राजशेखर मन्सूर

Rajshekhar Mansur (born 16 December 1942) is an Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. He is the son and disciple of vocalist Mallikarjun Mansur.

Early life and education
Mansur was born to singer Mallikarjun Mansur, one of the leading singers of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. At the age of 18 he won the gold medal in the Sangeet Visharad exam and went on to take first prize in the AIR Youth Music Competition.

He completed his M.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Wales on a British Council Scholarship.

Career
Rajshekhar Mansur started accompanying his father in concerts at age 20, however his father insisted upon him to have a regular job instead of being a full-time musician.[2] Mansur taught literature and linguistics for nearly 35 years and retired as a Professor and Chairman of the English Department, Karnataka University, Dharwad. He also taught English at P.G.Centre Gulbarga. At the same time, he continued to sing, giving vocal support to his father and performing independently at various prestigious music festivals and for the All India Radio.

He is now a Top Grade Vocalist at All India Radio. He has performed in many prestigious music festivals throughout the country. The Karnataka Government has recognised his contributions to music by awarding him the Rajyotsava Award (1997). He was nominated as the chairman of Karnataka Sangeet Nrutya Akademi (2005–2008). He is also the recipient of Karnataka Kalashri Gaurav Award (2009). His music has been preserved in the archives of Indira Gandhi Manav Sangrahalaya in Bhopal. In 7 September 2009, he released his music album, In The Footsteps and Beyond to coinciding with his 60th birthday.

In 2012, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.[4][5] In 2016, he was conferred the Ustad Bismillah Khan and Pandit Sanna Bharamanna Smarak Rashtriya Puraskar by the Tansen Academy of Music, Chennai 

References
 Amarendra Dhaneshwar (26 November 2010). "Rajshekhar Mansur: Rajshekhar, now well past 60, has never been a full-time musician". Time Out, Mumbai. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
 "Aching for Gouri..." The Hindu. 4 September 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
 "Making music, Mansur style". The Hindu. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
 "Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards 2012" (PDF). Press Information Bureau, Govt of India. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
 "SNA: List of Akademi Awardees". Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
 "Celebrating the shehnai". The Hindu. 11 November 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 November 2016.