MANI KR1SHNASWAMI, eminent Carnatic vocalist, passed away on 12 July in Chennai at the age of 72. The following article is an adaptation— and updated version— of a feature on Mani Krishnaswami written by N. PATTABHI RAMAN and published in Sruti 113 (February 1994). A nami, the Sruti columnist, referred to Man i Krishnaswami as a constable of Carnatic music tradition, to the dismay of some who did not understand it as a tribute. A constable— a custodian— of Carnatic music tradition she indeed was. Anyone who knows that the single most striking feature of Mani Krishnaswami's music was he fidelity to pathantara , will agree that the honour bestowed on her by the Music Academy of Madras was essentially a recognition of her constabulary virtues.