Mosque Architecture in Kerala- Role of T P

Kuttiyammu Sahib
MUFEEDA C

The cultural heritage of any country is seen best exposed in its architectural
monuments. The ways in which buildings are designed, constructed and decorated speak
not only the technical and artistic capabilities of the craftsmen, but also of the aspirations
and visions of the preceptors, for whom the construction is only a medium for thematic
expression. Kerala abounds with many such architectural monuments-prehistoric
megalithic, tombs, caves, temples, mosques, churches, theatres, houses, palaces, and public
buildings.
The Arabic term masjid literally means a place where one prostrates
oneself (before God), or completely surrenders to God. The presence of mosques on the
Malabar coast can serve as a useful index for the growth of Muslim communities on the
Indian coast. Many of the early converts to Islam came from the lower castes of the highly
stratified Kerala society, especially from occupations associated with seafaring. Such individuals
would have been accustomed to accept prevailing Malayali temple architecture as the natural
form of sacred space. The mosques of Malabar have a single mihrab, A tradition brought from
the western Islamic world, in many cases all the mosques were similar in size and decorative
detail. The minbars (pulpits) in Calicut and cranganur however are of wood and display a direct
relationship with the traditions of the western Islamic world. A common addition to the Malabar
mosque is an ablution pool within a covered chamber. A climate comparable with their
traditional architecture mainly of wood, very few old mosques have survived, but those that
remains display certain similarities with the mosque architecture of Malabar.
Architecturally, the mosques in Kerala can be classified into three distinct styles;
ancient, mughal, & modern, yet each has gone through some degree of adaptation to suit the
climatic conditions and construction methods of Kerala. The fundamental style of architecture of
a mosque, Traditionally designed is one the basis of Prophet Mohammad’s house in Madina. An
excellent example to this early style of mosque is Mucchchandi Palli in Kozhikode. As the
centuries went by social conditions and construction methods changed. Good timber became
scare and costly. Devoted artisans for whom work was worship were slowly disappearing.
The mosque architecture of Kerala exhibit none of the features of the Arabic style nor
those of the indo Islamic architecture of the imperial or provincial school in north india. The
work of mosque construction was done by the local artisans under instructions of the muslim
religious heads who wanted to erect the places of worship. The pulpit in the mosque present the
best example of wood carvings associated with Islamic architecture of kerala. The indo-islamic
architecture drew its inspiration from the Turkish and Persian traditions and created highly
ornamental style in the north india. The typical kerala mosques are seen at kolampalli, near
Kollam, Panthalayani near Koyilandy, Kozhikode, Thanur, Ponnani, and Kasargode as well as in
most old muslim settlements. The austere architectural features of the old mosques are however
in the process of being replaced in recent times. The use of actuated forms, domes and minar-
minarets of the imperial school of Indo-Islamic architecture are being projected as the visible
symbols of Islamic culture. The Juma masjid at palayam, Thiruvananthapuram is the classic
example of this new trend. Similar structures are coming up all over Kerala in the modification
of old mosques during last decades. At last the Mughal style of architecture penetrated in south
India and made a gradual entry into Kerala. It was introduced in Kerala by Mr. T P Kuttiyammu
Sahib. He was called as “Shajahan of Kerala” by C H Muhammad Koya.
T P Kuttiyammu Sahib was the most prominent personality among Muslim intellectuals
and educated bureaucrats. He was known as the Father of Kerala’s irrigation project. He was
born on 20th July 1911 in a most famous Tharavad at Thalassery. His father P A Khan Bahadoor
was the deputy collector at Kozhikode during the time of British administration. His mother was
khadeeja. Primary educations were he completed at Thalassery Brunnan high school, and
Brunnan college. He completed his religious studies at Thiruvangadu Kandipadu Palli Dars, and
Madrassathul Islamia. On 1930 he had joined in Gindhi engineering college at Madras. In 1943
he had worked as executive engineer and on 1955, worked as supranting engineer. On 1956,
when Kerala state was formed, central irrigation minister K L Rao appointed Sahib as the special
chief engineer at Kerala and Kerala’s first irrigation minister. His major contributions as a chief
engineer were- irrigation programs at pazhassi, kuttyadi, kanjirapuzha, periyarvali, pamba,
kallada etc.
He was started Irrigation research institute at poondi, madras. And make this institute as a
world renowned one within short period of time. After he returning to Kerala from Tamilnadu,
the Tamil makkal renamed the laboratory of this research institute as “Kuttiyammu Lab” and
poondi village renamed as ‘Kuttiyammu Nagar’.
He was also renowned as a writer also. His major writings were are, Shasthra vijaram,
hajj yathrayile samuhya chindakal, palisarahitha banks, Quran padanathilek theerthayathra etc.
he was also served as the managing editor at chandrika, news paper from 1971 to 1973. About
10 years he enjoyed as syndicate member of Calicut University

