Sunday 30 November 2014

AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT ON AYAZ KHAN(VELLUVAKKAMMARAN)

DONALD CAMPBELL MET AYAZ KHAN IN 1782

It is always difficult to find first person accounts,on Malayali historical  personalities,of the earlier centuries,unless they were kings.Even for them,they have to be exemplary,or wayward,to find a mention.At the time, the Malayali,Muhammad Ayaz Khan(1713-1799),was the Commander and later,Governor of Hyder Ali, in Chitradurga and Later at Bednur,the legendary Raja Kesavadas was the Dewan of Travancore,under Dharmaraja.Both of them,complemented each other,like Hyder and Ayaz.Ayaz Khan,was,Velluvakkammaran Nambiar,before he was converted to Islam(see my post,Ayaz Khan(Nambiar).
Raja Kesavadas was not from a distinguished family,like,Velluvakkammaran.He was an accountant apprentice of traders,Puthukkada Chettiar and Pokkumoosa Marikkar.Fortune struck him,when he once accompanied Marikkar to see Dharmaraja,in the palace.He,as Commander, made Tipu Sultan to retreat,when he reached the border,and in recognition,he was made the Dewan,by the Raja.

Though,there are a lot of historical records on him,it is scant in the case of Ayaz Khan.Both,Hyder Ali,and he,were,illiterates.It is here, the book,A Journey over Land in India,by Donald Campbell of Barbreck(1751-1804),published in London,in the year 1795,is of immense help.It contains the story of his real life encounter with Ayaz Khan,in Bednur,in May,1782.It was the last phase of Ayaz Khan,as Governor.Donald,was a Captain in the Cavalry Regiment of the Carnatic Nawab,Muhammad Alikhan Walla Jah(1717-1795) at age,30.Walla Jah,an ally of the English East India Company,had breached the promise in failing to surrender Tiruchirappalli, to Hyderali in 1751.It was at the root of many confrontations of Hyder with the British.When Hyder swept into Carnatic,towards Arcot,on 23 July,1780,it was not the Nawab,but the British who provoked the wrath of Hyder,by seizing the French port of Mahe,which was under his protection.For the defence of his territory,Nawab paid 1,60,000 pounds per annum to the British,and 10 out of the 21 Battalions of Madras Infantry were posted to garrison his forts.Donald Campbell was part of this. After retirement,he went to England,but embarked on a journey by land from Belgium to India and the Middle East.He was shipwrecked on his trip from Goa to Madras, was washed ashore at Bednur,and taken prisoner by the soldiers of Ayaz Khan,on May 21,1782.
 
Walla Jah:Portrait by George Willison
Since,there are several Donald Campbells,the Donald,who was captive in Bednur,is called,Donald Campbell,the traveller.He was the son of Col Colin Campbell Senior,of Barbreck,who belonged to a Highland Scottish clan,whose lands were in Argyll,Scotland.The chief of the clan became the Earl and later,the Duke of Argyll.
It was Sir Cailein Mor Campbell's grandfather,Dugald on Lochawe,who is said to have been the first to be given the nick name,"Caim Beul",since he apparently had the trait of talking out of one side of his mouth."Caim Beul",means,wry or curved mouth in Gaelic.This Duncan was so much loved by his family that they took his nick name as their family name and held to it,even beyond the influential,Argyll.The spelling,originally,was,Cambel.When Robert the Bruce's son, David became king of Scotland,he brought with him,a number of Norman knights,known for efficiency in administration.Cambel became,Campbell under Norman infuence.
Inveraray Castle of the Duke of Argyll

Donald Campbell made the journey by way of Belgium,Tyrol,Venice,Alexandria,Aleppo,Diyarbekr,Mosul,Baghdad,Bushire,Mumbai and Goa.He was shipwrecked in the Indian ocean,made a prisoner by Hyderali,but was subsequently released.The book he wrote on the voyage became,very popular.The full name of the book is,A Journey over Land to India,by Donald Campbell of Barbreck,who formerly commanded a regiment of Cavalry in the service of the Nabob of Carnatic:in a series of letters to his son.Its abridged version came in 1796,as,Narrative of Adventures.The third part of the book,Shipwreck and Captivity,was published in 1800.He also published,Letter to the Marquis of Lorn on the Present Times,in 1798,protesting party factionalism,in connection with the war with France.
Duke Crest

Let us see his account in the book,in third person:

The aim was to visit the lesser known places in the East.The journey became interesting,from Baghdad.Robbers made several attacks when he took a boat down in the Tigris to Basra.After 10 days he reached Muscat in a date boat,hoping to reach Mumbai from there.The boat sprang a leak and ran into Bush ire,where the Resident of the East India Company received them.He boarded a British vessel to Mumbai,from where,he embarked on a Portuguese vessel to Goa,and then to Madras.The overloaded vessel,after 19 days out(a version says the vessel started on May 18 and was caught in winds next day) from Goa,ran into monsoon and a hurricane.Thrown into the mercy of winds and waves,it grounded some distance from a shore.Donald was carried ashore,clinging to a piece of the wreckage,and lost consciousness after being washed up on the beach.He was in Bednur,which had been renamed,Hydernagara.Only 14 Portuguese Lascars and two out of 11British men survived.The other Britisher was a passenger,named,Hall.All were taken prisoners,and left to spent the night standing in a small shed.A long journey followed,and they were put in a hut,together,exposed to wind and rain.An old woman threw little rice,in the night.It was informed that the Governor would give audience,by 6 PM.

In Donald's account,Governor Ayaz Khan is,Hyat Singh,not even Hyat Khan.He is termed Jamedar or Governor in the book,at Donald's will.
Among the people who were there during audience,Donald identified some soldiers,who were with him in his Carnatic Cavalry.After taking up native cases first,Hyat Sahib ordered Donald and the rest to prostrate before him.But Donald and Hall,instead of prostration,only gave a salaam.Ayaz asked Donald about England and the East India Company,and he was cautious in replies.Ayaz boasted of the power Hyder wielded over the British,which Donald didn't believe.A Sepoy in the crowd told Ayaz that Donald had been an army officer and he belonged to a distinguished family.Then,Ayaz became mild,changed his tone, gave him a seat,and said meeting him,for Donald,was a fortunate event.Donald and Hall were put in a room separately from the Lascars.
Donald was called next day, Ayaz made an offer to be the Commander of the 5000 strong force.Donald refused,saying he won't fight against his own country men.He was called once again,and was asked to reconsider.When he refused to relent,Ayaz used every argument and threat.Weeks and months passed on, Donald and Hall were put on chains together,and were starved.When Hall died,the corpse was not removed for several days.When he received information that Ayaz planned to kill him,Donald was given assurance of escape by a young Chief,whose father Donald had helped once.Then the news of the death of Hyder came.History says,General Matthews,Commander of the British force stationed in Bednur,interfered on Donald's behalf,for his release.
Arakkal insignia

