Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur (Kannada: ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ಮನ್ಸೂರ), (31 December 1910 – 12 September 1992) was a Hindustani classical singer from Karnataka. He sang in the khyal genre and belonged to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Early life and background Mallikarjun was born on New Year's Eve of 1910, at Mansur, a village five kilometres west of Dharwad, Karnataka. According to his biography, he was born on an Amavasya day. His father, Bheemaraayappa, was the village headman, a farmer by occupation and an ardent lover and patron of music. He had four brothers and three sisters. His elder brother Basavaraj owned a theatre troupe, and thus at age nine Mallikarjun did a small role in a play. Spotting the talent in his son, Mallikarjun's father engaged him to a travelling Yakshagana (Kannada theatre) troupe. The owner of this troupe took a liking to the tender and melodious voice of Mallikarjun and encouraged him to sing different types of compositions during the drama-performances. Hearing one such performance, he was picked up by Appaya Swamy under whom he had his initial training in Carnatic music. Sometime later, he was introduced to Hindustani music under Nilkanth Bua Alurmath of Miraj who belonged to the Gwalior gharana. The latter brought him to Alladiya Khan (1855–1946), the stalwart and the then patriarch of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, in the late 1920s, who referred him to his elder son, Manji Khan. Following Manji Khan's untimely death, he came under the tutelage of Manji Khan's younger brother Bhurji Khan. This grooming under Bhurji Khan had the most important influence on his style of singing. Career Mansur was well known for his command over a large number of rare (aprachalit) ragas such as Shuddh Nat, Asa Jogiya, Hem Nat, Lachchhasakh, Khat, Shivmat Bhairav, Kabir Bhairav, Bihari, Sampoorna Malkauns, Lajawanti, Adambari Kedar, Ek Nishad Bihagda and Bahaduri Todi, as well as his constant, mercurial improvisations in both melody and metre without ever losing the emotional content of the song. Initially, his voice and style resembled that of Manji Khan and Narayanrao Vyas, but gradually he developed his own style of rendition. He also remained music director with His Master's Voice (HMV) and later music advisor to All India Radio's Dharwad station. Awards He received all three national Padma Awards, the Padma Shri in 1970, Padma Bhushan in 1976, and Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour given Government of India in 1992. In