Veeramani Raju

Music has the power to appeal to people in ways that no other medium can, especially when it comes to spirituality. There is no disputing that music has a spiritual connection. Music and faith are ways of reaching what is unknown, unseen, and unreachable beyond what man can conceive. There is no way to avoid mentioning Shri Veeramani Raju while talking about religion and music. He is a well-known South Indian devotional singer who has received prestigious awards from the Tamilnadu and Kerala governments. 

 In 1971, he joined the renowned ‘'Shri K Veermani" and began performing devotional music programs. In 1975, Veermani gave his debut stage performance. He is not limited to India; he has also performed in Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. "Iyyappa Amirtha Gana Bhaskaran" by Sri Sathguru Santhananda Swamigal ''Irai Isai Thendral" by Murugan Adiyargal "Dheiveega Paadagar" by Kachaleeswarar temple Murugan Adiyar Thirukkootam, and many other titles have been conferred to Shri Veeramani Raju. He was named "Asthana Vidwan" of the Mariamman Temple in Singapore.

Veeramani Raju was one of the famous singers of devotional music in Tamil Nadu. After the departure of Kalaimamani Sri K. Veeramani during the year 1990, Veeramani Raju started his journey in devotional music. He was fulfilling the desire of Sri. K. Veeramani in spreading the devotional music, which is an absolute path to reach God. Sri. K. Veeramani was among the famous singers of devotional music and has a place in the hearts of devout music lovers. Veeramani Raju is the son of Sri Somu, who was a great composer and lyricist. In 1971, he joined the music troupe with the blessing of his guru Sri. K. Veeramani. He also performed many devotional music programs with Sri. K. Veeramani. This gave him a lot of strength when he began giving stage performances independently. Due to the advantage of a long association with the Sri K. Veeramani, Veeramani Raju has inherited all the qualities of him. In 1975, he did the first stage performance.

Veeramani Raju has given performances in almost all majors around the country. Also, he has given a number of cassettes and CDs on many deities released by leading companies such as HMV, AVM, Sruthilaya, KVM audio, INRECO, and many more. He was nominated as “Asthana Vidwan” of Mariamman Temple, Singapore. Veeramani Raju was selected for the prestigious Harivarasanam Award of the Kerala government in 2021. Throughout his career, Veeramani Raju has sung thousands of devotional songs in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. Also, Veeramani Raju has been selected for his contribution towards the propagation of stability, secularism, and universal brotherhood through music.

Besides singing Ayyappa songs, Veeramani Raju has crooned Murugan devotional songs. In an interview, Raju revealed that he modernized the old devotional songs and presented them to the young generation of devotional music lovers. He crooned in all the South Indian languages, the modernized version of the old Murugan Bhajans. In 2022, a re-mastered version of Pathinettam Padigale Saranam, crooned by Raju alongside his mentor, K Veeramani, was released. In 2023, Veeramani Raju crooned the devotional song Aadi Nerunguthamma with LR Eswari, S Janaki, Shobana Vignesh, and Pushpavanam Kuppusamy. The same year, he crooned the Ayyappa devotional song, Karpoora Deepam Swamike, with Veeramani Kannan. The same year, Raju released his song on Shirdi Sai Baba as Aarathi Sai Baba. Raju crooned the songs, and his son, Abhishek Raju, composed the music.

Veeramani Raju Family Tree (Infographic Family Tree)