Mani Krishnaswami, (also written as Mani Krishnaswamy, 3 February 1930 – 12 July 2002) was a

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

vocalist of

Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

Family

Her birth name was Mani Perundevi. Her father, LakshmiNarasimhachari, was the secretary of Vellore Sangeetha Sabha. When Mani was six years of age, her mother Maragathavalli taught her to play violin. Mani's husband Krishnaswamy is an active arts promoter.Mani Krishnaswamy passes away
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Training in Carnatic music

Krishnaswami's first mentor in Carnatic music was a family musician friend named Gopaalachaari. Krishnaswami learned more than 500 songs while still a child. After completing secondary education, she enrolled for the ''Sangeeta Siromani'' course in

Kalakshetra Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in ...

at Adayar,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. At Kalakshetra she came under the influence of doyens like

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Shastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...

, Tiger Varadachariar and

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema ...

. She has the distinction of learning Carnatic music from five giants in the field, who were also recipients of the coveted

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sangeetha Kalanidhi or Sangeeta Kalanidhi (Tamil: சங்கீத கலாநிதி, Sanskrit : संगीत-कला-निधि) (''sangeetha'' = music, ''kala'' = art, ''nidhi'' = treasure or ocean) is the title awarded yearly to ...

award. They are: Mysore Vasudevachar, Budalur Krishnamurthy Saastry,

Musiri Subramania Iyer Musiri Subramania Iyer (9 April 1899 – 25 March 1975) was a Carnatic vocalist whose stage performing career spanned the 1920s to the 1940s. After retirement from the stage, he remained an iconic figure in Carnatic music as a dedicated teache ...

, Tiger Varadaachaariar and Paapanaasam Sivan. Mani followed the Musiri tradition. She was a key figure in popularizing the works of Musiri Subramania Iyer.

Musical journey

Krishnaswami was chosen by the government of India, and she performed music concerts in the Festival of India held in the then

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(1989) and in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(1991). She has rendered numerous music concerts both within India and in many other countries. She was a visiting faculty at San Francisco University for a short period. Krishnaswami was the ''Asthaana Vidhwan'' at

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent trust which manages the temples including the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The trust oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious cent ...

. She rendered Desikar's ''Achuta Satakam'' in the ancient ''Prakrit'' language and set it to music. A well-known music critic,

Subbudu P. V. Subramaniam, popularly known as Subbudu, was one of the most important dance and music critics of India. He was born on 27 March 1917, and died in New Delhi on 29 March 2007, only two days after his 90th birthday. Early life Subbudu was bor ...

, commended her voice as golden and mellifluous.Mani Krishnaswami
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Awards

Sangeetha Choodamani Sangeetha Choodamani ( ta, சங்கீத சூடாமணி) is an award bestowed on selected carnatic musicians by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai (India) every year. The Sabha conducts a music festival called ''Gokulashtami Sangeetha Ut ...

, 1979 by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha *

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

, 1991 by Tamil Nadu State Government *

, 1992 by

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

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 ...

, 1987 by

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, 2002 Padma Shri Awards (2000–09)

Death

Krishnaswami died on Friday, July 12, 2002, at the age of 72 due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

References

External links

Shrimati Mani Krishnaswami profile
*
Mani Krishnaswami songs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnaswami, Mani 1930 births 2002 deaths Women Carnatic singers Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients 20th-century Indian singers Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian women singers Carnatic singers Women musicians from Tamil Nadu Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award