Mujeeb Jaihoon explores the spiritual legacy of Kerala Muslims based on the historical fiction, The Cool Breeze From Hind.

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Narrator : Mujeeb Jaihoon
Art : Shiyas Ahmad
Camera: Abdul Vahab

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TRANSCRIPT

1. SAYYID ALAWI – THE MAMPURAM SULTAN
2. MOINKUTTY VAIDYAR -THE EPIC POET
3. THE FORERUNNERS OF INDIAN NAVY
4. THE PORTUGUESE PEST
5. THE WAGON TRAGEDY
6. PONNANI – THE MINOR MAKKA
7. UMAR QAZI – SUFI POET ON HORSEBACK
8. CHERAMAN PERUMAL – THE GIFT OF ZANJABEEL

THE MAMPURAM SULTAN

Behind me is the Mampuram Maqam or the Tomb of Mamburam. This belongs to Sayyid Alavi who had migrated from Yemen all the way to Kerala.

BOOK READING from the The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : 1921: Horrors of the White Devil)

“In 1767, that Hijazi Prince arrived at Calicut, after boarding a ship from Muqalla port. Shortly, he reached Mampuram, a city that now seems as old as a museum. He lived there for a hundred years. And six years less.

The Hindi millet, loved his Hijazi Imamat. The Syed coming from a Hijazi shehr, found himself at ease in the Hindi nagar.

As soon as he settled, he became Mampuram’s beloved.

He sounded the call of unity; and discouraged among man-to-man all forms of enmity. Against the policy of divide and rule, he raised the cry of foul.

‘Saiful Battar’, added to the fragrance of the anti-imperialistic attar. In this book was his verdict: in India and elsewhere, foreign rule should be obstruct.”

This is a very historic monument in Malabar, where hundreds and thousands of people flock to every year. It’s widely known as the spiritual centre of Kerala.

THE EPIC POET

What’s behind me is the monument named after the great Moinkutty Vaidyar. The epic poet of Arabi-Malayalam. He was a famous poet, renowned for his verses, not only among the muslims, but all the people who were thirsty for freedom.

BOOK READING from the The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : King without the Crown)

By nature, he was poetic. His poetic taste had begun by adolescence. A Vaidyar by profession, he had good knowledge of Sanskrit also. His serious work came out when he was 20 years old. ‘Husnul Jamal Badrul Muneer’, the romantic epic poem based on a Persian novel.

Moinkutty Vaidyar (among others) inspired many battles against the British to ultimately win freedom for India.

THE FORERUNNERS OF INDIAN NAVY

Whenever a Pharaoh raises his head, destiny comes ahead with a Moses. When the Portuguese aggression grew beyond the control of humanity, there arose the Kunjali Marakkars, I am standing in front of the museum dedicated to the Kunjali marakkars. The fore-Runners of the Indian Navy.

BOOK READING from the The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : Forerunners of the Indian Navy)

For 100 years they fought with the enemy. Or else, the Kairali Thanima would have become the Portuguese Peruma. They set a trend for the future Indian navy to defend. 10 times 10 years, these Kairali Sailors challenged the greatest naval power of those times.

Let’s pay homage to the great Indian naval fighters who protected our land from the Portuguese aggression.

THE PORTUGUESE PEST

We have now reached the Kappad beach, where stands the memorial of Vasco Da Gama, the ruthless bloody invader who had wreaked havoc across Kerala. He has committed unspeakable crimes against the natives of this country.

BOOK READING from the The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : Forerunners of the Indian Navy)

The men were killed all of a sudden. Into the sea the children were thrown. For the ship to be burned, the order was given.

Vasco Da Gama was a curse for humanity. His unspeakable crimes will remain forever inscribed in the minds of the people.

THE WAGON TRAGEDY

1921, the Malabar Rebellion is an unforgettable chapter in the Indian Freedom Struggle. Behind me is the memorial commemorating the Wagon tragedy, the most horrific incident of the 1921 Revolt. This wagon tragedy was the massacre of hundreds of freedom fighters.

