Raghunath Manet

🪔 About

Raghunath Manet is a distinguished French classical musician, music composer, dancer, choreographer, writer, filmmaker, and actor, born in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. He is recognized as a leading figure in the Bharatanatyam style of South India and a master of the Veena, a Carnatic instrument. Manet's early musical training began at the age of six with his grandfather, Gnanamani Pillaj, who taught him violin, flute, and vocal music. He received his Bharatanatyam training under Sri Nathan at the Villenour Temple School and later graduated from the Kalakshetra Academy of Music and Dance in Madras in 1985. He also studied with other traditional Indian dance teachers, including Ram Gopal. For the Veena, he was trained by Goumati Shankara and later by the renowned Veena Vidushi Rajeshwari Padmanabhan. Since 1990, Manet has directed his own dance company and, in 1998, founded Pondichéry Tala Sruti, a dance and music school that currently has approximately 150 students, including children from orphanages. He is credited with innovating and introducing the concept of choreography into Bharatanatyam, which was traditionally a solo practice. Manet divides his time between France and India, undertaking periodic world tours and performing at prestigious venues globally, including the Opéra de Paris, the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, and the Shakespeare Globe in London. He is dedicated to reviving and preserving traditional Indian dance theory and technique. His extensive collaborations span various genres and cultures, working with artists such as jazz musician Archie Shepp, dancer Carolyn Carlson, and musicians Gilberto Gil, Aldo Brizzi, Richard Galliano, Didier Lockwood, Michel Portal, Dr. Balamurali Krishna, and Drums Sivamani. Beyond dance and music, Manet is also a prolific writer, filmmaker, and actor, with several film credits and documentary works, including "Dance of Shiva," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. He has authored a doctoral thesis and a book on the devadasi traditions of Puducherry and published the first French translation of the ancient Tamil hymns, Thiruvasagam. Awards & Honours: Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) (2017), Officier des Arts et des Lettres (2016), Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (2005), GOPIO Community Service Award (2011), Best Performer Award (2014), Kalaimamani Award (2023).