Mallikarjun Mansur

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Mallikarjun Mansur
ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ಮನ್ಸೂರ
Mansur on a 2014 stamp of India
Mansur on a 2014 stamp of India
Background information
Birth nameMallikarjun Bheemrayappa Mansur
Also known asMallikarjun Manasoor
Born(1910-12-31)31 December 1910
Mansur, Bombay Presidency, British India (in present-day Dharwad, Karnataka, India)
Died12 September 1992(1992-09-12) (aged 81)
Dharwad, Karnataka, India
GenresHindustani classical music
Occupation(s)Vocalist
Years active1928(?) – 1992
LabelsHMV, Music Today, Inreco

Mallikarjun Mansur (31 December 1910 – 12 September 1992) was an Indian classical singer from Karnataka, an excellent vocalist in the khyal style in the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana (singing style).[1]

Early life and background[edit]

Mallikarjun was born on New Year's Eve of 1910, at Mansur, a village five kilometres west of Dharwad, Karnataka.[2][3] According to his biography, he was born on an Amavasya day. His father, Bheemaraayappa, was the village headman,[2] 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.[4]

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 Manji Khan's younger brother Bhurji Khan. This grooming under Bhurji Khan had the most important influence on his style of singing.[4][5]

Career[edit]

Mallikarjun Mansur at a concert

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, Kabir Bhairav, Bihari, Sampoorna Malkauns, Lajawanti, Adambari Kedar, Ek Nishad Bihagda 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.[5]

Awards[edit]

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.[6][7] 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.[8]

Books[edit]

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.

Personal life[edit]

Mansur was married to Gangamma. He had seven daughters and a son, Rajashekhar Mansur. Amongst Mansur's children, Rajashekhar and Neela Kodli are vocalists.[10]

Mansur recovered from an illness after being in coma for two weeks in April 1992. On 12 September that year, he died after he developed breathing complications, in Dharwad. He was given a state funeral.[11]

Legacy[edit]

The residence of Mallikarjun Mansur, Mrutyunjaya, today houses a museum in his memory. The museum 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 museum 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.[12][13] His ancestral home in Mansur was also converted into a memorial.[14]

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.[15]

Indian documentary film director Nandan Kudhyadi made Rasayatra about the musician in 1994, it won the National Film Awards for Best Non-Feature Film, Best Non-Feature Film Cinematography, and Best Non-Feature Film Editing.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Mallikarjun Mansur Biography". Underscore records. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mallikarjun Mansur Biography". Dharwad district official website. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Weekend musical feast". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 15 September 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "ITC SRA's Tribute a Maestro: Mallikarjun Mansur". ITC Sangeet Research Academy. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bonnie C. Wade (1984). Khyāl: Creativity Within North India's Classical Music Tradition. CUP Archive. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-521-25659-9.
  6. ↑ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India). Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2007)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2009.
  8. ↑ "SNA: List of Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Puraskarwinners (Akademi Fellows)". Official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Award for Balamuralikrishna". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "Aching for Gouri..." The Hindu. 4 September 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "Mallikarjun Mansur passes away". The Indian Express. 13 September 1992. p. 1.
  12. ↑ "A musical tribute to Mansur: The event was part of the centenary celebrations of the maestro". The Hindu. 2 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  13. ↑ "Mansur memory". The Hindu. 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Mansur's house to be converted into a memorial: Rs. 1 crore to be spent on the ancestral structure". The Hindu. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "All India Radio releases five CDs of recordings of Mallikarjun Mansur". The Hindu. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Rasayatra - The Travelling Song". Indian Diplomacy. 31 May 2012.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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