Once known as the Straits Settlements, in what is now Malaysia and Singapore, Malayali immigrants faced sometimes fierce battles to assert their linguistic identity. They were often in the same group as the numerically superior Tamil community, in part because large numbers of Malayalis understood more than rudimentary conversational Tamil. was.
Colonial immigrants to Singapore were initially happy to listen to Tamil songs and radio broadcasts, but by the late 1930s there was a growing demand for specific Malayalam programming. In December 1940, an anonymous Straits Times reader named “South Indian Listener” wrote a letter to the paper’s editor requesting that Malayalam songs be played on local radio stations.
“Singapore Broadcasting Corporation is currently broadcasting South Indian music programs from Singapore from 6.20pm,” a reader wrote. “This is a gramophone record. The majority of these songs are in Tamil, but quite a few are in Telugu. Malayalam is one of the three most important languages of South India, and this community has You never hear a Malayalam song, despite the fact that there is a sizeable number of listeners.”
The reader added that Tamil and Malayalam were “similar” and that Malayalam records were often played in Tamil homes.
Four months after this letter was written, Singapore had its first Malayalam broadcast, a 30-minute program aired every Wednesday from 10pm to 10.30pm. This must have brought immense joy to the island’s Malayali community. Many of them had migrated to the island to work at the Singapore Naval Base.
One such Malayalyan migrated to work at what was then known as China Station base in 1926. Polavankara Narayanan Nair started writing articles for Malayalam newspapers at the age of 15 and became a literary giant among Singapore’s Malayalam community.
Records show that he was a clerk in the Kerala Library at the Naval Station. While working at the base, Nile continued to write articles, research papers, and books in Malayalam.
The Singapore Free Press highlighted his contribution to the promotion of Malayalam in a June 1961 article. “Mr. Nehru is a regular contributor to Malayalam publications in Malaya and has recently completed a series of 51 articles in a popular daily,” the newspaper wrote.
At the time, Nile was working on a book examining the influence of immigrant languages on the evolution of Malayan culture. (This author could not find the book through online searches.)
Nehru was also known for his poetry and theatrical acting. An article in Singapore Free Press mentioned Nile’s role as a farmer in the drama titled ‘Puthya Akashyam, Puthiya Bhoomi (New Sky, New Earth)’.
At the time, Singapore had a vibrant Malaya theater scene and Nair played a major role in attracting artists from Kerala. In 1964, the naval base staged “Eju Ratrical” (Seven Nights), which was rated as “the best Malayalam drama of the year” in India, according to a news clipping.
Of course, Nair didn’t devote all his time to Malayalam language and culture, he was also known for his role as the island’s trade union leader. He died in 1987 at the age of 80.
Like many Malayans who immigrated to Singapore during the colonial era, Nile’s family chose to remain in Singapore. His sons, born and raised on the island, became celebrities. Polavankaranarayanannaru Sivaji, better known as PN Sivaji, is the manager of his Singapore football team and his younger brother PN Barji is a prominent journalist and editor who has been active for over 40 years. I am a person.
The story of Malaya in Singapore is often overlooked, but given the relatively small size of the community (believed to be less than 30,000 people), it plays an important role in the economic, social and cultural life of the city-state. It has played a disproportionate role. To their credit, the older generation, made up of people like Nile, did an amazing job of preserving Malayan culture.
(Ajay Kamalakaran is a multilingual writer primarily based in Mumbai)