Mani Krishnaswami Biography 
Mani Krishnaswami was a noted Carnatic singer from Tamil Nadu. She was a recipient of numerous music awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1987 by Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sangeetha Kalanidhi 1992 by Madras Music Academy, Sangeetha Choodamani, 1979 by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and Kalaimamani, 1991 by Tamil Nadu State Government. Government of India honoured her with Padma Shri in the year 2002 for her excellence in the field of Indian classic music. She received the honour from President of India, K. R. Narayanan after travelling long distance to Delhi. Same year she died following a cardiac arrest. She followed Musiri tradition of Carnatic music and played a significant role in popularizing this tradition.
Her maiden name is Mani Perundevi. She was born into a musical family. Her father, Lakshmi Narasimhachari was a patron of arts and he was the Secretary of Vellore Sangeetha Sabha. She was initiated to the world of music by her mother at the age of six. Her mother taught her violin. She received initial training in Carnatic music from Gopalachari. At very young age itself she exhibited great talent in music and learnt more than 500 songs in her teens. She later completed Sangeeta Siromani course in Kalakshetra at Adayar. While studying at Kalakshetra she got opportunity to learn from many leading musicians like Mysore Vasudevachar, Budalur Krishnamurthy Sastry, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Tiger Varadachariar and Papanasam Sivan. Her husband, M. Krishnaswamy has been an active arts promoter.
Among all the traditions of Carnatic music she was a representative of the Musiri tradition. She has done live concerts across India and abroad and participated in music festivals held in India, Germany, Soviet Union etc. She also taught many disciples, apart from being a visiting professor for San Francisco University. She was given the title Asthaana Vidhwan by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. She had an eye surgery and was slowly recovering, when she lost her life following a cardiac arrest. During her last days she rarely performed for stage shows.
Published: N/A
Updated: April 03, 2016