In the he had contributed a lot. On 1948 he had prepared the master plan for Tirurangadi
Yatheem khana. In 1966 renovate Thalashery pazhaya juma masjid with Indo Saracenic style.
The best construction of his career was the Palayam Mosque at Thiruvananthapuram on 1960. It
was the first time Saracenic style f architecture came to Kerala. There are so many reasons for
the emergence of new styles in the mosque construction. The most important reason identified by
Sahib was, in the earlier times traditional mosque consist of Akam palli and puram palli. Akam
palli is a dark place. So it is difficult for believers to fulfilling their activities. By summing up all
this the main purpose of this renovation was to overcome all the inconvenience to the believers
like lightening, space, etc.

In his words the earliest mosques in Kerala were dull functional buildings. Nothing, not
even the stark austerity of Islam could keep the nimble fingers of Kerala craftsmen still for very
long. Art was in their blood, part and parcel of the very heritage handed down to them over
generations. They soon adapted to the Islamic injunctions which proscribed images of God, men,
women, and animals, instead, they took stylized flowers with perfectly symmetrical petals and
complex geometrical figures with intricate combinations of squares and circles. But the overall
design concept was almost identical, apart from missing out the figures of deities, to the ceiling
of the namaskara mandapam of practically every Kerala Hindu temple. The muchchandipalli in
Calicut is a best example for this. Yet decorative embellishments did not stop there. Heavy doors
and windows, large columns with pedestals and capitals, cornices, beams, joists, mihrab and
mimbar were all sites of the craftsmen’s creativity.
He realized that early Kerala mosque was absence of any minars or minarets. Yet the
reason for this is very logical. A minar was intended to raise the Muezzin high above crowded
city buildings so that his call to prayer, five times each day, could be heard far and wide over the
city bustle. In Kerala at that time, people just did not live crowded close together but were spread
out in garden and farm houses. Even the most powerful lungs could not reach them there. Thus
the minar was a superfluous attribute and was dropped from early designs.
As the centuries went by, social conditions and construction methods were changing.
Good timber became scarce and prohibitively costly. Devoted artisans for whom work was
worship were slowly disappearing. At last the Mughal invasion penetrated south India and made
a gradual entry into Kerala. By following this he had construct number of mosques all over
kerala by using Islamic style. The most important features of this style of architecture were,

• Amalgamation of Islamic , Persian, Turkic, and Indian architecture.

• Revival of Islamic architecture of north india.
• Costly decorated, and ornamentation of buildings.
• Large bulbous domes
• Slender minarets at the corners
• Massive halls
• Large vaulted gateways
• Red sandstones were used for the building construction
• White marbles were also used.
• Mosques were constructed as same as Muhammad character during mughal period.
 The renovation of Palayam mosque was completed in 1965. And the dome was seen as a
welcome shift from the sloping tile-roofed mosques of the day. In two floors it provides facilities
for a congregation of 2500 people. It is a terraced building with 30 metre high minars in front
and a ten metre dome on the roof. The doorway is surmounted by magnificent arches and is
embellished with superb Arabic calligraphy and features copied from the Taj mahal in Agra and
the juma masjid in Delhi. The dome is reminiscent of the Gol-Gumbaz at Bijapur and the
windows are procted with balconies following the style of Agra and fatehpur sikri. The grills
resemble those found in the Diwan-i-khas and Diwan-i-Am. The lotuses, flowers, and other
decorative motifs follow the very best mughal traditions. Even the colour scheme of crimson and
ivory reproduces the effect of the red-stone and marble of the Juma masjid, Delhi. Yet while the
exterior is so richly decorated, the interior is severely simple and plain, doing nothing to detract
the attention of worshippers from their prayer. Variations on this theme can also be found at
Thalassery, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kochi, Aluva, Kannur, Ullal, and Bhatkal.

