‘Mappila Pattu’ exponent V M Kutty passes away
Kozhikode (Ker) (PTI): Considered the uncrowned prince of Kerala Muslim folk songs, named "mappila pattu", V M Kutty, died of a heart ailment at a private hospital here on Wednesday, family sources said.
He was 86.
Hailing from Pulikkal near Kondotty in Malappuram district, Kutty has made immense contributions in popularising Mappila Pattu, which has been a cultural identity of the Muslim community of the state especially in Malabar (north Kerala).
'Mappila Pattu' is a folklore Muslim song genre, sung in a colloquial dialect of Malayalam laced with Arabic.
It was out of his sheer passion for the folk songs that he synced the "Ishels" (tunes), believed to be sung by Arab sailors who reached Kozhikode for trade centuries ago, into Arab-Malayalam lyrics and gave a unique slang that made the art form creating a tremendous impact among the music lovers.
Beginning his career as a teacher in a local school, Kutty became an exponent of Mappila songs through research into the centuries-old Arab-origin music stream.
The presentation of 'mapplila pattu' on radio at the age of 20 years marked the beginning of his art life.
He was also the person who had first presented the mapplia pattu on stage and formed a music troupe for its performance in the southern state.
Over the years, he also popularised the ancient folk songs which were since then confined to few Muslim pockets.
Kutty also wrote extensively about mappila pattu and introduced many new singers into the music stream.
He has written over 1,000 songs and has penned several books.
"Mappila pattinte lokam," "Bhathigeethangal", "Kuruthikunju" and "Basheer Mala" were among his noted works.
A recipient of the Sangeetha Nadaka Academy award, Kutty has been the honorary secretary of the Institute of Mappila Studies for a long time.
Condoling his death, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Kutty was a genius who played a key role in popularising the Mappila Pattu and took the music genre to new heights.
"Kutty, who had composed and sung over a thousand songs, made his presence in the film industry too. Thus, he was able to popularise the music genre across Kerala and build a fan base," he said in the message.
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
