Personal Bio

Hailing from a great Tanjavoor Baani of Sri. Palghat Mani Iyer, disciple of the legendary Maestro V.Kamalakar Rao, I have been in the field of Mridangam for more than 40 years now and have been teaching for the past 30 years. i'm an A grade artist in All India Radio and Trumala Trupathi Devastanam. As a performer I have performed in every nook and corner of the country be it classical concerts or jugalbandi style. I have performed in many countries abroad including the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Tajikistan, Singapore and many more. I have accompanied many stalwarts like Mandolin U Shrinivas, TN Sesha Gopalan, Malladi Brothers etc. Coming to my teaching style, I have students who have won various prestigious prizes at the National recognition. Students of mine have been the winners of the All India Radio competition and national youth festivals which are regarded as the top most prizes in the country. Many of my students are performing artists who are Radio and Doordarshan graded artists. In my long teaching journey, 100+ students of mine have completed Diploma in the Mridangam music course and I'm teaching classes to many students from US, UK, SOUTH AFRICA ,CANADA, and from INDIA on online platforms like Skype and Whatsapp. Apart from my private tutoring, I have worked as faculty with Government institutions including the IIIT(RGUKT), Andhra Pradesh, MR Music College, Vijayanagaram, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Visakhapatnam and as a guest faculty at Andhra University,Visakhapatnam. My guest lectures have ardent following among students from various universities like Savannah State University, Reva University, SVCC-Tajikistan,AU etc. I am the Board of Studies member for universities like Andhra University, Puttaparthi Sathya Sai University, IIIT etc. I have been nurturing students of various age groups. I have students who are as young as 5 years to the age 60+, be it of any age, my prime motive is to create a healthy learning environment and enthusiasm to not just learn but enjoy music. Join with me to enjoy the essence of traditional music.