Thalassery Maliyekkal Tharavadu etc. When the British Gramphone Company, His Master’s Voice (HMV) had started their functioning at Tiruchirappally of Madras State, they had identified Gul Mohamed as singer from Kerala. It was on 1924 October 7, the first commercial gramphone record was prepared in Malayalam with Gul Mohamed as the singer. One has to think about the skeleton technical facilities of that prime period and the limited musical accompanying only with Harmonium and Tabla. Gul Mohamed beautifully played Harmonium and on the Tabla of K V Naidu of Cochin. “Ollaahi Nhaan Pollu Sonnane”, “Alhamdudayone Ahadone”, “Osaakal Valiyoru Thirakkil (Thaali Paattu) were the Mappila Pattu numbers recorded at that time with a remuneration of Rupees Two Hundred Fifty, which was a lofty amount at that time. Gul Mohamed’s popularity was mountaining and this can be observed from the incidence including the recording of 24 songs in two days (6 of them were Hindi/Urdu songs) in the year 1926. It was a record on those days! Besides Mappila Pattu, he had recorded Humour and Light Music. The instrument “Tayshakotte” imported from Japan was used for Gul Mohamed’s ensemble and it is said Gul Mohamed had christened the instrument “Bul Bul Tarang”. He himself played it for the recording, while singing. A Rag Malika with six rags were recorded playing Bul Bul Tarang. Gul Mohamed was assigned for other British Gramphone companies namely Columbia and Pearson. His songs with stories were released in volumes of records. “Abida Vijayam” had five volumes and “Lucky Amina” six volumes . People were eagerly waiting for the release of the next volume during that time. “Sabira”, “Mappila Kallyanam”, “Aabharana Brahmam”, “Ration Bahalam”, “Election Galatta”, “Aeroplaninte Varavu”, “Manathala Nercha”, “Chakkalathi”, “Lubdhante Bharya” etc were his most popular records of songs. What is noteworthy is that his themes contained very social subjects of the time, some of them remain relevant even today. It was Gul Mohamed who had brought in the Mappila folk instruments and music like Arabana, Duff, Baith, Muttum Vili, Kolkkali, Oppana , Mangalappaattu etc. for Gramphone music. The amazing part of his musical acumen in recording was that it was without any pause or stop, he had presented his songs, dialogues, and music with all these indigenous folk instruments at a stretch, sometimes even abruptly extemporily, taking into mind the quantum of waxin and the linings therein in the records. There was no editing at all. It was not possible with the then techniques. Today’s mono-acting and mimics could find themselves their roots in Gul Mohamed’s Gramphone performances. Ration Bahalam and Election Galatta of 1926 and 1930 are examples. The speciality of Gul Mohamed’s records was they provided really a visual effect by dint of his dramatic dialogues and

3 explanations. His experiences in the Tamil Drama stages and Silent Movies as anchor could have helped him for this repartoire. His remuneration in 1931 became Rupees Two Thousand, which was the highest at that time. When he went for recording at Madras and Tiruchirappally he found Subbayya Bhagawatar, Thyaga Raja Bhagawatar, Ponnappa, Kadar Pasha Bhagawatar, Ranga Rao, D K Pattambal, and M S Subba Lakshmi as his co-artists there. M S Subba Lakshmi at her teens became close friend to Sara Bai, the co-singer of Gul Mohamed, who was her disciple and later became wife. Gul Mohamed had taught Urdu to Thyagaraja Bhagawatar, when the former was assigned to act in a Hindi/Urdu Film. Gul Mohamed who had presented a compendium of around two hundred songs had started a Music School at Chowakkatt in the year 1935 and a Photo Studio in the name “Gulzar Studio”. It is said he had taken the first photograph of Guruvayurappan . Gul Mohamed had participated as an artist in the freedom struggle. He along with Sara Bai had sang in the stage of Mahatma Gandhi and Ali Brothers. His “Kayaraattanammaa, Kayaraattanammaa, Gandhi Mahaan chonna Kayaraattanammaa..” became the inspiring song for boycott of British cloth and freedom movement. While he was singing with Sara Bai on a stage the police rushed in and he was arrested and jailed in Tenkasi of Madras. They were released later in protests of the masses. Gul Mohamed was the spokesman artist for Religious Harmony. His song “Aarum Anyarallaa Sahodaraa Aarum Anyarallaa” recorded in 1943 became a mantra to the lofty ideals of Harmony. He had sung with Sara Bai and his son Sathar, who was a boy at that time (The son K G Sathar later became a very reputed singer in Kerala. His credit goes mainly to his Gramphone songs of sixties and seventies). He sang, “We call God by Ram and Rahim. Kaabaa and Kaasi, whichever be the centres our minds seek the same God”. Nobody could argue with him, who had thoroughly studied religion and had become Imam at the age of eighteen , on religious dogmas . K G Sathar in his concerts often sing this inspiring song. Because of the skeleton technical facilities the singers including Gul Mohamed had to sing for recording on high scales. But his diction was perfect. Sara Bai’s voice was elegant. In his later days Gul Mohamed had become more pious and his Sufi thinkings made him sing about Khwaja Mueenudheen Chisti and Khwaja Nizamudheen Owliya. He presented his Qawalis at Ajmir and Nizamudheen. On May 3, 1970, Gul Mohamed breathed his last at the age of 102 years. His longevity could not make lesser either his memory or creative thoughts. He had died in Chowakkattu at the house of his singer son K G Sathar.

-M. IQBAL, COCHIN