By Abdul Basith MA, TwoCircles.net,
Kozhikode: Ramla Beegum, the well renowned female Mappila song artist was honoured by the Active Kozhikode, a Kozhikode based organisation, for her valuable contributions to Mappila art and culture in Kerala. Malayalam film script writer TA Razack handed over her the Award, which was sponsored by the Active Kozhikode.
Mappila Paattu or Mappila Song now regarded as one among the most popular branch of Malayalam Literature, is a type of traditional Muslim folk song, rendered to lyrics in colloquial Mappila Dialect of Malayalam laced with Arabic, by the Mappilas [Muslim Community] of Malabar.
TA Razack Honouring Ramla Beegum [Photo by Madhyamam News Daily]
These songs reflect a distinct cultural identity for Muslims but they have close linkages with the cultural practices in Kerala. Often the songs are based on life history of Prophet Muhammed [SW], Aysha (Prophet Muhammad’s wife), the Swahabis (Prophets Companions), their sufferings to preach Islam. Mappila songs are also based on the life history of Sufi saints , which were called ‘Maala’.
Beegum got introduced to the stage through Hindi songs when she was eight, since then for around fifty five years she has been the Rajaathi (Queen of melodies) to Mappila songs. She has been phenomenal in attracting massive spectatorship towards Mappila arts and songs by even attracting audiences from the other communities, by her sweet voice. ‘Aalam Udayon…, ‘Iruloka Jayamaniyum…’ were a few among her Mappila songs, which drove massive attention.
Besides she is a well known ‘Kadha prasangam’ artist, an art form based on descriptions and songs of epics of Islamic and Hindu origin. She has done Kadha prasangam and Mappila songs in around 7500 stages including foreign countries.
She has taken ‘the Holy Battle of Badr’, ‘the epic love story of Badarul Muneer and Husnul Jamal’ and a lot other important incidents in the Islamic history and Hindu myths as themes for those Kadha Prasangams. Kadha Prasangams which at first describes the incident in a story telling manner and then sings the adjacent part immediately in a melodious manner bringing unimaginative perceptions and feelings of a real time incident being played in front of the audience. There are around 500 audio cassette recordings and 35 HMV recordings of her songs available now.
Though born and brought up in Alapuzha, Beegum is always in love for Kozhikode where she believes, ‘the art have blend with the music at its level best’. She is thoroughly disturbed and against the present day attempts and trends of mixing up the Mappila songs with western songs, which she believes in the near future would result in the disappearance of this culturally and traditionally important art form.