BOOK READING from the The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : 1921: Horrors of the White Devil)

Under the supervision of the witch-hearted Hitchcock, almost 600 prisoners were squeezed into a goods wagon. They found no air to breathe, forget the question of a comfortable seat, and began to suffocate. ‘Water, water’ they begged, which the authorities ignored. A glass of water the bystanders wanted to offer, but in this matter they tried to differ. Finally, when the train reached from Tirur to Pothanoor, the bodies lay piled one over the other. Their eyes had come out of sockets. A pile of dead and half-dead humans. The officials couldn’t approach the wagon – the foul smell was all over.

We ought to remember with gratitude those people who have laid their lives for the freedom and dignity of this nation.

PONNANI – THE MINOR MAKKA

Ponnani is known as the Minor Makka. This is the intellectual and the religious capital of Muslims in the Malabar region in Kerala. Malabar was the place where thousands of scholars used to flock from around the world, not just parts of India. Ponnani has produced thousands of scholars, both reputed and unknown. Ponnain is mostly associated with Shaykh Zainuddin Makhdum, who is also known as the Thucydides of Kerala. For, it was Shaykh Makhdum who penned the authentic history of Kerala. Sheikh Zainuddin Makhdum also penned other books, for example, Fat’hul Mueen, which is known as a great text of Islamic jurisprudence. I am standing right now in front of the Ponnani Juma Masjid, which is still regarded as one of the most revered monuments in Malabar.

BOOK READING from The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : Alif. Ba. Tha)

But unlike other historians, he didn’t compose for the one with the academic experience. Thuhfathul Mujahideen was the gift for those who in guarding their nation was keen, and overcoming the Portuguese pests against their deen.

But, then, while giving this gift, Makhdum takes an unusual shift. Before cursing the Foreign Pest, he admits the fault with the Body first. The wreck was not due to the Swarming Pirates, but the Ship cracked from all sides.

Audio9: Zainudhin ascribes the fateful Portuguese arrival, to the Community’s lewd lifestyle – sinful and unclean. This daring scholar stood for truth, not lazily rested with myth. He didn’t believe in blind praise – rather tried to delve in self criticize.

‘The Hindu king made arrangements for the celebration of Eid and the Friday prayer. The Qazi and the muezzin were paid from the government treasury.’

So we see that the city of Ponnani was very crucial in the history and culture, and the intellectual legacy of Malabar.

Apparently, there is also the Grand Lamp, around which the students of Islamic learning used to sit. It was traditionally considered a great achievement for students to gather around this lamp.

UMAR QAZI – SUFI POET ON HORSEBACK

I am standing in front of Hazrat Umar Qazi’s mausoleum. He was a Sufi poet on horseback. While being a highly ascetic person, he was also a strong anti-colonial voice.

He raised his voice against the oppression of the British rule and made significant contributions to the anti colonial legacy of India.

BOOK READING from The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : Alif. Ba. Tha)

A true genius was the Qazi; with the colonial rulers and colonized people, he was never razi. His words and actions were an open challenge to the conventions of that era. Unlike the poets of today, his poems were never the razinama for the conditions of his days. He fought with his sword; he was a valiant soldier. He fought with his pen; he was a true poet.

Hazrat Umar Qazi was also an ardent admirer of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). There have been different narrations about the miracles that happened during his visit to the shrine of the Holy Prophet.

8. THE GIFT OF ZANJABEEL

We have all heard of the miracle of the Holy Prophet where he split the moon. There was a king in Kerala who witnessed the same miracle when he was standing outside his house at night. And an eagerness grew in him to go and meet the holy Prophet in Arabia. Behind me are the remains of the Masjid which is dedicated to the King Cheraman Perumal.

BOOK READING from The Cool Breeze From Hind (Chapter : Alif. Ba. Tha)

The Arabs came back, and the Hindi monarch along with them, set on the Hijazi track.

That destined moment was going to itself reveal. And all the love in his heart was about to unveil. And to add some Hindi delight to this Hijazi meet, the king carried with him a bottle of pickle, made from Zanjabeel, to gift the one frequented by Angel Jibreel.

The love for the Beloved had made ‘Malik-ul-Hind’ become restless and blind. His dear homeland the king left, wanting to see the Blessed One who made the moon cleft.

Finally he met. His desire he did get. And the new faith he did embrace, when before the Beloved he expressed his craze.

So this is Cheraman Masjid, the very beginning of the story of Kerala Islam.

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