Kalpathi Balakrishnan

Kalpathi Balakrishnan is a famous Malayalam actor. He was born in Kalpathy in the Palakkad district of Kerala. He is a versatile personality and has good knowledge of his profession. He is also a renowned Indian percussionist who plays the Chenda, Thayambaka, Panchari melam, and Panchavadyam. Chenda is a type of traditional Kerala drum. Karekkattparambu Appu Nair initiated him to the world of chenda. When he was 12 years old, he was invited to perform at the Aryankavu temple near Koonathara in Palakkad. Thrithala Kesava Poduwal, who was a respected figure in the field of percussion, greatly appreciated his performance. Despite being so talented, he used to receive fewer invitations to perform in the temple festivals, but he always remained patient and continuously worked hard to improve himself.

He worked hard to master multiple percussion instruments like the thimila, the maddalam, the edakka, and the elathalam. He was inherently left-handed, so he needed training for his right hand. Kalloor Narayanankutty helped him hone his right-hand skills. He played the elathalam for years in the Panchavadyams, pioneered by the peerless Pallavoor Brothers. Kallekkulangara Achuthankutty created a space for him in various temple festivals for Thayambaka. It provided great exposure to him and he eventually grew up as an independent soloist in 1990. His work symbolizes the glory of diligence and harmony of radicalism In 2009, he won the prestigious Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for the best Thayambaka artist.

He played a prominent role in the movie Oru Desa Visesham, which was directed by Dr. Sathyanarayananunni. It was based on the life of percussion artists in Kerala. He has incredible auditory sensitivity. He imaginatively inculcated the essential characteristics of the Easter and Western Palakkad schools of Thayambaka. He has the talent of playing the customary ennams in Pathikaalam and in koorus and boldly undertakes tonal experiments in them. This is the beauty of his work which is highly appreciated by the listeners. He is a talented person. He is equipped with the art of switching sticks from the right to the left hand and vice versa in the fastest irikita segment.