Dr. N. Ramani was one of the first Carnatic musicians to come to wider, Western attention. The Soul of Indian Flute (World Pacific WPS 21456) followed the release of Balachander's Sounds of the Veena Featuring the Flute of Ramani (WPS 21436). He was born in 1934 in Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu, the birthplace of the Tyagaraja, Muttuswamy Dikshitar and Syama Sastri trinity. From early boyhood he studied with his grandfather A.N. Iyer and then T.R. Mahalingam, both respected flautists.