By Harshini Purushotham

Mysuru has had thick roots of art and culture since the Wadiyar times, creating a prodigious space for lineages of artistes to grow. The lasting effect of the anecdotes has inspired generations in making this heritage city, the Cultural Capital of Karnataka. The endeavour seems unabating with contemporary artistes like Vid. Manasa Nayana upon whom ‘Ananya Yuva Puraskara-2018’ was conferred recently.

Vid. Manasa Nayana was initiated into the profound world of Indian Music by Vidu. S.K. Vasumathi in Karanataka style. His learning pursuit continued under the guidance of Vid. Vairamangalam Lakshminarayana, a disciple of the inimitable T.K. Rangachari School. Manasa gives the credit of shaping his career in music to Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. R.K. Srikanthan, whom he says taught him not just music but a whole gamut of a musician’s life. Currently, Manasa is under the tutelage of Sangeetha Kalanidhi R. Vedavalli. Apart from the conventional training, workshops led by eminent musicians helped him in assimilating the diverse attributes of music.

Manasa was an achiever since the inception. He stood first in Senior, Vidwat Poorva and Vidwat Antima music examinations conducted by KSEEB. Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy and Department of Culture, Government of India, have aided his musical journey with scholarships.

His ceaseless dedication ushered him to prestigious stages across India such as, Nada Inbam, Music Club-IIT Madras, Nalinakanti (Chennai), Ananya, Malleshwaram Sangeetha Sabha, Kalabhivardhana, Praharshini, Indian Institute for World Culture (Bangalore), BITS Pilani Goa (Goa), JSS Sangeetha Sabha, Ganabharathi (Mysuru), Matangi’s School of Music (Kottayam), Kannambulli Temple Festival (Palakkad), Murugan Ashramam (Tanjore), South Central Zone Cultural Centre (Vijayanagaram and Mehboob Nagar), Sangeetha Parishath (Mangaluru), Gana Sudha (Hubballi), Raga Dhana (Udupi), Alva’s Nudisiri (Moodbidri) and so on. He is a B-High graded artiste of AIR and has been a regular performer of Classical music, Light Classical music and Devaranama programmes of AIR Mysuru and Bengaluru for 20 years now. He also takes numerous music festivals to the record of his fervent involvements as an organiser.

Academically sound too, Manasa was a topper all through his schooling and University days. He received an M.Sc degree in Mathematics from IIT Madras and was soon offered with an MS-Ph.D Programme from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. After a year of his research, Manasa realised that his interest belonged elsewhere. His passion then took to wings in moulding him into a fine music professional. Indeed, his calibre, commitment and mettle has brought him the much deserved Ananya award today.

Dr. Raghavendra, a geologist and an art connoisseur, is the prime driving force of Ananya, a non-profit cultural organisation. His undying admiration towards Indian art transformed into a tangible venture as Ananya in 1995 and his effort ever since is laudable. Manasa Nayana has served as a member of Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy and is currently a Member of Executive Body at Ganabharathi, Mysuru. He is married to Vidu. Archana Bhat, a Bharatanatyam dansuese and a disciple of the legendary Dr. Padma Subrahmaniam. This couple has joined forces to serve the field of Indian art with great zeal.