Who’s who in Indian classical music Madurai Mani Iyer

Madurai Mani Iyer (1912-1968)
An outstanding vocalist of the 20th
Century, Sangita Kalanidhi Madurai Mani Iyer was both a musician’s musician and
a people’s artiste. His lilt swayed even the unlettered, uninitiated passerby
with its sometimes beseeching, sometimes playful magic of pure sound. He was
that rare amalgam of swara and sruti that achieved the ultimate effect of
effortlessness. Not only in raga alapana and kriti rendering, but also in his
mellifluous cascades of swara-s did he paint the raga in all its shades with
utter fidelity. He was one of the most consistent performers in the midst of
many giants of Carnatic music, yet his consistency did not mean repetitiveness;
critics and enthusiasts remark on how fresh his music was throughout his
career, how fresh it continues to be even today, long after his passing.
Subramanian, Mani for short, was born to M. S. Ramaswamy Iyer and Subbulakshmi
at Madurai on 25 October 1912. His father, a clerk in the local court, was the
brother of the famous vidwan Pushpavanam, one of the most celebrated vocalists
of his time.
Mani started music lessons at the age of nine. His first guru was Rajam
Bhagavatar a disciple of Ettayapuram Ramachandra Bhagavatar. Through Rajam
Bhagavatar, Mani came into close contact with Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar
who founded the Tyagaraja Sangeeta Vidyalayam, a music school at Madurai. Mani
Iyer was one of the first students of the school.
Though influenced by the music of his
uncle Pushpavanam, Mani Iyer fashioned a style all his own, a brand of singing
quite unlike any other, in the process winning over a legion of followers. His
music was original, without leaving the strait and narrow path of tradition.
Much beloved by his rasika-s, peers and seniors among vocalists and
accompanists, even that much feared breed of human being, the music critic,
Mani Iyer kept it simple, his music a direct line to the divine, in its chaste
if unusual vocalisation and obvious surrender to his muse. If his sweet voice
earned him the sobriquet Madhura Gana Mani, his evocative rendering of the raga
once so thrilled the Mohanam specialist Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, that he
hailed him as Mohana Mani.
Mani Iyer’s unique swara singing style was inspired by the music of
Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhagavatar, a regular performer in Madurai during
his formative years in music. Mani Iyer attributed his penchant for rare raga-s
like Malavi, Janaranjani and Rudrapriya too to his early fascination with the
Bhagavatar’s music.
In his era, Mani Iyer was probably the only vocalist to appeal to the young
newcomer to Carnatic music as well as the crusty old veteran of many a timeless
concert of its hoary past. The man was by all accounts as lovely as his
singing-kindness and affection personified, capable of spontaneous appreciation
of his fellows of the day.
To Mani Iyer, the audience was king and his concert commitments were
sacrosanct. He had this wonderful rapport with his rasika-s right through his
career. Even in his very last concert, despite illness and a high temperature,
he acceded to a request for Nagumomu shouted from the depth of
the hall by a devotee of his music, after a strenuous couple of hours and post
tani avartanam. His constant response to repeated requests for Eppo
varuvaaro (When will He come?) was “Varuvaar” (He’ll come), and
invariably come He did, before the concert was over.
Mani Iyer received invaluable support from his brother-in-law and disciple
Vembu Iyer, his devout sishya, vocal accompanist and nursemaid till the very
end. Constantly beset by health problems, Mani Iyer died at the age of 56, but
his legacy lives on in the music of Vembu Iyer’s son Sangita Kalanidhi TV
Sankaranarayanan, and his son and daughter, promising young vocalists both.
By V Ramnarayan
Posted by Sruti Magazine June 02, 2012