Malabar History journal

Biography

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer was born to Kayi Abdu Rahman and Kunjathumma on 21 January 1908 in Thalayolaparambu near Vaikom of Tiruvithamkur taluk (present-day Kottayam district). After his primary education at a Malayalam medium school in Thalayolaparambu, he joined an English medium school in Vaikom. During his studies there, he met M.K. Gandhi during his visit to the site of Vaikom Satyagraha. Soon, Basheer became an ardent follower of Gandhi and adopted Khadi as his attire inspired by his Swadeshi ideals. He left the school to actively involve in the freedom struggle against the British actively. He made a remarkable contribution to Malayalam literature.

On 18 December 1957, at the age of 50, he married Fathima beevi also called Fabi. After marriage, Basheer spent the rest of his life in the house ‘Vayalaalil’ in the Beypore of Kozhikode district. They had two children Anees and Shahina. Basheer died on 5 July 1994 in Beypore of Kozhikode.

Anti-British struggles

Basheer was introduced to the freedom struggle at an early age while he was studying in Vth standard. Inspired by Gandhi, who was visiting the site of Vaikom satyagraha, Basheer became his follower in the freedom struggle. In 1930, he was imprisoned for his participation in salt satyagraha. He began writing for a newspaper titled “Ujjevanam” which was introduced by Congress leader Zainuddheen. The first article he wrote for the paper was about Prophet Muhammad named “Vishwa vikyaathanaaya viplava kaari”. Further, the paper began publishing anti-government articles. The Britishers banned the newspaper and issued arrest warrants against its publishers. As an escape from the arrest, Basheer travelled to many places. He travelled across India for seven years. Further, he also travelled to Arabia and Africa. After years of travel, he returned to his homeland. He started a weekly “Poura naadham”(Citizen’s voice). He wrote political articles for the weekly under the name Muhammad Basheer. After three issues, the weekly was banned in Tiruvithamkur (Travancore presidency). Further, he published a drama “Pattathinu oru pe kinaavu” which exposed the hypocrisy of the government authorities. This resulted in a ban on the press and the arrest of its owner. In 1942, Basheer was arrested with the charges of treason for a duration of 2 years. After release from prison, he became part of a literature society with prominent writers in the Malayalam language at the time known as Sahitya sakhyam.

Major Contributions

He made several contributions to Malayalam literature. His earliest writings came out through a magazine propagating freedom struggle named Ujjeevanam. He wrote in it under the pen name “Prabha”. His debut in Literature came out as the author of a story titled “Thankam” in a magazine titled “Jaya Kesari”. His literary presence came to be established through the publication of his novel Prema lekhanam (love letter, 1943). His other renowned works include Balayakala sakhi (Childhood friend, 1944), Shabdangal (The Voices, 1947), Nte uppupakk oru aanendaarn (My Grandfather had an elephant, 1951), Aana vaariyum pon kurishum (Elephant Scooper and Golden Cross, 1953), Jeevitha nizhalpaadukal (The Shadows of life, 1954), Pathummayude Aadu (Pathumma’s goat), Mathilukal (Walls, 1965), Manthrikappoocha (The Magic Cat, 1968), Prempaatta (The loving Cockroach). His works, Balyakala sakhi and nte uppupa kk oru aanendaarn were translated into all the major Indian languages. He has written only one poem titled ‘Anashwara prakasham’(The eternal light) . It was published as a preface to his work ‘Ya Ilaahi’. He has also written a drama ‘Kadha bheejam’. In 1981, he received the Kerala Sahitya Academy fellowship, In 1982, he was honoured with Padma Shri, and in 1983 Abu Dhabi Malayala Samajam literary Award. On 19 January 1987, the University of Calicut honoured him with the award of “Doctor of Letters” for his notable contributions. In 1987, he received the Samskara Dweepam Award, Kerala State Film Award for the best story in 1989, the Kathaa Shabti award in 1991, the Prem nazir award in 1992, the lalithaambika antharjanam Sahitya academy award, the Muttaththu varky award in 1993, hamrapathra of the Government of India in 1972, Abu Dhabi Malayala Samajam Literary Award in 1982, Samskaradeepam Award in 1987 and Jeddah Arangu Award in 1994.

Films

Basheer’s writing “Neela velicham” was made into a script for the movie “Bhargavi Nilayam”(1964) directed by A. Vincent. Another of his works, “Balyakala Sakhi”(The Childhood friend) was made into a film under the same title by J Shashi Kumar in 1967. The movie was recreated in 2014 by Pramod Payyannur. In 1975, his novels “Mucheettu kalikkarante makal”, and “Prema lekhanam” were made into films by Thoppil bhasi and P A Backer. In 1989, his novel “Mathilukal” was filmed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The movies Shashinas and Kadha also were based on his stories. Moreover, Basheer played a small role as a visitor in the Malayalam movie ‘Dhwani’ directed by A.T Abu.

References

Asna Ilayadath. “ഇമ്മിണി ബല്യ കഥയുടെ സുൽത്താൻ.” Madhyamam. Link.

വൈക്കം മുഹമ്മദ് ബഷീർ ജീവചരിത്ര കുറിപ്പ്. Filmibeat Malayalam.

വൈക്കം മുഹമ്മദ് ബഷീർ. PSC Website.

വൈക്കം മുഹമ്മദ് ബഷീർ – ജീവിത രേഖ. Webdunia Malayalam. Link.

Valsala Devi, G. (2012). The Depiction of Village Life in Basheer’s Literary Works – A Critical Study. [Doctoral thesis, Mahatma Gandhi University].

Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer. m3db – Malayalam Movie and Music Database. Link.

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. (2022, October 17). In Wikipedia. Link.