On the way to escape,it dawned on Donald that he could do a service to his country now,since the new king,Tipu Sultan,was a sworn enemy of Ayaz.He went back,to see Ayaz,crest fallen.Ayaz asked Donald to escape,since the Britishers have captured the Ghats.Donald advised Ayaz to make amends with the British,who have become victorious."But,of what use can your advise be to me now?",Ayaz asked.When Donald insisted,Ayaz,sought the help of Donald,to go to General Matthews and work out the terms.Ayaz warned:"If you do not return by daybreak tomorrow,I will set fire to the town with all the stores and the gun powder magazine.Six thousand horse and a thousand foot soldiers are now on their way from Srirangapattana.I will tell them to hasten if you do not come.If Tipu meets the English army in the open field,he will give them cause to repent of their rashness."
Matthews woke up from sleep to see his old friend,Donald,"unshaven,uncombed,with no cap or stockings,clothed only in a ragged shirt and breeches,with Indian slippers".Everything was worked out within an hour.When Donald returned in a palanquin,Ayaz sought few more days to arrive at a decision.It was evident that he was confused.Realizing delay might be fatal,taking advantage of the confusion reigning in the City,Donald collected his former troops men and posted them at the gates,the powder magazine and key points and set off to meet the General.The General had already pushed on with his advance guard.Terms were quickly worked out with the beleaguered Ayaz,and the British flag was hoisted over the city.It was 28,January,1783.Donald had gained a province for Britain.He was sent soon by Matthews  with dispatches to Madras and Mumbai.
 Campbell insignia
Tipu considered the action of Ayaz as treachery and sent Luft Ali Baig with forces.It was too late when he reached there.
Donald,then,proceeded by sea to Anjengo(Anchuthengu),traveled by land through Travancore,Tirunelveli, Madurai,Tiruchirapalli,Thanjavur,Nagapattinam and Madras,with Lord Macartney's permission.It was after going to Kolkata,on behalf of Ayaz Khan, and negotiating with Warren Hastings,that he returned over land to Madras and then to Anjengo.From Madras,he boarded a vessel to China.He returned to England in 1785.He was absent in England for four years and five months.
It was during his journey in  Kerala,he received the news of General Matthews taking poison in prison.Tipu had recaptured Bednur and taken him prisoner.
Donald remembers,he met a Dewan Bahadur from Chirakkal,as prisoner in Bednur.He was tortured to divulge the previous king's wealth.
Donald Campbell died at Hutton,Sussex,on 5 June,1804.He left a son,the Genealogist,Frederick William Campbell(1782-1846).He was Captain in the 1st Regiment of Guards.After succeeding his father,he disposed off the estate in Argylshire and took residence in Suffolk.In 1830,he printed privately,a work:A Letter to Mrs Campbell of Barbreck,containing an Account of the Campbells of Barbreck  from their first Ancestors to the present Time.He had married Sophia,daughter of the British MP,Sir Edward Warrington.
Reference:
1.A Journey Over Land to India/Donald Campbell

2.Dictionary of Indian Biography/Charles Edward Buckland
3.Dictionary of National Biography/Stanley Lane-Pool
4.A History of Clan Campbell From Forbidden to the Resurrection/Alastair Campbell
5.Campbell Genealogy and Campbell Family History Introduction/Geni.com

 See my PostSHEIKH MUHAMMAD AYAZ KHAN(NAMBIAR)

 











Saturday 29 November 2014

VELLUVAKKAMMARAN BECOMES AYAZ KHAN

Velluvkkammaran got converted and built an empire 

The story of Velluvakkammaran Nambiar (1713-1799), is unparalleled in the history of India. Many Malayalis have built business empires after the Gulf boom started in the 1970s. But,Velluvakkammaran Nambiar owned a province and a treasury worth 12 million pounds in the 18th century, outside Kerala. He became the Commander and Governor of Hyder Ali and  finally, he lost all of it to the British,earned a monthly pension of Rs 4000 in Masagon, Mumbai, and died as an orphan.

Ayaz Khan
He was born in the feudal home, Chalil Velluva, to Palliyath Kannan and Kalyani.Kalyani was the only sister of the Chieftain, or,Adhikari , Rairu Nambiar,an unscrupulous person, generous only to his tenants.Velluva,was in Inderi or Indragiri,in the Kannur district of Kerala,a hilly area between Thalassery and Kannur,close to Edakkad. The area itself was called Velluva,which extended in the Indragiri hills,from the east to the south east.

There were two branches to the Velluva family tree:Chalad and Kalliat.Kammaran had two sisters,one married to Chalad and the other to Kalliat.The Kalliat later on spread another branch in Kuttikkatoor. Rairu Nambiar was from the Chalad branch.

Velluvakkammaran, the Malayalam novel, by C Kunjirama Menon ( M R K C),says the horoscope of Kammaran,called dearly as Kammu, predicted a long life and plenty of enemies for him; He was destined to stay abroad,in high positions, with lot of wealth and a sweet wife,with no children.He would die a sanyasin, in old age.

A tragedy and love

As the practice was in those days, after learning primary Sanskrit texts, Kammu was sent to study martial arts at age, 10.Tragedy struck when he was 18-Rairu Nambiar became mentally unstable after the death of Kalyani and the suicide of his second wife.He suspected his Secretary,Payyan Komar Nambiar,who collected taxes,had a role in the suicide of his wife.It has to be assumed that he had an illicit bonding with the wife of his boss.Rairu Nambiar swore to eat only with his left hand till her death was avenged.

Rairu Nambiar decided to celebrate his birthday which fell on the next day after the death anniversary of his wife,by inviting the rich and the influential.A Mrityunjaya homam was held in the nearby temple,after which the invitees sat for the feast.When everything was on the Banana leaf, Rairu Nambiar suddenly stood up, went where Payyan Komar was sitting, asked him to stand up, and stabbed him on his stomach. Rairu Nambiar soaked his right hand on the blood oozing out,went back,mixed the rice on the Banana leaf with the blood,ate one measure full on the palm,of course,of the right hand. Komar died instantly, and all were dumbfounded. Kammu informed the Thalassery adhikari, Mavila Chandu Nambiar, the revenue official of the Kolathiri King,who took Rairu Nambiar as a prisoner to his home in Mavilan kunnu,Thalassery. Rairu was taken to Thalassery and the fact that his properties were attached by the Kolathiri king proves the rumour,Komar was killed in Chalad,wrong. He was killed in Intheri.Years later,after becoming Governor,Ayaz Khan went to Thalassery to redeem his wealth,stayed at Mavilan kunnu,but didn't make a visit to Chalad.The Kolathiri King went and met Ayaz Khan there in the Malayalam Era,959, in the month,Kanni (1783 September).

