Pandit Mani Prasad (4 November 1930) is an

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were no ...

vocalist from the

Kirana gharana Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara). Singing style The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tuning ...

(singing style).

Early life and training

Mani Prasad was born into a family of musicians. His father, Sukhdev Prasad, had received music training from

Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Abdul Wahid Khan Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan (1871–1949) was an Indian subcontinental singer from the Kirana gharana. He died in 1949 in Saharanpur, India.

, the founders of the Kirana gharana. Mani Prasad accompanied his father on all his tours and performances across the country from an early age. He moved from Wardha in Maharashtra to

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

in his youth along with his father. He was trained mostly by his father but was also guided by his grandfather Pandit Shakti Lal and by his uncles Pandit Shankar Lal and Pandit Gopal Prasad.

Musical career

Pandit Mani Prasad started his career early, being brought up in a musical family. He is ranked as a Top Grade 'A class' artist by the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

and is a well recognised television artist with the

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

. He has not only created some new

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

s but also composed many

bandish Bandish, cheez or gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music. It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhawaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, vi ...

es in existing ragas with the mudra ''Dhyan Rang Piya''. The new ragas include Dhyan Kalyan, Dhyani Todi, Shivkauns and Bhoopeshwari. Among his students are Maharaja

Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad Ranjitsinhrao Gaekwad (8 May 1938 – 10 May 2012) was an Indian politician. Early life and education Born 8 May 1938 at Ootacamund, Ranjitsinhrao Gaekwad was the second son of Maharaja Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad (r. 1939–1951), and Maharani ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, Savita Devi Maharaj (daughter of thumri singer

Siddheshwari Devi Siddheswari Devi (1908 – 18 March 1977) was a legendary Hindustani singer from Varanasi, India, known as ''Maa'' (mother). Born in 1908, she lost her parents early and was brought up by her aunt, the noted singer Rajeshwari Devi. Initiation ...

), Rita Ganguly, Ramesh Jule, Ravi Jule, Pt. Vishwanath, Uma Garg,

Surinder Kaur Surinder Kaur (25 November 1929 – 14 June 2006) was an Indian singer and songwriter. While she mainly sang Punjabi folk songs, where she is credited for pioneering and popularising the genre, Kaur also recorded songs as a playback singer fo ...

, and

Chandan Dass Chandan Dass (born 12 March 1956) is a popular Indian ghazal singer. Early life and training Chandan Dass began singing ghazals from the age of eight, when he started training under the tutelage of Ustad Moosa Khan. He was also trained in cla ...

. In recent years, he has been serving as the Guru at the Dr.

Gangubai Hangal Gangubai Hangal (5 March 1913 – 21 July 2009) was an Indian singer of the ''khayal'' genre of Hindustani classical music from Karnataka, who was known for her deep and powerful voice. Hangal belonged to the Kirana gharana. Early life Ga ...

Gurukul in Hubli,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

where he was invited by the Government of Karnataka.

Discography

* Pt. Mani Prasad, A Concert Series by Swarashree Enterprises, CBS * Pt. Mani Prasad, MIDAS * Pt. Mani Prasad, Swaranjali * Dhyan Rang Piya, MIDAS * Love Bandish Bliss, Times Music

Honours and awards

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in 2019 *

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

* Swarmani Award * Raseshwar Award given by Sur Singar Samsad of Mumbai * Baba Allaudin Khan Award * Srimati

Award * Ustad Faiyyaz Khan - Ustad Niaz Khan Memorial Award * Swar Sadhana Ratna * Sangeet Martand Samman * Sangeet Kala Ratna * Felicitation by Raagranjini

Gallery

File:PT.MP6.JPG, File:PT.MP5.jpg, File:Vid 2.JPG, File:PT.MP3.jpg, File:PT.MP2.jpg, File:PT.MP1.jpg, File:Pandit Mani Prasad 2.jpg, File:Pandit Mani Prasad 3.jpg,

Personal life

Pandit Mani Prasad now lives in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. He has three children - Deepak Prasad, Lata Tandon, and Lalit Prasad, who are also involved in Indian classical music.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Mani Living people Hindustani singers 20th-century Indian male classical singers 1930 births Kirana gharana People from Wardha district 20th-century Khyal singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award