Madurai Mani Iyer was born into a family of musicians, deeply interested in classical music. His paternal uncle, Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer, was one of the three celebrated vocalists during the first quarter of this century. Madurai Mani Iyer's first teacher was Rajam Iyer, noted for his singing of swarams. But, it was his second Guru, the renowned Mutthiah Bhagavatar, who shaped Mani Iyer into a full-fledged musician. Young Mani was a prodigy and commenced giving concerts when he was 12.