Born in 1912 of  Smt. Anandambal  and  Sri  Tiruvilvamalai  R  Sesha  Bhagavatar, a  well  known   musician, at Pazhayanur, Mani Iyer had his first lessons in Mridangam, when he was nine years old,from Sathapuram Subbier and later under Viswanatha Iyer. He made his debut in The Music Academy when he was only 14 years of age. He came into contact with mridangam vidvan  Tanjore  Vaidyanatha  Iyer  with  whom he had further training in the intricacies  of   the art.  He became closely associated  in  numerous performances with Pudukottai Dakshinamurthi Pillai. He received Sangeetha Kalanidhi for Carnatic Percussion Instrumental in 1956 and was also invited  in 1965 to participate in the Commonwealth Music Festival in London and in the Edinburgh Festival. 

This is in sharp contrast to the current trend in concerts which witness laya bouts in the name of 'tani avarthanam' for durations ranging between 20 and 30 minutes, creating the process a side show. Mani Iyer felt that a percussionist should also have knowledge of songs mostly sung in concerts for he had realised that knowledge of the movement of musical patterns enables a percussionist to play his 'sollus' with perception and he was himself a good vocalist.

 Mani Iyer's playing on the instrument created the essential understanding even for the uninitiated through the various melodic sounds of rhythm, and made them sit up and appreciate. The percussion instrument was put in a high pedestal by Mani Iyer. In the area of accompaniment Mani Iyer stands the tallest for all times. His acute awareness of the singers' or instrumentalists' micro - second level nuances - his acute sense of the particular situation or context of a sangathi/sahitya or even a vocal accent, and how he responded to it with his mridangam play or even very sensible silence - this heralded a new era of percussion. 

The infinite ways of adding colour to a Kriti, Niraval or Swaraprasthara by changing the Sarvalaghu patterns in midstream or even the Nadais and the sudden fast forward or reversal of the Chouka, Madhyama and Duritha or the incomparable use of the left for emphasis, softness and emotive effects bring forth his greatness.

As a boy of ten, Sivaraman had his ‘arangetram’ (first concert) and the debut was held in the precincts of Kalahastheeswaraswami temple in the temple town of Kumbakonam. Having made his debut at a tender age of ten, Sivaraman has been in the field as a ‘top notcher’ for half a century now, accompanying a galaxy of maestros of recent past and artistes of great merit today, both vocal and instrumental. His new techniques, innovations and creative ability in accompaniment, solo renditions, and jugalbandhi; programmes with his North Indian counterparts have earned him a special place in the world of art, worthy of emulation by other artists.

Besides his professional career, he had undertaken the very laudable task of doing original research in the art of mridangam. This resulted in his highly acclaimed lecture demonstrations done in all important centres in India and abroad, which enabled him to disseminate knowledge of this divine art to art lovers, music conferences, music seminars and the like. He is the only mridangam vidwan who has explored and placed before the world of art lovers authentic information on the techniques and nuances of mridangam for more than two decades.

He has introduced the fibre glass mridangam to Carnatic music for the first time, improvised a mechanical jig to eliminate human error in the moulding of skins for both sides of the instrument and has done research work on tanned and untanned skins for the mridangam. His analysis of the ingredients of the black patch has given much insight on the overtones produced by different strokes on the mridangam.

Sivaraman is an ‘A’ Grade artiste in All India Radio and Doordarshan Television. He has presided over the Annual Music Conference of the Indian Fine Arts Society, Madras, in 1984 and was conferred the title of Sangeetha Kala Sikhamani. Sivaraman has been appointed as the Director for ‘Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer School for Percussion’ recently started by the Music Academy, Madras. 

Several  honours and titles were bestowed on  Sivaraman for his great services to this divine  art. He  was conferred the award ‘Padmashri’ by the Government of India in 1988.  He received Sangeet Natak Akademi award for mridangam for the year 1992. His titles include Laya Jyothi, Laya Gnana Bhaskara, Sangeetha Kala Sikhamani, Mridanga Nadamani (bestowed by  His Holiness  Shri  Sankaracharya  of  Kanchi Mutt), Mridanga Chakravarthi, Nada Sudharnava, Tal Vilas, and Laya Gnana Tilaka to name a few. He has trained many Indian and foreign students in the art of mridangam and continues training more disciples. 

The quality of Mani's artistry has established beyond doubt the capacity of the mridangam to be presented as the main instrument in solo recitals. Mani has made a distinctive contribution to the development of the art of percussion through the innovatively novel percussion ensembles he has devised entitled "Sruthi Laya" with top ranking artists. 

Mani was also responsible for the formation of the musical orchestration of cultures called 'Melodyssey' consisting of 40 artists of South Indian, North Indian and Western instruments along with voices. This innovative orchestration won widespread appreciation. Mani has also introduced the Laya Ratna percussion duet concerts which have been performed in most of the leading forums in India. These concerts promote a greater understanding of the rythmic aspects of percussion. Mani's objective in the formation of yet another unique percussion ensemble of young artists, entitled Tala Vichitra ( Rhythmic peculiarities), has been the integration of various contemporary styles of South Indian Percussive art form. 

Mani founded the institution Sruthi Laya Seva Trust in Madras and Mysore in India, and in Melbourne and London to impart systematic training in Mridangam for advanced students. Many awards, titles and honours came to him which he shunned for developing his art with greater devotion. 

Dorai has taught mridangam at several music schools. He was a visiting Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle between 1977 - 1978. In 1979, he taught at the Sydney University, australia in conjunction with Professor T N Krishnan. Dorai is currently the Dean of temple of Fine Arts, an International organisation for the promotion of Fine Arts and Dance in Kuala Lumpur.