[1] Born in the month of March 1918, in Madras (now Chennai) N. Kesi grew up in a family blessed with traditional values and discipline.
With sheer hard work and diligence she started her professional career as a flutist in Madras under the guidance of Maestro T.R.Mahalingam alias ‘Mali’, a prodigy.
Widely traveled, N. Kesi has performed in a number of countries including UK, France, Rome, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Romania, and Italy.
She has also played in the orchestra for Bharata Natyam recitals of Rukmani Devi Arundale and Kumari Kamala.
Her flute students include Vasanthi Shekar, G Sridhar,[1] Navin Iyer, Harinarayanan Ramachandran and Kaushik.