GUL MOHAMED-THE FIRST GRAMPHONE SINGER IN MALAYALAM

GUL MOHAMED- THE FIRST GRAMPHONE SINGER IN
MALAYALAM AND
THE VERSATILE GENIUS

- by M.Iqbal


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
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 being a 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, and 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-the 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.

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 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 RupeesTwoHundredFifty, 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 had played it for the recording, while singing. A Rag Maala with
six ragas 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 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 his
disciple and became wife and later divorced. 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 religious tenets with him, who had thoroughly studied religion and had become
Imam at the age of eighteen . 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.
leaving away a rich treasure of art for the posterity.
-M. IQBAL, COCHIN