Palghat Mani Iyer

Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamala Ramaswamy, was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. Along with two contemporaries, Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, Iyer is revered as part of the "Holy Trinity of Mridangam". 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.