The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the Kendang, played in Maritime Southeast Asia. Its a complex instrument to tune and involves a lot of mathematics to construct korvais.
Padmasree Avasarala Kanyakumari is a violinist from South India who specializes in Carnatic music.
Pazhani Subramania Pillai (1909–1962) was a well known Carnatic music percussionist. He, along with his contemporaries Palghat Mani Iyer and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mridanga". He was adept in playing the mridangam and kanjira. He was the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Palani Muthaiah Pillai.
Guruvayur Dorai is an Indian percussionist. He is one of the most senior exponents of the South Indian classical percussion instrument, the mridangam. He had his initial training under Palghat Subba Iyer and E.P. Narayana Pisharody, and later from the legendary master Palani Subramaniam Pillai. Initiating his concert performances at the age of eight, Guruvayur Dorai has performed on the concert platform for the past 60 years. His wide range of efforts in the field of mridangam and music have helped propagate the art around the globe.
Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamalai Ramaswamy was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. He, along with his contemporaries Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mrudangam". Mani Iyer was the first mridangist to be awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi (1966) presented by the Music Academy of Madras, the Padma Bhushan (1971) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards(1956) presented by the Government of India.
Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman is an Indian musician and exponent of the Carnatic percussion instrument, the mridangam. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam is a mridangam Vidwan from a family of traditional musicians in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, India. He is the recipient of the prestigious Sangeetha Kalanidhi award from The Madras Music Academy for 2021.
Thanu Krishna Murthy, better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian mridangam player. Murthy is a Padma Shri and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee.
Mavelikkara Velukutty Nair was an Indian mridangam player.
Patri Satish Kumar is an Indian Carnatic musician and composer, who is an exponent of the Mridangam, an Indian percussion instrument. He has been conferred with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademy award by the Government of India in the year 2020. He has also received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Berkeley, California for his outstanding endeavors in the field of Mridangam and for his special innovations and immense contribution to world music. Patri is also the recipient of the Global Peace Award for the year 2018 from the Universal Socio Cultural Association in collaboration with Philanthropic Society India – International.
Potturi Vijayalakshmi is a Telugu writer well known for her humorous short stories.
Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma is a mridangist from India.
K. P. Parameswaran (Tamil: கே.பி.பரமேஸ்வரன்) is a professional mridangam artiste .He is a prime disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr.T.K.Murthy. He has performed all over India and abroad with various stalwarts of Carnatic Music. He is a torch bearer of the Thanjavur style of mridangam playing.
Kutikuppala Surya Rao is a physician in HIV medicine. He hails from a village named Kintali, located in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Yella Venkateswara Rao is an Indian classical musician and percussionist, considered by many as one of the leading exponents of Mridangam, an ancient Indian percussion instrument. He has performed as an accompanist to such renowned musicians as M. S. Subbulakshmi, Ravi Shankar, Chembai, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. Balamuralikrishna, L. Subramaniam, K. J. Yesudas, Amjad Ali Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Bhimsen Joshi. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to music.
Parassala B. Ponnammal was an Indian Carnatic musician from the south Indian state of Kerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in the lineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
Tanjavur R. Ramamoorthy was a vidwan in Indian classical music, playing Carnatic music on the mridangam, an ancient Indian percussion instrument. The mridangam is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble, and in the Dhrupad genre, where it is known as a pakhawaj.
Venkateswara Rao Yadlapalli is an agriculturalist from Andhra Pradesh, India. In 2019, he was conferred the Padma Shri award by the President of India for his contributions towards organic farming. He honored his padma sri award to the farmers such a inspiring person he is.
Sribhashyam Vijayasarathi was an Indian author, Sanskrit grammarian, philosopher and critic.
Asavadi Prakasa Rao was an Indian poet, critic, translator and scholar, who is known for his poetry and prose works. He is noted for his significant contribution to Telugu and Sanskrit literature. In January 2021, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri in the Arts and Literature category. As Ashtavadhani, he has given 170 performances and has written and published 50 books across various genres. His most notable literary contribution is his performance of Avadhanam – a literary performance. He has received an honorary D Litt from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University and a Distinguished Teacher award from the Department of Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
