Mallikarjun Mansur

Mallikarjun Bheemrayappa Mansur 31 December 1910 – 12 September 1992 Was An Indian Classical Khyal Singer In The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana Singing Style. Mallikarjun Was Born On New Year's Eve Of 1910 At Mansur A Village Five Kilometres West Of Dharwad Karnataka. His Father Bheemaraayappa Was The Village Headman A Farmer By Occupation And An Ardent Lover And Patron Of Music. He Had Four Brothers And Three Sisters. His Elder Brother Basavaraj Owned A Theatre Troupe And Thus At Age Nine Mallikarjun Did A Small Role In A Play. Spotting The Talent In His Son Mallikarjun's Father Engaged Him To A Travelling Yakshagana Kannada Theatre Troupe. The Owner Of This Troupe Took A Liking To The Tender And Melodious Voice Of Mallikarjun And Encouraged Him To Sing Different Types Of Compositions During The Drama-Performances. Hearing One Such Performance He Was Picked Up By Appaya Swamy Under Whom He Had His Initial Training In Carnatic Music. Sometime Later He Was Introduced To Hindustani Music Under Nilkanth Bua Alurmath Of Miraj Who Belonged To The Gwalior Gharana. The Latter Brought Him To Alladiya Khan 1855?- 1946 The Stalwart And The Then Patriarch Of The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana In The Late 1920s Who Referred Him To His Elder Son Manji Khan. Following Manji Khan's Untimely Death He Came Under The Tutelage Of Bhurji Khan The Younger Son Of Alladiya Khan. This Grooming Under Bhurji Khan Had The Most Important Influence On His Style Of Singing. Mansur Was Well Known For His Command Over A Large Number Of Rare Aprachalit Ragas Such As Shuddh Nat Asa Jogiya Hem Nat Lachchhasakh Khat Shivmat Bhairav Bihari Sampoorna Malkauns Lajawanti Adambari Kedar And Bahaduri Todi As Well As His Constant Mercurial Improvisations In Both Melody And Metre Without Ever Losing The Emotional Content Of The Song. Initially His Voice And Style Resembled That Of Manji Khan And Narayanrao Vyas But Gradually He Developed His Own Style Of Rendition. He Also Remained Music Director With His Master's Voice HMV And Later Music Advisor To All India Radio's Dharwad Station. He Received All Three National Padma Awards The Padma Shri In 1970 Padma Bhushan In 1976 And Padma Vibhushan The Second Highest Civilian Honour Given Government Of India In 1992. In 1982 He Was Awarded The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Highest Honour Conferred By The Sangeet Natak Akademi India's National Academy Of Music Dance & Drama. Mansur Wrote An Autobiographical Book Titled Nanna Rasayatre Kannada ನನ್ನ ರಸಯಾತ್ರೆ In Kannada 9 Which Has Been Translated Into English As A Book Titled My Journey In Music By His Son Rajshekhar Mansur. Mallikarjun Mansur Was Married To Gangamma. He Had Seven Daughters And A Son Rajashekhar Mansur. Amongst Mansur's Children Rajshekhar Mansur Son And Neela Kodli Daughter Are Vocalists. The Residence Of Mallikarjun Mansur Mrutyunjaya Today Houses A Muesum In His Memory. The Muesum Is Managed By Dr. Mallikarjun Mansur National Memorial Trust Functioning Under The Department Of Kannada And Culture State Government Of Karnataka. Every Year The Trust Organises A National Concert On 12 And 13 September To Commemorate His Death Anniversary With Artists From His Legacy Performing In The Morning At The Muesum And Invited Artists Performing Later In The Evening. The Trust Annually Announces Three Awards On 31 December To Commemorate His Birth Anniversary. To Mark His Birth Centenary A Three-Day Music Festival Was Organised In Dharwad And Hubli From 1 To 3 January 2011 Wherein Singers From Across India Performed And Performances Were Held At The Kariyamma Devi Temple Premises At His Birthplace Mansur Village. His Ancestral Home In Mansur Was Also Converted Into A Memorial. In 2013 A Five Audio CD Collection "Akashvani Sangeet" Of His Music Including Rare "Vachana Gayana" Renditions Was Released By All India Radio Archives At A Ceremony Held At Srijana Rangamandir At The Karnatak College Dharwar Campus. Mansur Was Often Accompanied By Tulsidas Borkar 1934 – 29 September 2018 On Harmonium. read less