Suffren with Hyder,1782

When Rairu Nambiar was taken prisoner,Kammu accompanied him to Mavilan kunnu,where he met Madhavi, daughter of Chandu. They fell in love.

Chandu's uncle, Kunkan Nambiar,was instrumental in getting permission to the English East India Company to establish the Thalassery factory in 1704,using influence on the Ilaya Vadakkumkoor,or the Prince Regent Kunhi Ambu/Udaya Varma,and by bribing the Kolathiri King.In return,the King gifted the Mavilan kunnu to Kunkan Nambiar.It was close to Thalassery,from,Edakkad in the north,to Mayyazhi river,in the south.Udaya Varma gave the land after the Company complained to him on the attack on their ware house by the rival prince Kunhi Rama Varma,with Nair Chief of Iruvallinad,,Kurangoth Nair.Chandu had married Mathu,the only niece of the wealthy planter,Thandarapilly Ambu Kurup.She was rescued and looked after by Chandu,after Kurup was killed by some Muslim traders,on the issue of a breach of trust on the sale of pepper.Mathu grew up in the house of Kalyat Kelu Nambiar, Chandu's generous uncle.

Rairu Nambiar died a few days after he was taken prisoner, after confessing to Kammu that he killed Komar to avenge his wife's death. So, it is clear that the madness of Rairu Nambiar was just an alibi spread by his well wishers,to protect him from punishment.  Kolathiri King attached his property,and asked Kammu to join the Army as a soldier, after the death rituals of 41 days.It was compulsory for the Nair males to join the Army. He rose from the ranks,became Commander and introduced uniform for the first time, to the soldiers. The King was old and very weak, and a puppet in the hands of the queen and the Prime Minister, Subramanya Iyer. Among the two Prince Regents, Thekke Ilayakoor Kunhi Rama Varma and Vadakke IlayakoorUdaya Varma,the latter was greedy and was keeping fingers crossed to usurp the throne, the Prime Minister  colluding with him, secretly. This Regent,who  was stationed in Neeleswaram,Kasargod, sent 500 soldiers,in country boats to the Eripuram river, the present day Pazhayangadi river, to seize the Valapattanam Fort. He was defeated in this adventure, by Kammu,the Commander.

Granite pillars,Ikkeri temple
The Regent, fearing hell, tried for a treaty with the King of Ikkeri, which was six kilometers south of Sagara, in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. It was the capital of the Keladi Chiefs during 1560-1640. Afterwards, the capital was shifted to Bednur,by Shivappa Nayak,the best among the Keladi kings (Canarese).Bednur means,the town of bamboos.When the King of Ikkeri,Hiriya Basappa Nayak died in 1755, his son, Sundara Nayak, was only nine years old. The queen,Virammaji, took over the reins,with the help of the Prime Minister, Doddappa, who later became her husband.Her little son was shifted to the house of a Jamindar and was kept under house arrest.After spreading the rumour,the son has died,Doddappa became de facto King. Sundara Nayak contacted Hyder Ali,after attaining maturity, and the march by Hyder Ali in 1763 to Bednur, and its annexation,would change Kammu forever, as we will see within a few minutes from now. Hyderali captured Viramma, kept her in confinement with her son, in the Madhugiri Fort.

Madhugiri Fort
In 1732 January,the Bednur King Somasekhara Nayak invaded Kolathunad,and from then on foreign forces began interfering in the local politics. On March 15, the Dutch Chief at Kannur stopped food supply to the Nayaks.The Bednur General Gopalappa failed in talks with the Dutch and created dissensions within the Kolathiri familyand tried to alienate the privileges the  Dutch enjoyed.The Kolathiri requested Doddaveerappa,the ruler of Coorg to intercede,and Somasekhara agreed to withdraw,on the condition that 18 lakhs would be paid by Kolathiri as indemnity.When Kolathiri didn't pay,to keep the word as a mediator,Doddaveerappa paid 9 lakhs from his hand and for the rest,he sent a force of 5000 men under General Boni Muthanna,but the Coorg force withdrew after being alerted by Ali Raja of the Prince Regent's plans for a counter attack. The novel places Kammu in all this history.It says the Regent sent two representatives,Emman and Chathu to Ikkeri.  Somasekhara agreed for a treaty with the Regent,to attack the Kolathiri Kingdom, on two conditions: One, 30,000 pagodas,equivalent to 3 lakh varahans, would be paid as the war expenditure. Two, After the war,the area from Neeleswaram to Ikkeri would be ceded to Ikkeri.

In case, 30,000 was not paid on time,the right to collect taxes would be surrendered to Ikkeri.After spies alerting Kolathiri,Kammu went to the Regent's palace with a contingent and took him prisoner, to Valapattanam Fort. Then, on his own, Kammu decided to go to Ikkeri, for an encounter with the king. Ikkeri King, after getting news that Kammu was traveling, withdrew the 40 country boats with soldiers from the Madayi sea.Kolathiri sent word to Kammu not to go to Ikkeri,but to remain in Neeleswaram. It is better to remember that Kolathiri had only the present day,Chirakkal Thaluk.Kannur was with the Arackal King, Ali,and the Southern part was with the four families of Randuthara Achans.

A conspiracy to kill

Chirakkal Palace
As things were thus reaching a flash point, Thekke Ilamkoor Prince Regent contacted Commander of Thalassery factory, Robert Adams.The agreement drawn up by him,was sent to Kammu,to be handed over to the Raja of Ikkeri.Kolathiri's Prime Minister Subramanya Iyer had already reached Ikkeri with the freed Vadakkumkur Regent. Kammu agreed to go to Ikkeri,on a condition-both the King of Ikkeri and Adams should give in writing,a safe passage for him. It was done.Kammu had a foreboding because of the presence of Vadakkumkoor Regent-he detested the clemency extended to him,at the behest of the Prime Minister,without asking him. The Raja,Iyer and Vadakkumkoor, together, hatched a plot to kill Kammu. He was given the Western room on the third floor of the garden house,the wooden floor of which would split apart,on the action of a lever, pushing the guest 32 feet under,to a rocky grave. It happened, and,two guards pushed the body inside a sack and walked to the Bednur river.Hyder Ali and his brother in law,Sheikh Makhdoom Ali,who were there in the guise of hunters,shot at the guards, rescuing Kammu.Part of this story sounds like a fiction.The popular  version which says,Kammu was held captive as a young man,together with other Nair soldiers, in Hyder's Malabar campaign of 1766, doesn't hold good because,Kammu was 53 in 1766 (Makhdoom Ali came to Malabar commanding a force in 1782, and was killed at Tirurangadi, battling the English forces under, Major Abington and Colonel Humberstone).

