All of 22 and suffering from brittle bones that break very often leaving him totally dependent on others for mobility, Jamsheer Moideen is a little hero when it comes to battling on his own, only that he uses his vocal chords for survival.
This young man from the southern Indian state of Kerala, who just got a cast removed from his right leg that fractured some time ago, is now in the UAE with a mission – to sing Mappila Pattu, a traditional form of singing practiced by Kerala Muslims.
And by singing, he hopes to raise the Rs650,000 (approximately Dh55,000) needed to get himself treated at the reputed Kasturba Medical College, in Manipal, located in the state of Karnataka, where medical specialists are confident of curing him from this rare condition.
Suffering from the debilitating disease that has already sent his poor family from pillar to post to mobilise money to pay the huge medical bills, the people of Kerala learned about Jamsheer and his talent through a reality show on Jai Hind TV run by the Indian National Congress Party.
Although not the ultimate winner of the popular show, Jamsheer won hearts and support from the community that has since rallied behind to find him some treatment to cure his unexplained ailment. But the problem has been raising funds.
That popularity, and his medical condition, led event organiser Olive Media to invite him to sing in the UAE and win more hearts and get some financial support to meet his mounting medical bills.
Totally self-taught, Jamsheer picked up singing from radio and TV and ventured into the small screen when he was 19, said his father Kunju Moideen Kutty who is with him in the UAE. “I have to carry him on my shoulders as he cannot even move without support,” he told Emirates24|7.
His bones so weak, they could just break if he attempts to walk. “His hands and legs have broken several times,” he said.
As a little boy Jamsheer could not attend school as he would fall and break his limbs. He is always attended upon by someone in the family. “When I go for work, my wife takes care of him and moves him around on a wheelchair,” said Kutty.
Jamsheer’s younger brother, who is healthy, too pitches in whenever he is free. But the boy can never be left alone since that would be risking another fracture which means more expenses for the poor family.
“He used to be in and out of hospitals till he was 18,” recalled Kutty. Confined to his home, Jamsheer taught himself English language and other subjects.
But when he began taking music seriously at 19, Jamsheer stepped into the commercial world of music by singing for albums and has since been a recognised Mappila Pattu singer in Kerala. A film-maker even made a short film on his life.
Doctors at the medical college in Manipal had earlier straightened his deformed hands through an expensive treatment by steadying them with steel prosthetics. To repeat the procedure that would require surgical intervention and prolonged hospitalisation, Jamsheer needs money.
“I am a coolie and don’t have money for his hospitalisation and treatment. Thank God, he got an invitation from Olive Media to participate in the Mappilai Pattu stage shows here,” Kutty said referring to the trip he could make to the UAE.
The trip has been largely successful in achieving the goal with Dr Hussain of Fathima Group of hospitals in Tirur, the young man’s native town, making a donation. He now hopes that the Indian community in the UAE would rise to the occasion and help him meet the expenses.
Being in the medical fraternity, Dr Hussain has also offered to treat him and is in touch with the specialists who have been seeing Jamsheer in India.
Organiser of the shows, Moideen Koya said Olive Media’s endeavor is to popularise Mappila Pattu, with its intrinsic poetry interwoven with Malayalam and Arabic languages. In one such programme held at Al Nasr Liesureland on Friday, Jamsheer wowed the audience with his lilting melodies that was in fact loaded with a cry for help to get him cured from the crippling illness.