‘Living life to the fullest’ has always been Manasi Prasad’s motto, and as one of the rising stars among the new generation of Carnatic musicians, she has certainly exemplified this. Manasi was initiated into Carnatic classical vocal music and Bharatanatyam dance at the age of 5. Since then, she has been pursuing the arts with passion and dedication. Her gurus in music include her mother- Tara Prasad, Jahnavi Jayaprakash and Dr. K. Varadarangan. She has received advanced training from Vidwan R. K. Padmanabha. She also receives training from Suguna Purushothaman of Chennai.
As a performing artist for over 10 years now, Manasi has travelled extensively in her career. She has been featured in most of the prestigious venues of classical music at Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and other cities in India. She was invited to Germany, USA and Chile to give presentations on the Indian Arts at universities. She is an empanelled artist of the ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations), and has also performed concerts in the US, Singapore, Middle East and Africa.
Numerous awards have come her way, including the prestigious Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from Government of India’s Sangeet Natak Akademi, an award from the Madras Music Academy, ‘Yuva Kalaakar Puraskar’ (Young Artist Award) from Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts, Mumbai and ‘Ananya Pratibhe’(Unique Talent) from Ananya, Bangalore. She has performed on the television and radio numerous times. Manasi has sung in over 10 music albums, many of which she has composed music for.
Manasi has gained popularity as an innovative artiste, who never shies away from trying something new. She is adept at rendering Raaga Taana Pallavis, especially the Avadhana Pallavi, which requires unique multi-tasking abilities. She regularly sings Carnatic-Hindustani Jugal Bandhis with popular Hindustani artistes. She used her dual abilities of singing and dancing to much acclaim, when she presented Giridhara Mira, a solo music-dance feature. She has also attempted to add a new dimension to classical music through her production- Olave Jeevana Saakshaatkara (Love is Life’s Fulfilment) – which explores the different facets of love.
Manasi gave her maiden solo music concert at the age of 14 and also released her first audio cassette at that age. She has won prizes in numerous competitions, including those conducted by the Bangalore Gayana Samaja, Malleswaram Sangeetha Sabha and All India Radio (National Level). She is a rank-holder in the Senior and Vidwath Level music examinations. She has won arts scholarships from both the State and Central Governments.
Manasi Prasad is truly a multi faceted artiste Apart from her passion for the arts, she is also academically accomplished. She is an Engineering graduate and also completed her MBA at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. She gained the experience of a corporate environment, while working at Standard Chartered Bank, Bangalore. Her other activities include hosting live and TV shows as a compere, composing and singing music for dance productions, as well as writing and speaking extensively on various subjects. In recognition of her numerous achievements, Manasi was awarded the Rotary - Brigade Young Achievers’ Award. Talented, passionate and driven, Manasi wishes to dedicate her life to the pursuit of excellence in the arts.
