Alamelu Mani
Alamelu Mani is among the most prominent Carnatic music teachers in Bombay. Having had the privilege of learning from the legendary T. Brinda and Thanjavur V. Sankara Iyer, she has an amazing repertoire of songs which she shares with scores of her students. She was initiated into the Carnatic realm by her husband H.A.S. Mani, who was the first Principal of the Music School, run by the Shanmukhananda Sabha, in Bombay.
Since 1963, Alamelu Mani has been the Principal of the South Indian School of Music, Mumbai, founded in 1947 by her husband. She has trained a number of students at this school and many of them have taken to performing careers. Her efforts to propagate Carnatic Music in the Mumbai region are highly commendable.
Alamelu, whose son is the well-known ghazal and playback singer Hariharan, has been an A Grade artist of All India Radio, Mumbai, since 1968. She continues to present concerts on the radio and has also released a number of albums. Her talent has been recognised by a number of organisations that have conferred awards and titles on her.
Mangad Natesan
Mangad Natesan is known for his rich vocals and superb teaching abilities. This musician from Kerala began his classical journey under the watchful eye of his father G. Kumaran.
He later joined the Swati Tirunal College of Music for the Ganabhushanam course and came under the tutelage of stalwarts such as Semmangudi R Srinivasa Iyer and K.S. Narayanaswami besides others such as C.S. Krishna Iyer, K.R. Kumaraswamy and Madurai Keshava Bhagavatar. He qualified from the college in 1958 and began teaching music in his village.
He also pursued a career as a performing artist where his powerful voice soon won him recognition. He became an A Grade artist at All India Radio. In 1975, he joined AIR Trichur as a staff artist from which post he retired in 1991. His ‘Sangeetha Patham’, a tutorial programme over the radio, was extremely popular in Kerala.
Natesan has trained numerous students over the years and continues to do so even today.