Other mosques built by him were; Puzhavakkathe palli valiyangadi Calicut, palayam
muhiyudhin palli Calicut, civil station mosque etc. other constructions were Islamic centre, civil
station Calicut, Islamic complex at malapuram. A tendency towards the simpler modern style is
discernible in the reconstruction of the Sultan’s mosque at Kozhikode which is an outstanding
departure from tradition. It has a main hall, cylindrical in shape, 18 metres in diameter,
surmounted by a dome- shaped roof. There is a smaller hall of the same shape for ablutions and a
single minar rising to a height of 35 metres on the west. Prayer space is available on four floors
for a congregation of 1800 strong and the inside wall are oriented to the qibla in a saw-tooth
design. The outer surface of the main structure and the minar are to be covered with white
marble and red shale.
Another mosque under construction is the Kohenur Masjid at Kozhikode University. The
design attempts to harmonize Islamic and Kerala features with modern construction techniques.
The roof is of reinforced concrete, but sloping and hipped. There is a central dome and two small
minars in front and a higher one at the rear. The sunshades over the doors and windows take on
the character of Kerala roofs.
The architectural evidence of the oldest surviving mosques shows not only that Islamicate
culture in Kerala developed originally in its specific local context, but also points to the extent of
commercial and religious interaction with the wider Islamic world. Kerala’s mosques thus stand
as a tangible manifestation of the dynamic interaction between the development of Islam in the
‘land of temples’ and, in turn, Kerala’s progressive integration into trans-oceanic networks the
medieval period.
In the words of Roland E Miller, the unique mappila mosque architecture not only
reflects the mappila community’s integration in Kerala culture, but also its isolation from Indian
Islam. Instead of following the mughal pattern, mappila mosques observe the indigenous jain
style of architecture. This is probably because Islam had spread in Kerala much earlier than the
period when Islamic architecture had taken a definite shape. The Kerala mosques did not have
the dome, the minarets and the distinguishing features of indo-Islamic architecture or the
beautiful gardens in the front of the buildings and the inlay work on the walls that added beauty
and grace to the mughal buildings. Economic prosperity in Kerala due to the migration was the
major reason behind the cultural exchange between nations. Which led to the transformation in
architectural style in Kerala. By passing time this Islamic style of architecture will turn in to the
constructions of houses, some other buildings. Highly decorative buildings and massive hall in
houses were some of the example for this.

End notes and References

1. Basham A L , A cultural history of India.
2. Brigas Martin s, Muslim Architecture in India.
3. Cheriyan P J, essays on the cultural formation of Kerala.
4. Cheruppa T P, Malayali Muslim Manual.
5. Koya Parappil Muhammad, kozhikokkotte muslingalude charithram.
6. Kunju A P Ibrahim, Mappila Muslims of Kerala their History and culture.
7. Kuttiammu T P, The Mosques of Kerala- A study of adaptation and re-adaptation of the
Islamic tradition.
8. Logan William, Malabar manual.
9. Narayanan M G S, Kerala charithrathinte Adisthana Silakal.
10. Sharafudeen S, mosques and monuments in Kerala, journal of Kerala studies.
11. Shokoohy M, muslim architecture of south india, the sulnate of ma’bar & the traditions of
maritime settlers on the Malabar & coromandel coasts.
12. Shokoohy Mehrdad & Shokoohy H Natalie, The Malabar mosque, a visual manifestation
of an egalitarian faith.
13. Subair A P, T P Kuttiyammu sahib, C O T Kunjipakki Randu samudaya parishkarthakkal.