It has been 26 years since renowned Malayalam author Vaikom Muhammed Basheer bid farewell to this world. On his death anniversary, we recount the story of how the popular writer struggled to build the house of his dreams.
Basheer constructed his first home at Thalayolaparambu in Kerala's Kottayam district. That property now houses a bank.
‘Why does Basheer need money?’
Even when Basheer's books were flying off the shelves, the popular writer did not have much money in hand.
When he approached the publisher for his royalty amount, he was startled to hear the question - "Why does Basheer need money now?”
The writer harboured the dream of buying a beautiful home by the Muvattupuzha River. He was crestfallen after getting such a curt response from the publisher. And as he could not cough up the money within a set deadline, he lost out on buying the coveted property.
He then decided to construct a house on the 12 cents of land he owned. Basheer approached the publisher again, "I and my wife live at a rented house. I need a house of my own."
This request was accepted and a deal was made that money would be given in instalments of Rs 500. The house was completed within a year at a cost of Rs 20,000. Basheer named the house - Azhar Cottage, after the prestigious Al-Azhar University at Cairo in Egypt.
Federal Nilayam
Basheer and his wife Fabi lived at the new house at Thalayolaparambu for six years. During this time, he wrote the screenplay for the movie, 'Bhargavi Nilayam’. Later, Basheer sold the house to Federal Bank and shifted to Kozhikode along with his family.
The house was pulled down and a new building was constructed. However, the well near the kitchen was kept. Federal Bank named the new building, Federal Nilayam.
When the society reaped benefits of Basheer’s writing
When the Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangam was formed in Kottayam, Basheer too became a member of the group. Basheer’s books were withdrawn from the Mangalodayam press. Basheer's bookstall in Ernakulam was also sold to the society.
During this period, Basheer's book 'Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu' was included in the syllabus. He received an order for 1 lakh copies from the government. E M S Namboodiripad was the then Chief Minister of Kerala and Joseph Mundassery was the Education Minister. Forty per cent of the book price was earmarked as royalty for Basheer and the rest for the society.
Though the government had placed the order for 1 lakh copies, it only bought 50,000 copies. The society decided to file a case against this. For that, Basheer cut down his share of royalty from 40 to 20 per cent. The government then bought the remaining 50,000 copies. But Basheer's royalty share remained at 20 per cent. With the excess amount, the cooperative society bought its first car.
