K P Jayan singing in Arabic for Indo Arab Cultural Festival closing ceremony at KSC Abu Dhabi

Posted on March 8, 2009

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Excerpts about various news articles on Mr. K P Jayan:

Indian expat to sing Arabic songs
By Barbara Bibbo / GULF NEWS(published 2002)

The Arabic musical world boasts hundreds of singers from different nationalities, but all from Arab countries. The exception is K.P. Jayan, an Indian living in Dubai, who is probably the first non-Arab to sing in Arabic.

The Back-2-School Surprises Organising Committee has given Jayan a chance to sing for the first time in front of a UAE audience during the weeklong programme.

Jayan made his debut yesterday evening at the BurJuman Centre where the crowds at the mall listened amazed at the Indian singing in Arabic.

Today, he will perform at the Oasis Centre at 7.30 pm and later the same day at BurJuman and Al Mazaya centres. His repertoire includes songs by the most popular Arabic singers such as Nabil Shail, Mohammed Abdouh, Amr Diab, Hisham Abbas and many others.

Jayan’s love of Arabic music started when he heard ‘Rahalti’, the refrain of a song by the Kuwaiti singer, Abdallah Ruwaishi. At that time he was living in Bahrain and was a singer of classical Indian and Western music.

So deeply impressed was he by “Rahalti” that he started to listen to Arabic music and to repeat the sounds and words that he heard on tapes and over the radio. He directed all his passion and vocal abilities towards Arabic music.

He sang in Arabic for the first time on the occasion of Bahrain National Day and was praised for his voice and singing abilities.

“It was my debut in Arabic and I was terribly sad. Even though the public appreciated the performance, somebody noticed that my pronunciation was not good. So I promised myself that I would learn the correct accent and I did not sing again until I had learned how to pronounce all the words properly.”

Jayan has been living in Dubai with his family since 1993 and works as a marketing executive in a Dubai-based company.

So far, he has performed in Bahrain and Qatar, where he has been appreciated and admired for his singing and his love of the Arabic musical heritage.

“I have received important support from UAE national friends, who have helped me improve my language and my pronunciation. Their generosity has supported me throughout the years and nowadays I prefer to sing in Arabic rather than in my mother tongue, Malayalam.”

Jayan is currently recording his own album with original Arabic songs written and composed in cooperation with his national friends.

“I dedicate all my spare time to Arabic music and I dream of becoming a full-time singer and holding concerts all over the Arab countries,” he revealed.

Jayan, who now speaks Arabic fluently, takes part in a radio programme on Asianet, giving lessons in Arabic, Indian and Western classical music.

“I love music and spend all my spare time on it together with my son. My son is a percussionist and my daughter a singer. She is performing with me this week.”

His 12-year-old son, Tulsi, who is learning Arabic, supports his father by singing with him in Arabic and helping him realise his dream and turn these into reality.

Khaled Chaabi, from the Back-2-School Organising Committee, noted: “His debut is going to be a real success. This is the first time we are listening to an expatriate singing in Arabic. The public will love him. “

An Arabic singer from Kerala
Staff Reporter /THE HINDU April 2006

Kozhikode: A Dubai-based Arabic singer, K.P. Jayan, and his daughter Tulasi, who performs along with her father, have been accorded a reception at their native village, Chombal, at Vadakara in Kozhikode district. The programme was organised by Gopi Arts and Sports Club, in connection with Chombal Mahotsavam, on Saturday.

The father and daughter performed in a concert on the occasion.

The lyricist Kaithapram Damodaran Namboodiri and the playback singers Gayatri, Rajesh and Vijay participated.

Jayan has been living in Dubai since 1993 and works as managing director of a company there. Said to be the first Keralite to sing Arabic songs,

Mr. Jayan is a familiar face to Arabs and non-Resident Indians in the Gulf nations. His style and pronunciation are so natural that he will be mistaken as an original Arabic singer, says T.P. Devaraj of Chombal.

Jayan’s love for Arabic music started when he listened to a song, Rahalti, sung by a Kuwaiti singer, Abdulla Ruwaishi. At that time, he was staying in Bahrain. He then started to listen to Arabic music on the tape recorder and the local radio.

Mr. Jayan staged his maiden performance on Bahrain National Day. He sang one of his favourite Arabic songs, Awafi, sung by K.J. Jesudas.

However to his dismay, an Arab who was present among the audience later told him that his pronunciation was wrong.

The incident became the turning point in his career. Gradually he learned to master Arabic songs.

Nowadays, even Arabs, after hearing him sing, disbelieve that he is not an Arab. Mr. Jayan learned music from Mathoor Hariharan Aiyer and Harippad K.P.N. Pillai.

Any music lover who wish to contact Mr. K P Jayan may write to him at foodmandubai@yahoo.com