In the "Gulf boom" years of the 1970s and 80s, mass migration of workers from the Malabar to the oil-rich Gulf states of the Middle East resulted in households where the working men were often separated from their womenfolk and the only means of communication was the letter. This brought about a huge interest in the "Kathu pattu" (letter song) genre of Mappilappattu. The lyrics of these songs often connected closely to the lives of the migrant workers and their families and it popularized this genre of Mappilappattu.