A peerless artiste (1934-2015)
Eminent flautist N. Ramani who passed away recently in Chennai at the age of 81, was one of the most popular classical musicians in the country, who along with his illustrious maternal uncle T. R. Mahalingam (Mali), is credited with bringing international recognition to the humble instrument, the ‘flute’, taking Indian classical music to the far corners of the world. In fact, the uncle-nephew duo was instrumental in elevating the flute, for long considered an accompanying instrument, into the mainstream thanks to their wizardry and rising popularity.
Ramani was born in Tiruvarur in the year 1934. Tiruvarur, a temple town has always had a unique place in Carnatic music as it was associated with the musical trinity: Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri. Ramani was a child prodigy born in a musically inclined family, and took his first lessons in playing the flute from his grandfather Aazhiyur Narayanaswamy Iyer when he was just five years old. He gave his first solo concert at the age of eight, and at the age of eleven he was deemed good enough to accompany the great Mali, arguably the greatest flautist the world of classical music has ever seen. The good grounding given to him by Mali was instrumental in his gaining proficiency in the instrument and in going on to become one of the finest exponents of the art.
Both Mali and Ramani had distinctive styles and Ramani later invented the long flute and used it for the first time in classical music concerts. In this he was inspired by the famous Hindustani flautist Pannalal Ghosh who used long bass flutes in his concerts. Ramani also developed his own inimitable style of playing the flute and trained his pupils in the art at his academy named the ‘Ramani Academy of Flute’ which had branches in many other countries as well. The Academy attracted students from all over the world. Ramani too was widely travelled and went on concert tours to several countries including the US, Canada, Switzerland, France and Sri Lanka.
The flautist also won acclaim for his participation in jugalbandhi with other famous musicians and his concerts with legends in Hindustani classical music like flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and also with the likes of M.S. Gopalakrishnan, N.Rajam and the mandolin whiz, the late U.Srinivas. He also earned distinction by accompanying clarinet vidwan A.K.C. Natarajan and so pronounced was his artistry and his mastery over his craft, that his notes rung out loud and clear despite the clarinet being a dominating instrument.
Ramani was also instrumental in forging a bond between the veena, violin and venu (flute), and his concerts with veena maestro Trivandrum Venkataraman and the renowned violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman always charmed classical music aficionados. Ramani also combined well with several other luminaries in the field like T.N. Krishnan, Palghat Mani Iyer, Umayalpuram Sivaraman and Karaikudi Mani, among others. Ramani won renown for his tonal purity and blowing quality, and his pristine handling of the instrument. Ramani remained active on the music circuit right upto his seventies and was forced to retire after he was afflicted with throat cancer. The annual concert at Tiruvarur which Ramani inevitably attended along with a galaxy of musicians representing various disciplines in classical music, will certainly miss his august presence.
A number of honours came the way of this unassuming musical genius, and apart from the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India, Ramani also won prestigious awards like the Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Kalaimamani, Isai Peraringar and the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani. Deeply religious and humble to a fault, Ramani never claimed to be in the same league as his uncle Mali, though his admirers would aver that he was no less talented. His son Thyagarajan and grandson Atul Kumar who have taken after him, later accompanied him in his concerts. As the inheritors of his rich legacy, the onus is now on them to carry the baton onward.