Artist Information Dr. N. RAMANI was born in 1934 in Tiruvarur, a town in Tamil Nadu, in the south of India, and an important musical centre (Thyagaraja, probably the greatest Karnatic composer of all time was born there),and as is true for the majority of Indian classical musicians he hails from a family who have for centuries handed down the instrumentalist art, bequeathing a love for traditional sounds to each successive generation.   RAMANI first began to play the bamboo flute, under his grandfather's guidance when he was still a small child. RAMANI's musical training continued under the tutelage of Mali (who died in 1986) an eccentric maestro of genius, who persuaded him to follow him to Madras (now Chennai) to perfect and sharpen his playing technique. Although learning considerably from Mali's teaching, RAMANI has been able to evolve his own style detaching himself from the original model to arrive at a refined and highly personal language of his own, which has brought him to a position of pre-eminence among his country's fellow artists, even more so considering that the bamboo flute is one of the most important traditional Indian instruments.   Ramani gave his first public concert at the age of seven and over the last five decades he has performed in almost every corner of the world. He is undoubtedly one of the topmost Flute maestro in karnatic music today. He has been in the concert field for over 50 years. He was conferred the title "Sangeetha Kalanidhi" by the Music Academy, Chennai in 1996 as a climax to his illustrious career.  He has also received numerous titles and honors such as "Padmasri" by the President of India. He has been appointed as Asthana Vidwan of Kanchi and Sringeri Peetams and Tirupathi Devasthanam. Many cultural organisations in India and abroad have honored him with titles and awards. He has released many cassettes and CD's. Recently, he released a series of tapes at the Srivilliputhur Temple,  in which he had set the music to Alwar pasurams and performed for the deity.