N. Ramani Biography 
N. Ramani is an Indian Carnatic flautist (flute artist) from Tamil Nadu. He was a disciple of the legendary T. R. Mahalingam who first popularised the Carnatic flute in Indian music. N. Ramani was born in Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu on 15 October 1934. He has performed in All India Radio for several years and one among the popular flautists all time. He has been awarded with Sangeetha Kalanidhi by the Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He has also been awarded with Sangeetha Acharya award from Wasser College, U.S and the honorary citizenship status in Maryland, Ohio. Indian Government honoured him with Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian classical music. He also holds an honorary Cultural Doctorate from The World University of Arizona.
Ramani was born into a musical family. His first guru was his grandfather, a musician and vocalist - Aazhiyur Narayanaswami Iyer. Ramani's initiation to Carnatic music began at the age of five. Until the late 19th century, the Carnatic flute, a 8-hole bamboo flute equivalent to basuri of North India had never been used in Carnatic concerts. Sharaba Shastri was the musician who introduced flute (known as Pullankuzhal in Malayalam and Tamil) to Carnatic music. Sharaba Shastri style or bani was carried on by his disciple Sanjeeva Rao. When N. Ramani became a disciple of T. R. Mahalingam, popularly known as Mali, the legacy was carried on by Ramani. The credits of popularizing flute globally goes to N. Ramani, his guru Mali and K.S Narayanan, who too was a disciple of Mali.
The "Mali" bani used facial expressions such as slight tilting of the head and varied movement of the lips which produced the vocal effect - an effect that has never tried before. Ramani's distinctive style is the transformation of the Carnatic flute into the voice of a proficient Carnatic vocalist.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 08, 2014