Hyderali
Historical records reveal the unhappy princes of Kolathunad invited Somasekhara to invade again in 1737 and the Prince Regent Kunhi Ambu (Udaya Varma)entered into a treaty, fixing Madayi as Northern border.Bednur and Kolathunad thus became a formidable force against the Europeans and Ali Raja.Udaya Varma gave Dharmapattanam to the East India Company in 1734.He died during the Anglo-French war,on 5 June, 1746.Kunhi Rama Varma,who took over, was not favorable to the Company. In 1749,he tried to make his sons administer the Taluks,causing wide spread resentment,and Bednur's interference.He had married the sister of Kadathanad Raja and had built her a house at Iruvazhinad,the country of Nambiars.They,together with Kottayam Raja jointly attacked the Fort in 1751. In 1750,Thomas Derryl,Chief at the Fort,had made direct contact with the Kolathiri and succeeded in making a weak junior prince,Ambu Thampan,the Regent Prince, in place of Kunhi Rama Varma.He was the de jure prince and Rama Varma,the de facto ruler.On 1752 May 22,Kottayam Raja worked out an armistice between the Company and Kunhi Rama Varma by which Rama Varma got Rs 50,000 and Kottayam Raja,as mediator,10,000.Kunhiraman died in 1756 and Rama Varma took over,died four years later.Though Kolathiri dismissed the ruling Prince Regent in 1761,he assumed power in 1764,to be overthrown by Hyder Ali.Land tax,for the first time was imposed in Kolathunad, after the Ikkeri invasion. It was 20% of the pattam (rent) on all rice and garden lands.Tax for all types of lands was introduced in Malabar by Hyder in 1776.

Malabar and Cochin,under Mysore
After Hyder's invasion of Bednur,he sent his envoy Anant Rao to Thalassery to sort out issues.Ali Raja supported another Prince,Kappu Thampan (Kerala Varma), against Kunhi Rama Varma.Rao persuaded Ali Raja,to invade,in aid of the rival prince. Ali Raja personally met Hyder at Mangaluru,and the invasion of 1766 happened. According to the novel, Kammu was sent to Srirangapattana (Seringapata)with Makhdoom.They reached on the afternoon of the fifth day,while Tipu Sultan,son of Hyder Ali,was in the midst of a bull fight,with fanfare,close to the temple.Tipu ,from horse back,was trying to pierce the belly of the bull with a lancer.Not knowing who it was,Kammu ran his horse,stood between the bull and Tipu, and challenged him,pleading,at the same time,for the life of an innocent animal.The seed was sown for the life long enmity between the two.Maybe,this account is also,fictitious.Let us now turn back to history.

Kammaran gets converted

Hyder Ali,after his return from Ikkeri, converted Kammu to Islam,calling him,Muhammad Ayaz Khan.He was enlisted  with the Asad-i-Ilahi(new converts)troops.Ayaz Khan was put under the tutelage of, French Naval Captain,Bertrand Francois Mahe de La Bourdonnais.Hold your breath-Mayyazhi became Mahe,taking its name from him!.An alternative account suggests that he displayed such bravery in the capture of Mahe,while he was with the French East India Company,that the name of the town was added to his own(He was in India service,from 1720, till 1745.He had quarreled with General Dupleix over his conduct of affairs in India,and was later arrested in 1748).
La Bourdonnais

It was around this time,Kolathiri began to be called  the Chirakkal King.Demands came from the Ikkeri King to pay him the 3 lakh indemnity,due to him.The Regent refused,arguing that the first agreement to usurp the Kolathiri was not implemented by the Ikkeri King.Bells of revenge rang,Commander of Ikkeri,Reghunath reached Ezhimala,with a fleet,in 1732.This affected the business of the Thalassery English factory severely,since they were depending on  Mangaluru port for food.The English, the French,the Portuguese,the third Ilamkoor, Kottayam King, and Ali Raja fought with each other for breathing space.The crisis was solved only after Kolathiri ceding the area North to Valapattanam river,to Ikkeri.Till 1766,the year in which Hyder Ali attacked and conquered Malabar, Ikkeri forces remained in the area.

Ayaz was being tried by Hyder Ali, in difficult missions.He was asked to thwart the Maratha force from the Southern border.Ayaz went there,and when Commander Dave began to withdraw,Hyder Ali asked Ayaz to pay him one lakh,lest they will  align with the English and the Nizam of Hyderabad.Hyder said he will sent the cash with Tipu. After waiting in vain for few days,Ayaz borrowed money from the natives.Tipu was wreaking vengeance.Then Hyder sent Ayaz to Hyderabad to coerce the Nizam,which he accomplished remarkably well.Hyder never wanted a dispute with the Nizam, because the two were the only Musim rulers in the Deccan,though the Nizam suspected the half Hindu, Hyder. Colonel Smith was flabbergasted to learn that the Nizam has backed from the joint  campaign against Hyder.When Hyder found ,strategy worked out very well, wherever Ayaz was sent, he asked Ayaz to take the Governorship of Chitradurga (Chitaldurg). Ayaz refused saying,he doesn't know to write or read Kannada or Hindi.Hyder advised: "Keep a Corla (rope whip) in your right hand and that will do you better than pen and ink." Ayaz was Governor of Chitradurga for three years, from 1779,before moving on to Bednur.Chitradurga was the richest  in the entire Mysore and the second better Fort after Srirangapattana. It was strategically important,since both the Nizam and Maratha s were to be handled from there.


When he became a little free in Chitradurga, according to the Malayalam historical novel,Velluvakkammaran ,he remembered Madhavi, and twenty long years had passed since they met each other.He took leave from Hyder,traveled via Bengaluru to Kalyat in Kannur.He,being a Muslim,refused to stay in the home,preferring the outhouse,instead.Madhavi was converted in the Irikkoor mosque,three miles away from Kalyat,becoming Amina Begum.There is no historicity in this,because, Ayaz was 66 when he became Governor of Chitradurga. It was not twenty,it was a minimum of 45 years!

Ikkeri King ruled North Malabar during 1732-1740.In South Malabar,Hyder had seized some areas including Palakkad as early as 1757, when he was the Faujidar at Dindigul,at the behest of the King of Palakkad,Kombi Achan,of the Tharoor Swaroopam,who was the enemy of  Zamorin.Ali Raja had invited him to invade North Malabar then,which he had rejected(After he did,Ali Raja set fire to Kolathiri palace).In 1763,Hyder captured Bednur,appointing Sreenivasa Rao as the first Governor and Sardar Khan as the Deputy.

Palakkad King  had also urged Hyder to wage a war against the Zamorin.Zamorin had agreed to pay 12 lakh as war expenses and to give back the areas seized from Palakkad.Hyder's second attack in 1766 was when  Zamorin didn't keep the promise.Zamorin became a hostage inside his own palace,with no way for religious rituals.He set the gun powder store of the Mananchira palace on fire,inviting the fire to immolate him.He had sent his family and relatives to safety in Ponnani.

