Manasa Nayana is a front runner among the current generation of classical musicians hailing from Karnataka. Whether it is trying out new lyrical material at concerts or exploring new spaces to perform, Manasa Nayana is always up for a challenge. These have resulted in him trying out exclusive concerts based on the poems of Kannada poets, as well as performing in spaces such as old age homes, high schools, palliative care centres, and even the central jail of Mysore.
Manasa Nayana was trained initially by Vid. S K Vasumathi, one of the pioneers of the Sugama Sangeetha movement. Her innovative training methods enabled Manasa Nayana to graduate very quickly from learning compositions to improvising. Manasa Nayana continued his training with Vid. Vairamangalam Lakshminarayana at Chennai. It was the training with two of the celebrated masters – Padmabhushana Dr. R K Srikantan and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. R Vedavalli, that firmly established Manasa’s outlook in music. Rich repertoire of compositions, adherence to tradition, and clear diction – these are some of the qualities that Manasa Nayana has imbibed from these masters and incorporated into his own art.
During his formative years, Manasa Nayana secured the first rank in the Junior, Senior, and Vidwath examinations conducted by KSEEB (Karnataka State Education Examination Board). He also won the first prize in several music competitions, including the National level competition of the All India Radio, Ragam Thanam Pallavi competition of Shruthimanjari Foundation, and the concert competition of South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC ). He was also the recipient of scholarships from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy, and the Department of Culture, Government of India.
He has performed in concerts across India. One of his popular lecture demonstrations is targeted at introducing classical music to uninitiated audiences – whether it is school students or travelers touring India. He has also given several lecture demonstrations and thematic concerts across the country. Currently, he is an ‘A’ graded artist associated with All India Radio, Mysore. Manasa Nayana is the recipient of many awards including ‘Ananya Yuva Puraskara 2019 (Ananya, Bangalore) and Nalina Yuva Kala Bharathi (Nalinakanthi Fine Arts, Chennai).
Aside from music, Manasa Nayana holds a postgraduate degree in mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. While he subsequently started doing his PhD at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the lure of a career in music was too strong, and thus, he discontinued it to pursue music full-time.
Manasa Nayana has also been an able organizer. He has played a vital role in Yuva Dhwani, a forum of young musicians at Mysore, and has served as a member of Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy and Ganabharathi, Mysore. He is also fascinated by the potential of the human voice and has studied the Alexander Technique and Fitzmaurice Voice Work under eminent teachers.
ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಪ್ರಸಕ್ತ ತಲೆಮಾರಿನ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿಯ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಗಾಯಕರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರು. ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ ತಮ್ಮ ಸಂಗೀತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣವನ್ನು ಸುಗಮ ಸಂಗೀತದ ಪ್ರವರ್ತಕರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರಾದ ವಿದುಷಿ ಎಸ್. ಕೆ. ವಸುಮತಿಯವರಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ ಮದರಾಸಿನ ವೈರಮಂಗಳಂ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀನಾರಾಯಣ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದುವರೆಸಿದರು. ಪದ್ಮಭೂಷಣ ಡಾ. ಆರ್. ಕೆ ಶ್ರೀಕಂಠನ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಂಗೀತ ಕಲಾನಿಧಿ ಡಾ. ಆರ್. ವೇದವಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರ ಬಳಿಯ ಗುರುಕುಲ ಪದ್ಧತಿಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ ಅವರ ಗಾಯನ ಶೈಲಿಗೆ ಭದ್ರ ಬುನಾದಿಯನ್ನು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಟ್ಟಿತು.
ಕಲಿಕೆಯ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜೂನಿಯರ್, ಸೀನಿಯರ್ ಮತ್ತು ವಿದ್ವತ್ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಥಮ ರಾಂಕ್ ವಿಜೇತರಾದ ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ ಆಕಾಶವಾಣಿಯ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಗೀತ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಯನ್ನೂ ಒಳಗೊಂಡಂತೆ ಅನೇಕ ಸಂಗೀತ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಥಮ ಬಹುಮಾನ ಗಳಿಸಿದ್ದರು. CCRT (Centre for Cultural Resources and Training), ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸಂಗೀತ ನೃತ್ಯ ಅಕಾಡೆಮಿ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾರತ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ಶಿಷ್ಯವೇತನ ಪುರಸ್ಕೃತರಾಗಿದ್ದರು.
ದೇಶದ ಅನೇಕ ಸಭೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಚೇರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಆಕಾಶವಾಣಿ ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ‘A’ ದರ್ಜೆಯ ಕಲಾವಿದರು. ವಿದ್ವತ್ಪೂರ್ಣ ಪ್ರಾತ್ಯಕ್ಷಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನೂ, ವಿಷಯಾಧಾರಿತ ಕಚೇರಿಗಳನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡುವಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿದ್ಧಹಸ್ತರಾದ ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ ಆಗಾಗ್ಗೆ ನಡೆಸುವ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಗೀತದ ಪರಿಚಯಾತ್ಮಕ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು ಜನಪ್ರಿಯತೆಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆದಿವೆ. ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ ‘ಅನನ್ಯ ಯುವ ಪುರಸ್ಕಾರ’ ಮತ್ತು ‘ನಳಿನ ಯುವ ಕಲಾ ಭಾರತಿ’ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಭಾಜನರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಆಯೋಜನೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಅನುಭವ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಮಾನಸ ನಯನ IIT Madras ನ ಗಣಿತಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ ಸ್ನಾತಕೋತ್ತರ ಪದವೀಧರರು.
Manasa Nayana is among the front runners of the current generation of classical musicians who have emerged from Karnataka. He was trained initially by Vid S K Vasumathi and then he pursued his training with Vid Vairamangalam Lakshminarayana at Chennai. It was his training with the celebrated masters – Padmabhushana Dr R K Srikantan and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr R Vedavalli that firmly established his outlook in music.
During his formative years, he was the first rank holder in the Junior, Senior and Vidwath examinations conducted by the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB). He had secured first prizes in several music competitions including the national level competition conducted by the All India Radio and the concert competition conducted by South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC). He was the recipient of scholarships by Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), Department of Culture (Government of India) and Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy.
Manasa Nayana has performed at Sabhas and festivals all over India. He is currently an ‘A’ grade artist with AIR, Mysore. Manasa Nayana is quite adept at thematic concerts and lecture demonstrations and his demonstration concerts that introduce classical music to uninitiated audiences are quite popular. Manasa Nayana is the recipient of ‘Ananya Yuva Puraskara’ (Ananya, Bangalore) and Nalina Yuva Kala Bharathi (Nalinkanthi Fine Arts, Chennai).
Manasa Nayana holds a post graduate degree in mathematics from IIT Madras and he quit his Doctoral programme at IISc Bangalore to pursue a full time career in music.