Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the 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 band, the di ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

music therapist Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music th ...

and performer of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...

. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 1986. He won the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist The Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to a lyricist for best lyrics in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Departm ...

two times. Kaithapram is regarded as the most successful and critically acclaimed lyricist of contemporary

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathaya ...

. He was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honor

in 2021 by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

for his contribution to the field of art.

Life and career

Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri was born as the eldest son of Keshavan Namboothiri (popularly known as Kannadi Bhagavathar, a disciple of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar) and Aditi Antharjanam in Kaithapram village in

Payyanur Payyanur, , is a municipal town and a taluk, a sub-district administrative unit, in the Kannur district of Kerala, India. On 10 March 2018, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated Payyanur as the fifth taluk in the district. Payyan ...

Taluk of Kannur district of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

, on 4 August 1950 and he is currently residing in Thiruvannur in

Kozhikode District Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised. ...

. He has four siblings, among whom the youngest, Kaithapram Viswanathan, was also a popular Carnatic musician and music director. Kaithapram village is famous for maintaining old vedic traditions. He got his

Veda upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

education from his grandfather. Later on he continued his education under well-known gurus (teachers) including Pazhassi Thamburan (a descendant of

Pazhassi Raja Pazhassi Raja () (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805) was known as Kerala Varma and was also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah. He was a warrior Hindu prince and de facto head of the kingdom of Kottayam, otherwise known as Cotiote, in ...

) and SVS Narayanan. He pursued his studies in acting and music at Natyagruha. He is married to Devi Antharjanam who is the daughter of late actor Unnikrishnan Namboothiri; they have two children, Deepankuran and Devadarshan. His elder son Deepankuran is a Music composer as well as singer who has composed Music for various films. Kaithapram Damodaran's youngest brother, Kaithapram Viswanathan, is a Malayalam cinema music director who runs the Sruthilaya Music School at Payyanur. Kaithapram made his entry into

as a lyricist for the song ''Devadundubhi Sandralayam'' in the film '' Ennennum Kannettante'' which was directed by Fazil and music composed by

Jerry Amaldev Jerome Thomas Veleeparambil, more popularly known by his stage name Jerry Amaldev (born 15 April 1939) is a three-time Kerala State Film Awards winning Indian composer of film scores who has given music to some of the most important motion pict ...

and all of the songs become popular Since then he has written lyrics for more than 346 films. He has also acted in many films, including ''Swathithirunal'', ''

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ...

'', ''

His Highness Abdulla ''His Highness Abdullah'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language musical thriller drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gautami, Sreenivasan, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Mamukko ...

'', and the film ''

Theerthadanam ''Theerthadanam'' (''Pilgrimage'') is a 2001 Malayalam film directed by G. R. Kannan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his story ''Vanaprastham''. The film stars Jayaram and Suhasini Maniratnam. The film met with critical acclaim. It ...

'', based on the story of famous Malayalam writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair. He has played the character of a classical or semi-classical singer in most of the films. The songs from ''

Desadanam ''Desadanam'' ( en, Journey to wisdom) is a 1996 Indian Malayalam language feature film directed by Jayaraj. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. Plot The plot revolves around the personal turmoil faced by the par ...

'', his first film as a music composer, were a hit. The film ''Sopanam'', directed by Shri Jayaraj, was based on a story and screenplay written by Kaithapram. Kaithapram has established a cherished position in the Malayali heart with his beautiful yet simple artistic renderings. He has written both prose and poems and his books are also widely accepted. His appeal is closer to younger hearts and the success of ''Kanner Poovinte'' has brought this aspect into fresh focus. His lyrics often express the deep love and regard that make the average Malayali home sick. He sings in public concerts and for various causes. He has won several awards as a lyricist. His charming and helpful attitude, readiness to help and ability to be one among the music lovers, have made him a legend in his own time. As a lyricist, Kaithapram made songs with almost all major music composers of his time. But, most of his popular songs were composed by

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

. The duo made songs for around 35 films, and most of them have superhit songs. He also made numerous songs with

Mohan Sithara Mohan Sithara is an Indian music composer. He received the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Music Director (2009) for the songs in Priyanandan's ''Soofi Paranja Kadha''. Since 1986 he has been an active musician in the Malayalam film indust ...

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran ( ml, മാധവൻ രവീന്ദ്രൻ ), (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), fondly known as ''Raveendran Master'', was a popular South Indian music composer a ...

, Ouseppachan, S. P. Venkatesh,

Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People *Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) * Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director * ...

, Jassie Gift and so on. Shri Kaithapram is also the Managing Trustee of Swathithirunal Kala Kendram (Music School) at Kozhikode, which caters to more than 400 music students. He has received numerous awards from various government and cultural organisations in Kerala. He has popularised and promoted the application of music for therapeutic purposes through the Music Therapy Foundation. Many have benefited from the systematic music therapy sessions conducted all over Kerala.

Discography

Awards

;

Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Ch ...

* 1993 – Paithrukam * 1996 –

Azhakiya Ravanan ''Azhakiya Ravanan'' (Handsome Ravanan) is a 1996 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kamal and written by Sreenivasan. The film has an ensemble cast of Mammootty, Bhanupriya, Sreenivasan, Innocent, Biju Menon, ...

;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

*1996 - Best Music Director : Deshadanam *1997 - Best Music Director :

Kaliyattam ''Kaliyattam'' ( en, The Play of God) is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language tragedy film directed by Jayaraaj. It stars Suresh Gopi, Lal (in his acting debut), Manju Warrier, and Biju Menon. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's pl ...

;

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...

* 2005 – Best Lyricist Award – Anandabhadram

Padma Shri 2021

The

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

announced the Padma Awards 2021 on 25 January 2021 one of the highest civilian awards of the country on the evening of 72nd

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

and Kaithapram was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honor

for his contribution to the field of art. The award is officially announced by Indian President

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

References

Ear to a cureThe website of Kaithapram Damodaran NamboothiriKaithapramHits of Kaithapram

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Namboothiri, Kaithapram Damodaran Malayalam-language lyricists Malayali people People from Kannur district Kerala State Film Award winners Living people Malayalam film directors 1950 births Film musicians from Kerala Screenwriters from Kerala Poets from Kerala 20th-century Indian poets 21st-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian composers 21st-century Indian composers