Mridanga maestro T.A.S. Mani, 83, died in the city on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife T.A. Ramanani, a vocalist, and son Karthik Mani, a percussionist.

Mr. Mani was active in his profession until the end and died in a music hall.

“Mani was in perfect health when he entered Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira in Banashankari, where he was about to witness the Pallavi demonstrations. But at 2.30 p.m., he felt uncomfortable and breathed his last peacefully while sitting in a chair,” said M.R.V. Prasad, a physician and president of the Gayana Samaja. The Samaja had conferred on Mr. Mani the 2018 Nadashri Award for lifetime achievement.

The A-grade artiste of All India Radio had consistently performed for over 25 years at the Madras Music Academy. Senior percussionist Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma said, “Mani played last on February 10 for the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy concert. He was unbeatable in his spirits.”

Mr. Karthik said his father started the Karnataka College of Percussion and trained lakhs of students across the globe. “He is perhaps the only guru who practised for four or five hours a day.” Mr. Mani also experimented with a new concert format comprising mainly the Tala Vadya instruments at global music fests. “He was among the first to start Tala Vadhya ensembles six decades ago, with nearly 15 percussion instruments coming together for an energetic pace,” said Ms. Ramamani.

The cremation will be at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – March 14th, 2020