Beary community celebrates its literary and educational achievements

With a history of over 950 years, the Bearys are one of the earliest Muslim inhabitants of India

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Bearys are a business community hailing from coastal and southern Karnataka and a population of around 14 lakhs across the world, of which 500 families live in Bengaluru.

They have a rich literary culture with many being honoured with Sahitya Academy awards and Padma Shri for their contributions to Kannada literature. Some of the famous writers from the community are Bolwar Mahammad Kunhi, Fakir Muhammad Katpadi, and Sara Aboobacker.

 “In the Tulu language in coastal Karnataka, Beara means business, and those engaged in business are called Beary,” says Haneef BM, a journalist from the community. Some other prominent figures in the community are BM Farook (MLC), Syed Mohammed Beary (Bearys Group), TK Umar (TK Interiors), and Nissar Ahmed.

They are soon going to inaugurate a community center, Beary Amity center which has been granted to them by the Govt. of Karnataka and has cost 14 crores to build. The 5-storey building has a conference hall that can house 1,200 people, a mini hall and a hostel facility for working women and students in HBR Layout.

Every October they celebrate Beary Bhasha Day and this year’s event will honor Harekala Hajabba, the only Beary from Karnataka to be awarded the Padma Shri, and Moulana Shafi Saadi of Karnataka Board of Waqf, along with achievers in academic and literary fields.

The family get-together will feature music from the community performer by a group from Mangalore. The event will be presided over by B.M. Farook, the president of The Bearys Welfare Association.