Ayaz Khan Surrenders

Mysore forces again came, in 1773. Sardar Khan was sent to attack Travancore in 1775, but was successful only seizing the Thrissur Fort and North Kochi.When Ali of Arackal failed to give the indemnity,his country was gifted to the North Malabar Ilamkoor Prince Regent. In 1777, the U.S., with the help of the French, became free from the clutches of the English,thereby igniting the English-French war.Mahe port was in danger of being captured by the English. Hyder,who was taking French guns through this port,to Mysore,kept a force ready at the port.Vadakkekoor sent a 1500 strong Nair force. The English declared war against Hyder in 1778,and sent General Matthews from Mumbai to capture Bednur Fort. It was at this juncture, Ayaz was shifted from Chitradurga to Bednur. Hyder always used to say, Ayaz was his right hand in the hour of crisis. Mahmood Khan Mahmood, in his book, Kingdom of Hyderali and Tipu Sultan, notes that Ayaz was the adopted son of Hyder. Just before reaching Bednur, Ayaz had crushed the Kodagu, Ballat rebellions.When Ayaz reached Bednur, Doddappa was a prisoner on the Eastern side of the Fort. He called Doddappa to his Bunglow, gave a dressing down, and sent him as prisoner to Srirangapattana Fort, taking permission from Hyder. Ayaz named Bednur, Hydernagara.

Chitradurga Fort
While Tipu with his forces was battling Col Thomas Mackenzie Humberstone in Ponnani, news of Hyder Ali's death,in Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh,on December 12,1782,was conveyed to him.Tipu fled to Srirangapattana,fearing Ayaz Khan will take over,though Ayaz was not aware of the death.Tipu's first act as King, was,to sent a messenger, with a letter, to Sheikh Ibrahim Khan,second in command at Bednur Fort.When the messenger arrived, Ayaz and Ibrahim were together,and the letter was handed over to Ayaz.Tipu,in the letter, had asked Ibrahim to kill Ayaz and to become the Governor.Ayaz told Ibrahim,a convert like him, there is a conflict of interest now,and killed him.Then he called the Deputy Governor,Reghunath Pant,and revealed to him,his intentions. 

Though Ayaz loyalists wanted him to oust Tipu and become the King,Ayaz handed over Bednur to General Matthews,ceding to the advice of Donald Campbell, the traveller. Campbell,who was taken prisoner by Hyder's soldiers after a shipwreck,was freed by Ayaz ,for negotiations with the British,at the behest of Matthews.The General met the confused Ayaz,at his Bunglow,and worked out the terms.Ayaz rode on his favorite horse, Feroze that night,accompanied by 50 English horsemen to the British camp.Matthews agreed to the demand of Ayaz to take him and his dear ones, including the horse Feroze,to Thalassery,by ship.Next morning,he went to the Bednur fort,opened the treasury.One version says that it had three lakhs, Ayaz took half and distributed the other half to Reghunath Pant and soldiers. He reached Thalassery on the third day. He began staying at Mavilan kunnu.He kept the word given to the dying Rairu Nambiar by building a Siva temple and gifting land to a Nambuthiri Brahmin.

Ayaz and Amina could not stay there for long. In the winter of 1784, after a bath in the pond,Amina became feverish and died on the 11th day.It was the year when the Mangaluru treaty between Tipu and the English was signed ending the Malabar campaign of Mysore.As part of the settlement,Tipu asked the British to hand over the war prisoner, Ayaz,to him.The British declined. The  novel,Velluvakkammaran,s eems to protect Ayaz, especially towards the end. He wrote the novel, based on an unpublished English work, by Othenan Menon, a former Sub Registrar of Koothuparamba, in Kannur. He had stayed for some time in the Chalad Velluva home.

Fleeing to Mumbai

The novel says Ayaz Khan got back his ancestral property and he preferred the life of a sanyasin after the death of Amina.Impossible,as Ayaz was a Muslim.Menon claims,Ayaz requested the British, a life in a distant place. If you want to lead a sanyasin's life, why Mumbai? History says, he fled to Mumbai,when he heard Tipu was secretly planning to kill him.                                                                                                                                                                                            
           
Hyder Ali,steel engraving,1790s
                                                                                                                                          

                                
Though Tipu failed to kill Ayaz, he compensated by killing and torturing hundreds of Nairs of Malabar. He hated the race.In 1788,Tipu gave strict orders to his army Commander M Lally and Mir Asrali Khan, to,"surround and extricate the whole race of Nairs from Kottayam(Wynad) to Palghat."This is known as the Order of Extermination of Nairs.The captivity of Nairs at Srirangapattana during 1786-1789 saw forcible conversions,torture and death. 

In a letter of March 22,1788,which was traced by Sardar K M Panikkar,in the India Office Library,London,Tipu Sultan boasted:"Over 12000 Hindus were honoured with Islam".In a letter of December 14,1788, to the Army Commander in Kozhikode,Tipu ordered:"You should capture and kill all Hindus.Those below 20 years maybe kept in prison and 5000 from the rest,should be killed,hanging from tree tops."

From historical facts which we have seen, it is difficult to believe that Hyder took Kammu under his wings, when he was a boy.Hyder would have met him either in 1755, during the Ikkeri campaign, or,in 1757,during his first march to Malabar-at that time, Kammu was aged,42-44. Clearly,then,it was a case of switching sides, from Kolathiri,to Hyder. Or,it was a case of capture and forcible conversion, for, Hyder in 1766,had deported 15,000 captured Nairs to Bednur and only 200 survived,according to Gazateer. Maybe Ayaz was a survivor. The version Tipu hated Ayaz from the beginning is difficult to accept; Tipu turned against him,after Ayaz gifted Bednur to the British. Hence, Menon termed his book a novel, not history. He wanted to glorify Ayaz.If this is accepted,there is every chance that he had married Madhavi earlier,and the conversion of her happened in old age. 

Thalassery Fort
Mahmood Khan Mahmood, the Urdu historian, says that at the time of Bednur capture by Hyder(1763),the daughter of Kolathiri fell in love with a well to do Muslim, Ali. Against the wishes of the Nairs,the king married her off to Ali and made Ali,his successor. There was a Nair revolt then;there was a Nair revolt at that time,but not because of the 'marriage'.Haroon is just referring to the legend of Mahabali,nephew of Cheraman Perumal,marrying a Kolathiri princess,after becoming converted to Muhammad Ali.He has fixed the legend at his will,in a later period.It is possible that Velluvakkammaran led the revolt, captured and converted. According to the novel,the British gave Ayaz Khan, 20 acres farmland with a Bungalow, in Masagon,Mumbai.Ayaz,instead of the Bungalow,preferred a three room,thatched roof house.In the Bungalow,he ran an orphanage.He leased out the farm land to the poor and used that amount to run the orphanage.

