Reputed Carnatic musician and Malayalam film music composer Kaithapram Viswanathan Namboothiri passed away in Kozhikode on Wednesday. He was 58. Viswanathan was admitted to the MVR Cancer Center in Kozhikode and had been undergoing treatment for some time. He is survived by his wife Gowri Antharjanam and three children - Aditi, Narmada, and Keshav. The late music director was born to Kannadi Keshavan Namboothiri and Adithi Antharjanam in the Kaithapram village in Kannur district, Kerala, and is also brother to popular lyricist and musician Kaithaparam Damodaran Namboodiri. 

A former pupil at the Swathi Thirunal Music College, Thiruvananthapuram, Viswanathan finished his course and attained the Ganabhooshanam title. He had also worked as a music teacher at the Mathamangalam School, Kannur and Rajah’s HSS, Nileshwaram before venturing into the world of Malayalam cinema. Viswanathan made his debut in Malayalam cinema as an associate to his brother Damodaran for the 1996 film, Deshadanam, directed by legendary filmmaker Jayaraj. He later went on to compose music for 23 Malayalam films and won the Kerala State Film Award for his background score in the Jayaraj-directed Kannaki, which came out in 2001. 

Some other notable works of Viswanathan include his songs in the 2003 Dileep-starrer Thilakkam that garnered him quite a lot of acclaim; especially the 'Saare Saare Saambare' number, which turned out to be a chart-buster and was well-liked by children. Viswanathan's music in films like Daivanamathil, Ekantham, Madhyavenal, Neelambari, and Ullam too was widely appreciated. He is known for his collaborations with iconic Malayalam singers namely KJ Yesudas, P Jayachandran, KS Chitra, and G Venugopal to name a notable few. Viswasanthan had also launched his own music school called Sruthilaya in Payannur, Kannur.