Kerala boasts of its own music. Sopana Sangeetham is Kerala’s pride and distinction. And in the case of other streams also we are not far behind. Whether it is Hindustani, Carnatic or the popular medley of Film and Pop music.

• Hindustani music has its own pockets of influence and it seems to have increased manifold of late. Malabar area follows this rendition more. People from this part of the state used to have Ustads from North India as their guests to have recitals at all possible time.
• Even now, Malabaris display an active interest in Hindustani music. Trading records testify that the sales of Ghasals, Qawalis and Hindustani recitals are more brisk in the northern part of Kerala, especially in Kozhikode. We do not have many vocalists in this stream. And Ramesh Narayanan is the sole exception.
• On the other hand Carnatic music maintains a good influence in Kerala. This inclination is visible not just in one part, but spread all over Kerala. Names of maestros like Thyagaraja Swamikal and Muthuswami Deekshithar are not new for us. We have our own pedagogues like Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and Shemmankudi Sreenivasan, who are treated as peerless artists of the era.

Kerala has its own heritage in instrumental music like Mizhavu and Panchavadyam. The use of our own intrinsic tunes and rhythm are reserved only for particular occasions. Instruments like Mandolin, Violin, Mridangam, Thabala, etc… are all part of our musical legacy and the number of persons attracted to them are swelling day by day.

Vanchippattu, Nadanpattu, Thiruvathirapattu, Kathakali Sangeetham, Sopana sangeetham, Oppanapattu…etc. symbolize the vivid traits of our culture and lifestyle. Kalamandalam Haridas and Kalamandalam Hyderali are popular for their skills in Kathakali Music.

Njaralath Rama Pothuwal is the Acharyan of Sopanasangeetham and Ramapurathu Warrier wrote the majority of the Vanchippattu. Nadanpattukal owes its origin to our ancestors and it was authored, tuned and sung by the labourers working in paddy fields. No written documents are available to tell us about the origin and the history of Nadanpattukal .

Movies always attached particular importance to songs and music. From the beginning itself they were the crucial deciding factors in making them successful commercially. Initially movies were treated as musical dramas. In the beginning tunes were borrowed from popular Hindi movies.

Later musicians changed the whole scenario with their compositions .Same was the case with lyricists and singers. Despite the initial teething problems, Malayalam film music has carved a niche for itself. And they are now the most popular of all types of music in Kerala.

Brother Laxman, Thirunainar Kuruchi, Abhayadev, Vayalar Ramavarma, K.Raghavan, G.Devarajan, O.N.V, P.Bhaskaran, SreekumaranThampi, Dakshinamoorthy, M.K.Arjunan, Yousafali Kecheri, Kaithapram Damodaran Nampoothiri, Girish Puthencheri, Ravindran, Johnson, M.G.Radhakrishnan, Mohan Sithara—etc have provided their own contribution to Malayalam cinema.

K.J.Yesudas reigns as the undisputed King of popular film music. P.Leela, P.Jayachandran, Brahmadattan, G.Venugopal, M.G.Sreekumar, K.S.Chithra, Sujatha –etc are the other most popular figures. Our worth in singing is recognized at the national level too.

Tastes and interests of Keralites’ are always fluid and the majority of them now prefer fast numbers. Even then, melody occupies a significant place among the music lovers. Malayalees never hesitated to adopt anything new. Yet they never failed to keep the distinctiveness that they have.