Kochi: Ghazal singer P A Ibrahim alias Umbayee died in a private hospital in Aluva near here today.

He was 68. Umbayee was ailing and undergoing treatment for cancer for the last few years. He was active in gazal programmes for the last 30 years.

There are a number of popular albums of Umbayee.

Born in 1952 in Mattancherry here, Umbayee was sent to a relative’s custody in Bombay. This was the result of his father not liking his son taking to music.

However, Umbayee took forward his mission and learned music under Ustadwar Ali Khan for seven years.