The novel was published in 1927. We have enough historical evidence now to prove that Ayaz was not running an orphanage,but was an inmate in an orphanage. History also speaks about his widows and sons.If we accept Menon's story, Amina Begum/Madhavi,was issueless,he had wives before and after Amina.Thus,we can fill the gap of 20/45 years between them.Was Madhavi married? The novel says no-only Allah knows.

The British never gave back him the ancestral properties, though he staked claim for it in 1792.They termed the claim,fraudulent and sanctioned a monthly pension of Rs 4000, after he settled in Mumbai.History speaks of his minor son, Fayaz Ali Khan,who was denied his father's pension.Fayaz fought for it in Mumbai and London.The British tried to block all his efforts,including his trip to London.His representative, Muhial- ud-Din fought for him in London,incurring huge debts.The British offered him to pay the debts, if he stopped arguing the case for Fayaz. Finally, the British restored the pension. Muhial-ud- Din returned to Mumbai,but the ship with the case papers, sank in the Bay of Bengal. Then,there was no case to argue,leaving the memories, afloat.Any empire, is a mirage.
_______________________________

Reference:

1.Velluvakkammaran/C Kunjirama Menon(he was known as MRKC-Chengalath Kunjirama Menon,in the reverse order.He was Editor,Kerala Pathrika,and Manager,Mangalodayam.
2.Malabar Manual/William Logan
3.Historical Sketches of South India/Mark Wilks
4.A Narrative of the Extra Ordinary Adventure/Donald Campbell
5.Counter flows to Colonialism/M H Fisher
6.Kingdom of Hyderali and Tipu Sultan/Mahmood Khan Mahmood.Trans:Anwar Haroon
7.History of Tipu Sultan/Mohibbul Hasan
8.Tipu Sultan:Villain or Hero?/Sitaram Goel
9.Religious Intolerance of Tipu Sultan/PCN Raja
10.Haidar Ali and Tipu sultan/Lewin Bentham Bowring 
11.Tellicherry Factory Diary Volume XVIII
12.Tellicherry Consultations,Vol VIII,1933. 
13.The Dutch Power in Kerala/M O Koshy


© Ramachandran






 













Friday 21 November 2014

FIFTY YEARS OF THE SONG,THAMASAMENTHE VARUVAN

The eternal song completes golden jubilee

Today ,November 22,marks the 50th birth anniversary of the best ever Malayalam song,Thamasamenthe Varuvan.The movie,Bhargavi Nilayam with the immortal song,was released on November 22,1964.
My home was just opposite to a theatre,Sreekala,in Tripunithura.If I remember right,the theatre was opened in 1966,because the Tamil movie,Motor Sundaram Pillai,a Nagesh starrer was the first movie there.It was a 1966 film.Mahakavi Kalidas,followed.We didn't have a radio.Bhargavi Nilayam and Chemmeen were shown in Sreekala,in 1966.Maybe I heard the song before that in the small public park,close to the North Fort Gate junction.There was a mike in the park.The park itself is not there now.I was just a four year old then.The song has grown inside me,with me.It will die,ofcourse, only when I breath my last.For others,it will continue to resonate,till the end of the world.
Yesudas with Baburaj

Bhargavi Nilayam,was the only movie script written by the legendary Vaikam Muhammed Basheer(1908-1994).It was found and printed by the Kalakaumudi weekly, years later, after his death.The script was based on his short stories,Neelavelicham and Nilavu Kanumbol.Basheer once wrote that,Neelavelicham was based on his personal encounter with the ghost of a beautiful woman.Prem Nazir,Madhu and Vijayanirmala were in the leading roles.Madhu was the writer and Vijayanirmala,the ghost.It was the first horror movie in Malayalam.It was also the directorial debut of A Vincent,the Cinematographer.The camera for the movie,was wielded by,P Bhaskar Rao.It was the debut movie of an actor,Padmadalakshan,who became famous later,as Kuthiravattam Pappu.His name in the movie,was,M P Kuthiravattam.The film was shot in Thalassery.
Bhargavi Nilayam poster

Its sound track,containing seven songs,crafted by M S Baburaj,was a master piece.Except the dance song,Anuraga madhu chashakam,By S Janaki,all the other songs were hits.Thamasamenthe became a sensation.Other songs were,Ekanthathayude aparatheeram,Arabikadaloru manavatti(Yesudas,P Suseela),Pottatha ponnin(Janaki),Pottithakarnna kinavu(Janaki).It is not easy to count two songs in the same movie among the first 10 in a language.But I consider the song,Ekanthathayude , sung by Kamukara Purushothaman,picturised on the Thalayi beach,one among the best 10 songs in Malayalam.

Most of the best songs in Malayalam, have been lipped by Madhu.He lipped for Ekanthathayude....
It was easy for P Bhaskaran to write the lyrics.The content of the songs and some of the lines too,were there in the script.Ekanthathayude apara theeram(the vast sea shore of loneliness)was there in Baheer's story,Anarghanimisham.In Neelavlicham,the writer was expecting the ghost any moment,but she made him wait.From there,began,Thamasamenthe...(Why the delay,my dear..)
(The above video is Yesudas singing the song,2o years later,in 1985 film award nite)
The song,was set to Hindustani Raga,Bhimpalasi,a combination of two ragas,Bhim and Palasi.It is a late afternoon raga,related to Hindustani  ragas,Dhanashree,Dhani,Patdeep,Hamsakinkini and Patdeepaki.In Carnatic music,it is close to Abheri,falling with melakartha 22,Kharaharapriya.The famous song,Manasanilayil,in Dhwani is set to Abheri.Raga Bhageshree also is related.The madhyamam is the important note in Bhimpalasi.No wonder,Yesudas perfected the song only in the 23rd take!
Baburaj had Talat Mahmood in his mind to sing the song.Thamasamenthe was inspired by the Talat song,Humse aaya na gaya in the 1957 movie,Dekh Kabira Roya.The lyric was by Rajesh Kishen and music by Madan Mohan.

I do not know why Babukka could not rope in Talat.He realized his dream in 1977,by calling Talat to sing for the movie,Dweep.Another song,by the sea.
There is one song too,close to Thamasamenthe,in Bhimpalasi,in the 1957 movie,Chandrakantha,sung by Rafi.The song is,Maine chaand aur Sitaron ki.
Many have suspected the Rafi song by Noushad,Mere mehboob tujhe in the 1963 film,Meri Mehboob,as the original.But,it is in raga,Jhinjhoti.
The most interesting myth is that,Baburaj tried to imitate Bhimpalasi again in the famous song,Pranasakhi njan Verumoru,in the movie,Pareeksha(1967).It is in raga,Sindhubairavi.It was the same team:Bhaskaran,Baburaj and Prem Nazir.Rathisukhasaramayi in Dhwani is in Sindhubairavi.

