Smt. Alamelu
Mani
(Smt. Alamelu Mani is the mother of the famous
Light Music and Ghazal singer Sri. Hariharan)
A renowned musician in the Carnatic style of
Classical music - Mrs. Alamelu Mani, was born and raised in Bombay. She received
tutelage under her late husband Sri. H.A.S. Mani (Gayaka of the Swathi Thirunal Academy,
Trivandrum) who was also the first chief of the Shanmukhananda Sabha Music School named
"Sangeet Vidhyalaya" - now a leading Carnatic Cultural Sabha in Mumbai. She had
the Privelege of learning select Padams and Javalis, under the guidance of Smt. T. Brinda.
Smt. Alamelu Mani won the gold medal
in the Ragam Thanam Pallavi competition held at the Sri Shanmukhananda Sangeet Sabha as
well as a gold medal in the A.I.R. competition in 1954. She was declared Best junior
Artist at the Music academy - Madras in 1965. As she evolved professionally she took over
the running of the music school "The South Indian school of music" subsequent to
the demise of her husband in 1963 - where she imparted her knowledge to young and aspiring
artists. Many of her students have won several awards in various competitions including
the A.I.R. competition and have risen to become full fledged musicians giving performances
all over the world.
She has been a "A" grade
artist of A.I.R. since 1968 and has performed on shows like the "Sur Sarita" on
Vividh Bharathi and as a visiting artist in A.I.R. Chain programmes. She has given
concerts in Madras, Hyderabad, Trichy, Vijaywada, Mangalore, Trivandrum and many other
cities besides performing at the Carnatic Music Association in Newyork and in the Middle
east countries.
- Smt. Alamelu Mani was conferred the title of
"SurMani" by the Sur Singar Sansad in 1970. She was awarded the "Swara
Visharad" by the Kanpur Sangeet Sabha in 1971.
- Her concerts have been telecast on
Doordarshan Madras, Mumbai. Her concert in the National Programme has been telecast all
over India on several occasions.
- Her valuable contribution to Carnatic Music
was acknowledged and she was honoured by the Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya and Padam in 1998.
- Smt. Mani conducted a lecture demonstration
on Carnatic music in Doha and the Thyagaraja Sabha in Bombay exploring the intricacies of
Padams & Javalis.
- Being one of the most accomplished artist of
our times she was called upon to participate as an inaugural artist in the Kalki Centenary
Celebrations held in Shanmukhananda Sangeet Sabha.
- Smt. Alamelu Mani released her first album
"Live at Shanmukhananda" a recording of her concert held in 1987. She followed
this release with another album rendering select Padams and Javalis. Her latest album - a
compilation of rare Keertanams of St. Thyagaraja has been released by Navras in London
last year.
Her illustrious son Sri. Hariharan has been
groomed by her since his childhood and has today acquired International fame for his
singing. "The colonial Cousins" - Hariharan is one of the most popular
singers in the Film Industry both Bollywood and Tamil. He is also an accomplished
Ghazal singer and has released many CDs / cassettes.
Some of her students who are today
performing artists are : Smt. Vijaya Neelakandan, Smt. Sarayu Srinivasan, Smt, Saraswathy
Subramanian, Smt. Kamala Parameshwaran, Smt. Aruna Ranganathan, Sri. E. Krishnan ( Sa Ri
Ga Ma fame ) and many others.
One of her students Smt. Padma Ganapathi
runs successfully " Chellamma Memorial Thyagarja Sabha" - an Academy for
Carnatic Music at Thane , Mumbai.
A few photogrpahs from her
album ( click on the photo to enlarge )
CONTACT ADDRESS :
2/212 KAMALA KUNJ,
SIR BALACHANDAR ROAD,
MATUNGA, MUMBAI 400 019
TEL NO : 00 91 22 414 1404
Mumbai March, 2000
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