Kalamandalam Hyderali Biography 
Kalamandalam Hyderali was a legendary Kathakali singer. He is the first non-Hindu artist to sing Kathakali songs though Kathakali owns more than 4 centuries of existence. Hyderali hailed in a poor Muslim family from Wadakkanchery of Thrissur district and he joined Kerala Kalamandalam at the age of 11. He along with Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri and Venmani Haridas made a significant role in popularizing Kathakali songs among the masses. He passed away on 5 January 2006.
Hyderali was born on 5th September 1946 in a poor Muslim family of Ottupura of Thrissur. His father was an exponent of Mappila Paattu, a traditional folklore song that exclusively belongs to Muslims of Malabar. Hyderali gained attention as a singer quite at a younger age and he was only 11 when he joined the prestigious Kerala Kalamandalam. He struggled a lot for the payment of fees, yet received help from a few persons to complete his studies. He also learnt Carnatic music a little bit. After completion of course he joined as a faculty at FACT Kathakali school in Ambalamedu, Kochi.
As a doyen of Kathakali singing he received praises from audience as well as leading Kathakali artists like Kalamandalam Gopi. He was also one among those rare Kathakali singers who performed live on concerts without visual dance forms. He made Kathakali sangeet so popular that still many listeners exist who prefer to hear Kathakali songs. In the 1990s he reached his career peak. His voice quality closely resembled Hindustani classical and Ghazal and he was equally popular in handling dramatic and romantic songs. In 2006 he met with an accident that took away his life.
Published: N/A
Updated: September 17, 2014