There are several famous Hindi songs in raga,Bhimpalasi.
1.Beena madhur kuch bol/Ramarajya/Saraswati Rane(1943),2.Asmanwale Teri duniya se/Laila Majnu/Talat & Lata(1953),3.Aa Neele Gagan/Badshah/Lata(1954),4.Tere Sadke Balam/Amar/Lata(1954),5.Maine Chaand aur Sitaron ki/Chandrakantha/Rafi(1956),
6.Humse Aaya Na gaya/Dekh Kabira Roya(1957),7.Nagma O sher ki/Ghazal/Lata(1964),8.Naini are Badra Chaiye/Mere Sayya/Lata(1966),9.Khilte hain Gul Yahan/Shirmilee/Kishore Kumar(1972),10.Ae Ajnadi tu Kabhi/Dil Se/A R Rahman+Udit Narayan998),11.Samay O Dhire/Rudali/Bhupen Hazarika.
Here is a classical Bhimpalasi from Pandit Jasraj.
For Thamasamenthe,Sitar was the main accompaniment.Let us listen to maestro,Pandit Ravi Shankar playing Bhimpalasi,in Sitar.
Jayachandran the singer,who had accompanied Yesudas in Mridangam, once at the school youth festival,considers,Thamasamenthe,the ultimate song.Just to listen to the song,he had watched,Bhargavi Nilayam,27 times,in the Ponni theatre at Irinjalakuda.I end my tribute with Jayachandran's tribute to Yesudas and the immortal song.
Reference:
1.The Story of Indian Music/O Goswami
2.The Raga Guide/Joep Bor
3.Chandrakantha.com
4.malayalasangeetham.info
5.My comments in Multiple Version of Songs in Songsofyore.com
See my post,THE DUET:BENGALI EMBRACES MALAYALAM

 

Saturday 15 November 2014

THE DUET:BOMBAY RAVI AND MALAYALAM

Bombay Ravi transformed Malayalam melody
Bombay Ravi(1926-2012) was born in Delhi.He shifted to Mumbai in 1950.
He was born as Ravi Shankar Sharma.He learnt music listening to the bhajans his father sang.He had no formal training;he taught himself  Harmonium. 
He was a trained electrician.He didn't want to shock anyone;So he went to Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood.He lived on the streets;Slept at night at the Malad railway station.In 1952,Hemant Kumar asked Ravi to sing backing vocals for Vandematharam in the movie,Anandmath.His musical journey began.Chaudwin ka Chand(1960) made him immortal.
Bombay Ravi

He took a break for 12 years, from 1970.In 1982,he made a come back with Nikaah.Hariharan,a music aficionado,convinced Ravi in 1986 to make his foray into Malayalam ,with Panchagni.Ravi has composed music for only 15 Malayalam movies.Six of them were for Hariharan:Panchagni,Nakhakshatangal(1986),Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha(1989),Sargam(1992),Parinayam(1994),Mayookham(2005).Panchagni,scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair,told the story of a heroine of the erstwhile Naxalite movement,who had to face  grim realities again,while trying to have a normal life.The character had a shadow of the revolutionary,K Ajitha,daughter of Kunnikkal Narayanan from Kozhikode and Mandakini from Maharashtra.It was a Naxalite family.Both the songs from the movie by ONV,replaced cacophony in Malayalam with melody,and became a rage.
SONG1:SAGARANGALE/FILM:PANCHAGNI/YESUDAS
SONG2:AA RATHRI MANJU POYI/FILM:PANCHAGNI/CHITRA
Same year,Hariharan came up with Ravi in Nakhakshathangal.The movie had Guruvayur temple as backdrop.Singer Jayachandran donned an important role in the film and sang two songs:Kevala Marthyabhasha and Vreelabharithayay.There were five songs in the movie.Manjal prasdavum,Neeraduvan Nilayil,Aareyum Bavagayakanakkum are the rest. Ravi got the state award for music director and Chitra won the national award for the best female play back singer for Manjal prasadavum.
SONG3:MANJAL PRASADAVUM/FILM:NAKHAKSHATANGAL/CHITRA
                                                      
  
Ravi gained another national award for Chitra for the song,Indu pushpam in Vaisali(1989).It was another night song after Aa rathri manju poyi...
SONG4:INDU PUSHPAM/FILM:VAISALI/CHITRA
       

Though all the songs in Nakashathangal are still fresh in memory,there is a poem by ONV which is seldom mentioned.
SONG5:VREELABHARITHAYAY/FILM:NAKHAKSHATHANGAL/JAYACHANDRAN
                                                     
 After two Hariharan movies,Ravi composed music for Theertham(1987) directed by Mohan.Usually it is not seen in the list of Ravi movies,because the songs are not available.I have seen the movie,which tells the story of a Nambudiri girl,played by Pallavi Joshi.Maybe the makers of the movie thought it not worthwhile to bring out the record,because two of the songs were  by Nedumudi Venu & chorus.The songs,Ganapathiye Nin Achan and Aathintho,written by my friends,Kavalam Narayana Panicker and Balachandran Chullikkad had absolutely no Ravi touch.It had the typical Kavalam folk touch.A third song,Bas More Nainaan by Alka Yagnik is shown in the credit;the lyrical credit  given to Kavalam and Chullikkad.Very doubtful.I remember only the folk songs.
Coming back to Hariharan movies,Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha had five songs,out of which two,written by poet and administrator(he was Chief Secretary,Kerala;after that  Vice Chancellor)stand out:Chandanalepa sugandham and Kalarivilakku(Chitra).
SONG6:CHANDANALEPA SUGANDHAM/FILM:ORU VADAKKAN.../YESUDAS
Kaithapram Damodaran Namboodiri  wrote two songs.Indulekha Kan thurannu(Yesudas) and Unniganapthi Thampurane(Chitra,Ashalatha).Indulekha is still remembered.The last,Enthinavidam Parayunnacha was from the folk Vadakkan pattu.
The musical melodrama,Sargam had nine songs,five of them by poet and Krishna devotee,Yusuf Ali Kecheri.1.Kannadi aadhyamayen(Chitra) 2.Pravahame(Yesudas),3.Aandolanam(Yesudas,Chitra),4.Krishnakripasagaram(Yesudas)
5.Sangeethame(Yesudas).Ravi won the state award.
SONG7:KRISHNAKRIPA/FILM:SARGAM/YESUDAS
 

