Writer with a mission

Malayalee accountant turns author in Abu Dhabi by telling the stories of expatriates

At first glance, you would never dream this extremely unassuming bespectacled accountant from a private company in Abu Dhabi is a prolific fiction writer. He has seven books - two novels, one book of short stories and four plays - to his credit.

Recently, he also received a literary award for a short story called Robusto, the title being derived from the eponymous African coffee. It appeared in Kerala's popular weekly Mathrubhumi in June this year.

The story explored the plight of the poverty stricken coffee planters in Kerala, who were being driven to suicide, unable to repay their hefty bank loans. This award, given by the All Kerala Gulf Returnees Association, carries a memento, a certificate and a cash prize of Dh850.

Abdul Rahman Madathil Muhammed is no stranger to awards, however. When he was just a teenager, he had won a Kerala state level award for his short story Vimochana (release), which had appeared in the weekly magazine Malyala Manorama in 1977.

In an interview with Gulf News, A.M. Muhammed points out: "My ability to write fiction seems to be an inherent, unexplainable talent."

This Commerce graduate has gone on to write plays that were staged by professional drama troupes, while his short stories were picked up by the magazine sections of Kerala's leading newspapers, Matrubhumi and Malyala Manorama.

It was only after coming to the UAE in 1981, however, that he wrote his first novel in his spare time, called Marubhumiley Pakshi, which means, The Bird in the Desert.

Published by Current Books, a publishing house in Kottayam, Kerala, India, the book seems to be based on true incidents about young Keralite expatriates flocking to the UAE with dreams in their hearts, which quickly turn sour when they come face to face with reality.

One of the more poignant tales revolves around a young man who comes here to better his financial prospects, says the author, but, when he fails to land his dream job and faces a plethora of hardships and heartaches, he finally decides to return to India to marry the girl he loves. But, a day before he's set to leave, he dies in a car accident.

This book is in its third edition, Muhammed points out. His stories may have a sad and dire ring to them but he quickly asserts the inspirations for all his works stem from real life around him. Citing the example of one of his favourite short stories, he recounts how the idea came to him after meeting a woman on a flight and listening to her unhappy life history.

Kaisu, as this woman was called, was a singer back home in Kerala and was forced to come to the Gulf to earn money. She takes up a job as a maid but after encountering lots of hardship, she ends up in the mortuary - with a job of washing dead bodies.

"Her life really moved me to make her a central character in my short story," he exclaims.

Kaisu appeared in his second book - a collection of short stories called Vellimegangalil Oru Thooval Kozhiyunnu (A Feather Drops from Heaven).

The name of this book is from the title of one of the short stories based on his late grandmother who had brought him up when he was a child. Another short story, which was acclaimed by his fans, also features in this book.

Called Osama, the story is about an Egyptian architect who struggles in the Gulf to save money to pay the dowry for the woman he wishes to marry, but fails in his attempt. This tragic tale of failed love was featured in Malyala Manorama's Sunday supplement.

"Presiding over prominent social organisations here, I get to meet people who tell me their stories," says Muhammed. He is the present general secretary of the Abu Dhabi Malayalee Samajam.

Another muse for Muhammed has been the famous scriptwriter, Sivasankara Pillai, of the evergreen film Chemeen. "As a child I used to live near his house and I must have developed this interest in writing back then," he recounts.

"Last year, I wrote a story about visiting his house as a child and set it in the times of the periodical floods in that area." This story was published in the Matrabhumi weekly.

Tapping the melancholia Indian expatriates undergo because of the lack of close family ties and relationships in the Gulf, happens to be the theme of his new novel - Nizhalnilangal or Land of Shadows. It explores the second stage of an expatriate's life.

"Back in India people seem keen only to exploit us, and families, too, look upon us as money making machines. The luckless expatriate does not end up saving anything for himself in the end," he explains. And this book probes the isolation experienced by expatriates when they return home.

The most treasured moment in his career as a writer was when his teacher chanced upon a book of his in a bookshop and read it.

"She was so excited and happy for me she tried to reach me and when I was in Kerala last year for a holiday, I went to meet her. She hugged me and told me that my stories had made her cry. Really, that's the best award anyone can give me," he recollects, voice shaky with emotion.

"The Gulf dream is over in Kerala. In the last five years, the golden goose seems to have stopped laying the eggs and the Gulf Malayalee seems anxious about the future," said Muhammed in a matter of fact tone. What will happen when they return home seems to be the topic on many a Keralite expatriate's mind, he claims.

And that will be the focus of Muhammed's next project. "I'm working on a big novel based on the Keralite's situation when he returns home in the future. I'm looking for a solution by interviewing economists and psychiatrists on the best way an expat can handle his life when he returns to his homeland for good," he explains. And Muhammed will give it a literary tweak.

Muhammed also believes young talent has to be encouraged and Arangu, the literary group he belongs to, plans to publish a collection of short stories penned by 32 upcoming Gulf writers in the form of a book called Manalezhuthu.

The stories focus on the Indian diaspora in the Gulf. Also, starting this year, Arangu, which has for the past 20 years been awarding deserving writers back home, now plans to institute an award for writers in the Gulf region.

Will there be a Gulf version of Vasudevan Nair? Only time will tell.