Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian music and a cultural icon of Kerala. Yesudas is estimated to have recorded more than 50,000 songs in various Indian languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Tulu, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Marathi as well as Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian, in a career spanning six decades. He is often referred to as Gaanagandharvan. Yesudas holds the record for singing 11 songs in different languages in a single day. He has also composed a number of Malayalam film songs during the 1970s and 1980s.
Uppalapu Srinivas was an Indian mandolin player in Carnatic classical music and composer. U. Srinivas was called the Mozart of classical Indian music and he was a child prodigy.
Kerala music has a complex history distinct from Malayalam poetry, with which it is often associated. Though it is often driven by poetry, Kerala also has its roots in Carnatic music. Songs have always been a significant part of early Malayalam literature dating back to the 9th century CE. The significance of music in Kerala's culture can be deduced from the musical poetry that developed in the Malayalam language long before prose. As music evolved in the region, various branches emerged from it
Cherthala is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India and act as satellite town of kochi. It is located 20 km (12.4 mi) north of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about 146 km (90.7 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Cherthala has a population of 45,821 people, and a population density of 2,727/km2 (7,060/sq mi).
Paravoor Govindan Devarajan (1927–2006), popularly known as G. Devarajan or Devarajan master, was an Indian music composer and Carnatic singer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Indian film music. He scored music for more than three hundred Malayalam films, many dramas, and twenty Tamil and four Kannada movies. His collaborations with Vayalar Ramavarma produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many of his compositions remain ever green classics in Malayalam. His music in the Tamil film Annai Velankanni has received many accolades. Devarajan received Kerala Government's Best Music Director award five times, among other honours. In 1999, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Birmingham City University.
Alappuzha, formerly known as Alleppey, is a city and municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about 130 km (80.8 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Alappuzha has a population of 240,991 people, and a population density of 3,675/km2 (9,520/sq mi).
Rajan P. Dev was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi. He had acted in over 500 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages. He was noted for his villain roles laced with a touch of humour. He came into the limelight for his characterisation of Kochuvava in the play Kattukuthira. Rajan P. Dev died in Kochi Wednesday 29 July 2009 due to a liver disease.
Ramesh Narayan is an Indian classical vocalist, composer and music producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Ramesh began his initial training in Carnatic music and later mastered the classical Hindustani style under the renowned Pandit Jasraj.
"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung songs in multiple languages, including for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Trained by Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.R. Balamani. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. In December 2023, she was awarded the most prestigious award in the Carnatic music field, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi, by the Madras Music Academy. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (Oscar) for Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi movie. She has become one of the most sought-after Carnatic musicians today.
Sreevalsan J. Menon is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and a music composer from Kerala.
Malabar Gopalan Nair Radhakrishnan was an Indian music director and Carnatic vocalist from Kerala.
Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy was a veteran carnatic musician and composer and music director of Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films. His work was predominantly in Malayalam cinema.
Mechery Louis Ouseppachan, known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Film Awards for his numerous film soundtrack albums and background scores.
M. K. Sankaran Namboothiri is a Carnatic classical music vocalist and playback singer from Kerala. He is the youngest A Top grade vocalist with All India Radio. Renowned as a child prodigy, he started learning music at the age of ten under the tutelage of C. S. Narayanan Namboothiri. He later trained under T. V. Gopalakrishnan, Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, and K. V. Narayanaswamy.
Paul Poovathingal, popularly known as the 'Padum Pathiri' or 'singing priest of India', is a carnatic music vocalist, composer and lyricist and is the first vocologist in India. He is an ordained priest in the religious congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI). He has composed around 1000 songs and released 35 music albums. He is a disciple of the legendary Carnatic musician and playback singer Padmabhushan K. J. Yesudas and of Chandramana Narayan Namboothiri. He is the first Indian Christian priest in the world to earn PhD in Carnatic music. He has performed classical music before A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India and before Bharat Ratna M.S. Subbulakshmi.
Sithara Krishnakumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, lyricist, classical dancer and an occasional actor. She predominantly works in Malayalam cinema in addition to Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Sithara is a well known singer who is trained in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music traditions and is also a recognised ghazal singer. She is the recipient of several awards which includes three Kerala State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer.
Ishaan Dev is an Indian music composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music programmer and stage performer in several South Indian languages. Hailing from Thiruvallam, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, Ishaan Dev worked in several South Indian languages. He won the Best Male Playback Singer Award at Mirchi Music Awards South for the Kannada Movie Shyloo in 2011. He had composed and recorded songs for several South Indian movies and established himself an identity as a musician in the industry. He is the composer and singer of the famous song, during the 2018 flooding in Kerala ‘Karalurappulla Keralam’ which gained special attention all across the nation.
Kizhakke Potta Udayabhanu was an Indian playback singer and music director, mainly in Malayalam films. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour.
Sayyed Hesham Abdul Wahab is an Indian music director, music producer, singer and audio engineer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is best known for his compositions for the soundtrack of Hridayam (2022) and the music album Qadham Badha produced by British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf. He is the recipient of a Kerala State Film Award, SIIMA Award, and IIFA Award for music direction.
