Manakkal Rangarajan

Manakkal Rangarajan is a Carnatic music singer who hails from the village of Manakkal in Trichy District. His father was the late Santhana Krishna Bhagavathar. He has been singing for the past six decades and is still performing past his 80th year.

He is a specialist in brigas, rare ragas and pallavis. He has performed all over India and abroad and has been accompanied by vidwans like Mysore T. Chowdiah, Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai, Palghat Mani Iyer and Palani Subramaniam Pillai.

Rangarajan has performed at Saint Tyagaraja music festival at Thiruvaiyaru for the past sixty years without a gap. He is the only musician who has sung in AIR Chennai since its inception without repeating a single song. Rangarajan has the distinction of giving rare pallavi demonstrations at the Madras Music Academy using both hands for Thalam, comprising different Nadais.

• Kalaimamani - Tamil Nadu State award.
• Gayaka Samrat conferred by Indian Fine Arts Society Annual Conference in 1957
• Sangeetha Simham conferred by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.
• Ugadi Puraskar award by the Madras Telugu Academy.
• Award from Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Trust in the year 1999.
• Sangeetha Kalasikhamani, 2010, Awarded by The Fine Arts Society, Chennai
• Ganakala Rathna
• Ganakala Sagara