Legendary mridangam artiste Karaikudi Mani dies at 77

Eminent mridangam artiste Karaikudi Mani died of age-related issues in Chennai on Thursday (May 4).

Mani, 77 and a bachelor was not keeping well of late. He made his last public appearance in December 2022 at Chennai’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Mani had dominated Carnatic music and enthralled the audience for half a century.

Born on September 11, 1945, in Karaikudi in the State to T Ramanath Iyer and Pattammal, Mani shifted from vocal training to learning mridangam. He was greatly inspired by mridangam vidwan Palghat Mani Iyer.

Mani studied under Harihara Sharma, after he moved to Chennai and received his first national award at a young age of 18 from the then President S Radhakrishnan.

He was considered as one among the all-time greatest mridangam vidwans and had played alongside Carnatic giants like M S Subbulakshmi and D K Pattammal.

He presented his first Thani Avarthanam concert, which showcased two percussion instruments performing solo, along with late Kanjira player G Harishankar in 1993, and revolutionised the way music concerts could be performed. He collaborated with V S Narasimhan in 1990 on Melodyssey, featuring 40 artists, and received accolades.

Expressing grief over the demise, Drums Sivamani, Indian percussionist, said he was “deeply saddened by the passing away of my guru, the legendary Karaikudi Mani, who was a mridangam vidwan.”

(With inputs from agencies)