Biography

His father was Augustine Joseph Bagavathor, a well-known Malayalam classical musician and stage actor of his time. Yesudas' first Guru was his beloved father himself, who lovingly and painstakingly led him through the basic precepts of Carnatic Music while he was hardly five years old

One of the greatest South Indian musicians of all times. He is one of India's foremost exponents of classical carnatic vocal music and leading playback singer. Yesudas has sung more than 30,000 songs for thousands of Indian films in various languages.

He is regarded as Gaangadharvan (meaning the celestial singer).

In 2022 it was stated that Yesudas has recorded over 50,000 songs and that he has won scores of accolades including the coveted Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (2002), and Padma Vibhushan (2017).

On 2 October 2014, Yesudas sparked a row while speaking at a public function on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, where he stated that "Women should not wear dress that trouble others. You should dress modestly and do not behave like men". This resulted in a number of protests from Women's Rights and Political organizations, who asked him to withdraw the comment.