Popular Malayali singer Nisar Wayanad, best known for his voice that was similar to that of Bollywood singer Udit Narayan’s, passed away in Dubai on Saturday, September 5, evening, hours before he was to perform at a show in the UAE emirate of Ajman.
The 44-year-old singer died at a hospital in Dubai, where he was admitted to a hospital here after running a high fever on Saturday afternoon, according to his friends in Dubai, reported the Gulf News newspaper. Nisar is survived by his wife and two daughters.
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The death notification issued by the hospital said the direct cause of Nisar’s death was “acidosis” and that the leading cause was “systemic inflammatory response syndrome of infectious origin with organ failure.” The actual cause of death was stated as “other septicaemia,” reported Gulf News. Acidosis is a condition in which the body’s blood or other fluids become excessively acidic, often as a result of severe illness or organ dysfunction.
Nisar’s official name was Nissar Aroth Ibrahim, and he was popularly known by his stage name that included the name of the district in Keralam, Wayanad, where he hailed from.
Nisar had been active on stage shows in the UAE and had several shows lined up in Dubai and Saudi Arabia this season. According to his friend and a media and event professional Nibin Navas, who worked with the singer on several shows, Nisar arrived in the UAE in the second week of August and began this season’s run of shows with an Indo-Arab folk fusion performance at the 80th Indian Independence Day celebrations, organised by Indian Association Sharjah, on August 15. Nisar also sang at several other shows, including a major Onam celebration at the Indian Club in Dubai and at a restaurant inauguration.
“He (Nisar) took on the responsibility of supporting his family at a very young age following the death of his father, and now he too has been taken from us far too soon. More than a talented singer, he was a very dear friend to me. This is an irreplaceable loss,” Noujas Kayakkool, a close friend of Nisar’s who was among the last people to speak to him and who helped with the paperwork to repatriate his mortal remains, told Gulf News.
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Despite Nisar’s popularity, particularly because the similarity his voice had with Udit Narayan’s, many in the music industry in Keralam and UAE think he was one of the most underrated singers in the Malayalam industry. “He was often labelled a Mappilapattu (a traditional Muslim folk-song genre from Kerala) singer, although he sang a wide variety of songs, including many Bollywood numbers. He was gifted with a voice similar to Udit Narayan’s, and his renditions of those songs became particularly popular at shows,” Nibin was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
