The students have earlier also had training under veteran gurus like the late Thekkinkattil Ramunni Nair, Padma Bhushan Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, the late Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair and Kottakkal Krishnankutty Nair, besides late masters like Kadathanattu Govindan Nambisan, Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan, Kalamandalam Unnikrishna Kurup, Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval, Kalamandalam Chandra Mannadiyar, Tirur Nambissan and Kalamandalam Appukutty Poduval.
His prominent disciples at the Kerala Kalamandalam include virtually the who is who of the Kathakali music of the Kalluvazhi style: Kalamandalam Unnikrishna Kurup, Kalamandalam Gangadharan, Ramankutty Varrier, Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri, Tirur Nambissan Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri, Kalamandalam Hyderali, Kalamandalam Haridas, Kalamandalam Subramanian, Kalamandalam P.G. Radhakrishnan, Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan and Kalamandalam Bhavadasan, Kalamandalam Gopalakrishnan.
Masters, including N K Vasudeva Panikkar, his first teacher in classical music, realised the musical talent that the boy expressed through his light music, film songs and bhajanas, and guided him to Kerala Kalamandalam.
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Ending his school education, the eighth-form student started the journey to the world of Kathakali music under the guidance of Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan, Sivaraman Nair, Kavungal Madhava Panikkar.
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With Madambi Subrahmanyan Namboothiri, Kalamandalam Hyderali and Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri as contemporaries, he started to learn Kathakali music in Kalamandalam.