Mali is a popular mridangam player who learnt from Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer and Umayalpuram Sivaraman. Apart from being a Copeland Fellow, Fulbright Fellow and faculty at Harvard University, he is acknowledged as one of the most accommodative accompanists in the classical music scene and has played with stalwarts like Veena S. Balachandar, Thanjavur S. Kalyanaraman, Flute T. Viswanathan, T. Muktha, Thanjavur Sankara Iyer, Prof. T.N. Seshagopalan Neyveli Santhagopalan.Prof. T.N. Krishnan and M. Chandrasekaran and other reputed names.
Mali was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Fellowship in 2012 and invited to Harvard University. The renowned Harvard University invited him to be Artiste in Residence in 2010. The Australian Foundation of Canbera awarded him the title Kalamani Mridangam when he toured the country, with T. N. Seshagopalan. Mali was invited by the Amherst College (Massachusetts, USA) to be the Scholar in Residence (2003). Mali was awarded the prestigious Copeland Fellowship (2006).