 1994 was the land mark year for Ravi.He got the national award in 1995 for the two movies he did in Malayalam in 1994:Parinayam directed by Hariharan and Sukrutham by Harikumar.Parinayam was based on the caste inquisition of Thatri in 1905.It had four songs,written again,by Yusuf Ali:Vaisakha poornimayo(Yesudas & Chitra versions)2.Samajasancharini(Yesudas,Chitra versions)3.Anjusarangalum(Yesudas)4.Parvanendumukhi.The best in the movie,Samajasancharini was in fact composed by Manoj krishnan,assisting Ravi at that time.Hariharan and Yusuf Ali insisted that Manoj do it-Ravi was absent,but they urgently needed the song.This has been revealed by Yusuf Ali.Manoj from Palakkad,whom I know personally,set it to raga,Kamboji.Manoj,later in 1997,sang Chundathu Thenulla for Ravi in the album,Aavani Kanavukal.In 1998, he sang a solo,Samagana (Yesudas had a version)for Ravi,in Kalivakku.I met Manoj after Yusuf Ali's confession.He did music for a Tamil film later.He played the song by Subha in that film,in his car,for me.That movie didn't see light of day.
SONG8:SAMAJA SANCHARINI/FILM:PARINAYAM/YESUDAS
 
So,to do justice to Ravi,let us listen to him.Another night song:
SONG9:VAISAKHA POURNAMIYO/ FILM:PARINAYAM/CHITRA
 Both movies were scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair.The Back ground score for Sukrutham was done by Johnson who won the national second best music director award the same year.He won the national best back ground score award for Malayalam film too.The movie script took a holistic approach to death,taking a leaf out of MT's own life when he was a journalist.Death is a moment to rejoice.The hero walked toward a running train,detached.Among the four songs,Kadalinnagadhamam is a gem.Lyrics by ONV.
SONG10:KADALNNAGADHAMAM/FILM:SUKRUTHAM/YESUDAS,CHITRA
The last work of Ravi, in Malayalam ,too, was for Hariharan.Mayookham(2005)had six songs,including a sloka,Tha Geha Krithya Niratha sung by Vijitha Jai Ganesh.For the first time,Hariharan himself wrote two songs:Kattinu Sugandham (Yesudas)and Chuvarillathe(Jayachandran).Mankombu Gopalakrishnan wrote,three:Ee Puzhayum(Yesudas),Dhanumasa pularikal(Sujatha) and Bhagavathi Kavil Vacho(MG Sreekumar).We see a waning Ravi here.Ee Puzhayum is the average one among them.It was the Debut movie of Mamta Mohan Das.
SONG 11:THA GEHA KRITHYA NIRATHA/FILM:MAYOOKHAM/VIJITHA

Ace director Bharathan called Ravi for Vaisali(1989) and Padheyam(1993).Though Padheyam is not a good work of Ravi,Vaisali was a land mark.Except Poomullakkattil by Chitra,all songs were hits.It told the Rishyasringa story.I was not aware of the Rishyasringa  temple at Kigga,Sringeri, and that Sringeri got its name from him,at the time when I saw the movie.It seems Bharathan didn't knew either;the movie was shot in Idukki.Kigga itself is amazing - I was there four months back.Vaisali was scripted by MT and Padheyam by Lohitha Das.Actor Gopi was one of the producers of padheyam,a compelling story of an unusual love between a young girl and a senior poet.It was Chippi's debut film.Out of six songs by Kaithapram,only two are remembered:(Chandrakantham kondu(versions of Yesudas & Chitra) and Rasanilavinu Tharunyam.

SONG 12:RASANILAVINU/FILM:PADHEYAM/YESUDAS,CHITRA

 Jayaraj,had assiste Bharathan, for six movies,from,Chilambu(1986).He had met Ravi during the recording of Vaisali.Jayaraj,aptly named his debut movie,Vidyarambham(1990).Three songs in the movie,Uthralikkavile(Yesudas),Poovarambin Thazhe(Chitra) and Pathira kombile didn't click much.Kaithapram,it seems,was not having the same wave length.Uthralikavile, was set to raga,Mohanam;Bhoopali in Hindustani.
SONG 13:PATHIRA KOMBILE/FILM:VIDYARAMBHAM/YESUDAS
The case was different when Yusuf Ali teamed up with Ravi,once again proved by Gazal(1993).Out of nine songs in the movie,Isal Thenkanam and Sangeethame are ever green.
SONG14:ISAL THENKANAM/FILM:GAZAL/YESUDAS,CHITRA
Its original was Mujhe Pyar ki Zindagi dene Wale sung by Rafi and Asha Bhosle in Pyar Ka Sagar.Of course,Hindi tune was also by Ravi.
MUJHE PYAR/FILM:PYAR KA SAGAR/RAFI,ASHA
The best of Yesudas appeared in an unreleased movie,Kalivakku(1998).It was to be directed by either Vinu or Paul Njarakkal.It was also the best of K Jayakumar.
SONG 15:YADUKULA KOKILA/FILM:KALIVAKKU/YESUDAS
SONG 16:GAGANA NEELIMA/FILM:KALIVAKKU/YESUDAS
SONG 17:SAMAGANA LAYA/FILM:KALIVAKKU/YESUDAS
Three songs in the movie,Five Star Hospital(1997), directed by Thaha retained some of the inherent qualities of Ravi:Maranno nee nilavil,Ithra Madhurikumo and Vathil Thurakku Kaalame.It had one song by K G Markose-Anadi Gayakan.Lyrics were by Yusuf Ali.Maranno nee nilavil reminds me of the Naushad songs in Dhwani.
SONG 18:MARANNO NEE/FILM:FIVE STAR HOSPITAL/YESUDAS
 There is nothing home to write about the songs in Manassil Oru Manjuthulli(2000).It was the only movie directed by Mumbai business man,Jaikumar Nair with serial actors Krishnakumar and Praveena in lead roles.Along with M D Rajendran,Suresh Ramanthali too wrote lyrics.
Ravi's only Malayalam album,Aavani Kanavukal (1997)had 10 songs.Six solos of Unni Menon,one duet of Unni Menon with S Janaki,One each of Janaki and Daleema.Both Unni Menon and Manoj Krishnan had their versions of one song,Chundathu Thenulla...
While Ravi was very active in Malayalam,Ousepachan,reputed Malayalam composer,lifted a 1965 Hindi tune of Ravi and used it in the Priyadarshan movie,Megham(1999).
SONG:NJAN ORU PATTU PADAM/FILM:MEGHAM/YESUDAS
SONG:O MERE ZOHRA JABEEN/FILM:WAQT/MANNA DEY
 
Ravi died a  sad man-in his final years,he was harassed by his estranged son,Ajay Shankar and his wife,the Marathi actress,Varsha Usgaonkar.Ravi lamented that his son and his wife wanted to throw him out of his house(The Deccan Chronicle,27 December,2011).Ravi's wife had died in 1986. 
Reference:1.malayalachalachithram.com 2.malayalasangeetham.info.3.My talks with Manoj Krishnan,Ravi's assistant

See my post,THE DUET:BENGALI EMBRACES MALAYALAM
 

  

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