Mallikarjun Mansur
Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur, a famous Hindustani Classical Singer was born on 31st December, 1910 in Mansur (Present day Dharwad District, Karnataka). Identifying his interest his father Bheemaraayappa got him engaged with Yakshagana, a Kannada theatre group. Mallikarjun started singing during drama performances there. His one such performance attracted Appaya Swamy, who started training him in Carnatic music. Later, he learnt Hindustani Music under Nilkanth Bua Alurmath, a famous name of Gawalior Gharana. A few years later, he came in contact with Bhurji Khan who influence his style the most.
The Singing Career
Mallikarjun Mansur had mastery over a large number of rare (aprachalit) ragas such as Lajawanti, Adambari Kedar, Ek Nishad Bihagda, Shuddh Nat, Asa Jogiya, Hem Nat, Lachchhasakh, Khat, Shivmat Bhairav, Kabir Bhairav, Bihari, Sampoorna Malkauns and Bahaduri Todi. He always tried improve the melody and metre keeping the emotional appeal of the song intact.
He was music director at His Master’s voice (HMV) and also music advisor to Dharwad station of All India Radio.
Awards and Honors
He was awarded with all three national Padma Awards, Padma Shri in 1970, Padma Bhushan in 1976 and Padma Vibhushan in 1992. He was awarded with Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1982. He also got Kalidas Samman by Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Battling an illness, Mansur passed away on 12th September, 1992. A postage stamp was released in the year 2014 commemorating his contributions to music.
Some Lesser-known facts about him
- He used to innovate within the framework of Ragas.
- He also performed as a stage actor in his early years.
- He got trained under multiple gurus including Neelkanth Bua Alurmath and Manji Khan, the son of Alladiya Khan, the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.
- He popularized lesser known Ragas like Khat, Hem, Maru Basant etc.
- Mansur gave much importance to Swara Shuddhi.
- His legacy in Hindustani classical music has been continued by his sons, particularly Pandit Rajshekhar Mansur.