Rajshekhar Mansur (16 December 1942 - 1 May 2022) was an

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindusta ...

vocalist of the

Jaipur-Atrauli gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is a Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity ('' gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th century. Evolved from the dhr ...

. He was the son and disciple of vocalist

Mallikarjun Mansur Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur, (31 December 1910 12 September 1992) was a Hindustani classical singer from Karnataka. He sang in the khyal genre and belonged to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Early life and background Mallikarjun was ...

Early life and education

Mansur was born to singer

, one of the leading singers of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. At the age of 18 he won the gold medal in the Sangeet Visharad exam and went on to take first prize in the

AIR An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

Youth Music Competition. He completed his M.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in linguistics from the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

on a British Council Scholarship.

Family

He married Komala Mansur and had 3 daughters named Sangeeta, Mamta, and Kavita. Sangeeta has a son, Rishabh, and Kavita has a daughter, Nikita. Mamta never got married and doesn't have any children right now.

Career

Rajshekhar Mansur started accompanying his father in concerts at age 20, however his father insisted upon him to have a regular job instead of being a full-time musician. Mansur taught literature and linguistics for nearly 35 years and retired as a Professor and Chairman of the English Department,

Karnataka University Karnatak University (KUD) is a public state university in Dharwad, Karnataka, India. KUD was officially established in 1950 through the Karnatak University Act, 1949, passed by the legislature of the Bombay Province. The university is the s ...

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merged ...

. He also taught English at P.G.Centre Gulbarga. At the same time, he continued to sing, giving vocal support to his father and performing independently at various prestigious music festivals and for the All India Radio. He had performed in many prestigious music festivals throughout the country. The Karnataka Government had recognised his contributions to music by awarding him the

Rajyotsava Award The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Award, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November, celebrated as th ...

(1997). He was nominated as the chairman of Karnataka Sangeet Nrutya Akademi (2005–2008). He is also the recipient of Karnataka Kalashri Gaurav Award (2009). His music has been preserved in the archives of Indira Gandhi Manav Sangrahalaya in Bhopal. On 7 September 2009, he released his music album, ''In The Footsteps and Beyond'' to coinciding with his 60th birthday. In 2012, he was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. In 2016, he was conferred the Ustad Bismillah Khan and Pandit Sanna Bharamanna Smarak Rashtriya Puraskar by the Tansen Academy of Music, Chennai

References

External links

Structure and balance
''The Hindu''
The Jaipur gharana
(includes sound samples) at

ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar, Falguni Mitra, Ajoy Chakrabarty, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur, Rajashekhar 1942 births 2022 deaths Hindustani singers People from Dharwad Alumni of the University of Wales Academic staff of Karnatak University 20th-century Indian male classical singers Thumri Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Singers from Karnataka 21st-century Indian male classical singers