Manik Varma

• Name — Manik Varma • Born — 16 May 1926 • Died — 10 November 1996 (aged 70) • Occupation — Singer • Awards — Padma Shri (1974) Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1986)

Besides the pure classical khyal, she also sang semi-classical and light music like thumri, Marathi Natya Sangeet, Bhavgeet and Bhakti geet (devotional music). She was a disciple of Hirabai Barodekar and Sureshbabu Mane, daughter and son of Abdul Karim Khan, the founder of the Kirana gharana respectively.She also took her rigorous training in Thumri Gayaki from Pandit Bholanath Bhatt of ‘Bhatt Parampara’ in Prayag, Allahabad. She took further training from Azmat Hussain Khan "Dilrang" and Jagannathbua Purohit "Gunidas" of Agra gharana. In April 1955, her songs became part of the Geet Ramayan, a presentation of songs on the Hindu god Rama, a weekly year-long programme by All India Radio (AIR), Pune, along with artists like Lata Mangeshkar, Yogini Joglekar, Usha Atre, Babanrao Navdikar, Lalitabai Phadke and Sudhir Phadke. She trained students including Asha Khadilkar and Shaila Datar.

Her maiden name was Manik Dadarkar (Devanagari: माणिक दादरकर). She married Amar Varma. Her daughters include Rani Varma, also a singer, Aruna Jayprakash, Bharati Achrekar, an actor, and Vandana Gupte, a Marathi stage, film and television actor.