“I don’t think you can live in Malappuram by breathing fresh air," declared Vellappally Natesan, the General Secretary of the powerful Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), a community organisation of Ezhavas in Kerala. K Surendran, a senior leader of the Bharataiya Janata Party (BJP), backed him saying that people from other communities won't get even a drop of water during the holy month of Ramzan. It was the kind of dog whistle statements people in Malappauram, a Muslim majority district, are now familiar with.
Even as these polarising statements elicited sharp responses from the civil society, a different story unfolded in Malappuram known for its secular traditions: a 47-year-old Muslim auto driver quietly made his debut as a chenda melam performer in a local temple, embodying the interfaith harmony that defines everyday life in the district.
Sakkeer Hussain performed at the Shree Cherumb Muthappan temple as part of a group on April 6, 2025. Chenda Melam is a percussion ensemble with a history of 300 years and is performed by a group of drummers. The starting and ending of both the practice sessions and the performances is marked by ‘Ganapathy Kai’ which symbolizes offering of prayers to Lord Ganesha.
The performance was appreciated by everyone who witnessed it. Chenda Melam is generally associated with Hinduism and temple festivals, which made Hussain doubtful if he could pursue it. Considering his age, he was told by a few that it might be difficult for him to master it. But the 47-year-old was determined to achieve his goal.
“Apart from driving an auto, I do part time jobs like repairing electronic gadgets and tailoring, so learning new things is actually not new for me. When I developed an interest in chenda, everyone including my family members, friends and Guru were supportive. This motivated me.” said Hussian.
Hussain learned chenda under the guidance of his Guru Kalathingal Vijayakumar. It took Hussian only less than five months to learn the art form. The last three months were marked by rigorous practice and training. Vijayakumar said, “Hussian’s determination played a huge role in how quickly he learned the art, it is beyond religion. The committee members of the temple were also supportive. Most of my students are Hindus as the art is usually associated with temples, I have also had a Christian student. But this is the first time that someone from Muslim community is keen on learning the art.”
“In Malappuram, Hindus and Muslims live like a family. Here we have nothing against each other unlike other parts of the county. During Eid we eat Biryani together, we also celebrate Onam together. I did not face any criticism from both Muslim and Hindu communities, instead everyone was backing me. I enjoyed performing chenda, the only difference between me and my peers was that they had applied tilak on their forehead,” said Hussain.