Kadampoothramadam Gopalan Jayan (21 November 1934 – 16 April 2024) was an Indian

Carnatic Carnatic may refer to: *Carnatic region, Southern India *Carnatic music, the classical music of Southern India *, the name of several ships *, a minesweeper of the Royal Indian Navy *, the name of several ships of the Royal Navy See also *Karnata ...

singer, musician, and

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Known for his devotional songs, Jayan composed more than 1,000 songs for

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

films. He was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.

Early life

Jayan and his twin brother K. G. Vijayan, with whom he formed the famous Jaya-Vijaya team, were born in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

Kadampoothramadam family as the third and fourth sons of late Gopalan Thanthrikal and late Narayani Amma on 21 November 1934 at their home in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

. They started to learn Carnatic music at a very young age, and had their arangettam at Kumaranalloor Devi Temple at the age of nine. Their first guru was Raman Bhagavathar, and then they learnt from Mavelikkara Radhakrishna Iyer. They underwent a Ganabhooshanam course at the famous

Swathi Thirunal College of Music Swathi Thirunal College of Music is a music college in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1939. It was first named as "The Music Academy". The name was renamed as Swathi Thirunal College of Music in 1962. The founder of this ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

after their schooling, and passed with distinction. Later, they had their advanced training from Carnatic giants like

Alathur Brothers Alathur Brothers Srinivasa Iyer (1911–1980) & Sivasubramania Iyer (1916–1965) were Carnatic vocalists. They learnt under Alathur Venkatesa Iyer, the father of Sivasubramania Iyer. They were not brothers by birth but were rather bound b ...

Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar (born Vaidyanatha Iyer, 28 August 1896 – 16 October 1974) was an Indian Carnatic music singer from Kerala. He was born in Vatakara, Kerala, and moved to Palakkad along with his family during his childhood.L. R. ...

and

M. Balamuralikrishna Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (né Muralikrishna; 6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sa ...

. It was during their lessons under Chembai that they started composing and singing songs.

Personal life

Jayan was married to Sarojini, a school teacher by profession. They had two sons - Biju K. Jayan and

Manoj K. Jayan Manoj Kadampoothramadam Jayan, also known as Manoj K. Jayan is an Indian actor who acts in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films in addition to a few Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Manoj has won three Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor for h ...

. Biju, the elder son, followed his father's footsteps and became a musician by himself, while Manoj, the younger son, became a well-known actor. K. G. Jayan died at his residence in

Tripunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (Malayalam:തൃപ്പൂണിത്തുറ) is a prominent historical and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura wa ...

, on 16 April 2024, at the age of 89.

Awards

* 1991 –

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

–

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

* 2013 –

Harivarasanam Award Harivarasanam Award is an award jointly instituted by the Government of Kerala and Devaswom boards in Kerala#Travancore Devaswom Board, Travancore Devaswom Board. It is awarded for contributions towards propagation of secularism, equanimity and un ...

–

and

Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1252 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the ...

* 2019 –

–

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jayan, K. G. 1934 births 2024 deaths Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers People from Kottayam Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award